A SOLUTION TO THE DEVILS HOLE PARADOX

The Milankovic hypothesis is an important paradigm of modern Quaternary Sciences. However, it appears defeated in parts by oxygen isotopes obtained from well-dated travertine deposited at Devils Hole, Nevada, which indicate the onset of the warming at the end of several cold phases occurred significantly before warming may have been triggered by northern latitude insolation increase according to Milankovic hypothesis. This would imply reactions of the climate system pre-dated their own causes.

Comparison of air pressure patterns during pleni- and late glacials over South-Western North America to modern ones during certain, rare climate events yields evidence that then fractionation of oxygen isotopes on their way to Devils Hole may have been significantly different from average conditions during the Quaternary, with the difference entirely explaining the observed departures of the Devils Hole record from other records supporting Milankovic hypothesis.