Antarctic Isotope Maxima events 24 and 25 identified in benthic marine δ18O

[1] High-resolution planktic and benthic δ18O records at Site 1146 (northern South China Sea) include structure within Marine Isotope Stage 5.4, 118.5–105.9 ka, that is not captured in stacked δ18O records commonly used for age model construction and as proxies for global ice volume. Leveraging a common monsoonal influence, Site 1146 planktic δ18O was aligned to speleothem δ18O from southeastern China to derive a radiometrically calibrated (RC) age model. On the RC age model, the benthic δ18O record contains structure equivalent in time to Antarctic Isotope Maximum (AIM) events 24 and 25. Sea level reconstructions for isotopic event 5.4 suggest that these benthic δ18O events (AIM 24 and 25) derive from isotopic change (ice volume) although some temperature change cannot be completely excluded.