Cave monitoring data from Cueva de Asiul, northern Spain (2010-2014) which act to support palaeoclimate interpretation of speleothem deposits from this site (NERC studentship grant NE/I527953/1)

The following dataset provides climate and cave monitoring data from Cueva de Asiul northern Spain between 2010 and 2014. This data set was initially presented in Smith et al., (2016) Cave monitoring and the potential for palaeoclimate reconstruction from Cueva de Asiul, Cantabria (N. Spain). International Journal of Speleology, 45(1), 1-9. This data set represents the majority of cave monitoring undertaken at this site as part of a NERC funded PhD project (NERC studentship grant NE/I527953/1), data collection either occurred within this single cave site (43°19’0’’N, 3°35’28’’W) or within 1km of the cave in the village of Matienzo. The data set includes high resolution monitoring data for a range of climatic parameters including, cave and external temperature, rainfall direction, amount and oxygen isotope value, soil and cave air pCO2 concentration and carbon isotope value, cave drip rates and oxygen and deuterium isotope values. All data was collected using standard automated logging systems and the data/ samples were analysed either at Lancaster University, UK or at the NERC isotope geosciences laboratory, British Geological Survey, UK. Any missing data is a result of automated logger malfunction and is explained in full in the above cited paper. In combination this data offers a very high resolution, multiyear veiw into hydrological and cave ventilation processes, each of which play a major role in controlling speleothem growth and chemical makeup in Cueva de Asiul. The data set presents the pertinent background monitoring for the accurate interpretation of speleothems from this cave site. Those who may be interested in the data set include cave scientists who wish to implement a monitoring station/understand how climatic parameters influence speleothem development, or those who wish to obtain focused climate data from the Matienzo region between 2010 and 2014. The data set was collected by members of Lancaster University and the Matienzo caving expedition as part of NERC studentship grant NE/I527953/1. All cave monitoring was undertaken with kind permission from Gobierno de Cantabria, Cultura.