This dataset includes leaf wax abundances and hydrogen isotope values (δD) presented in van der Bilt et al. 2022 – accepted in Nature Communications Earth and Environment. The data derive from two lake sediments cores retrieved from Lake Diamond on South Georgia (54.4°S, 36.6°W): 46 cm long surface core LDS2 (4 samples) and 246 cm piston core LDP2 (57 samples: 52 from lake sediments, and 5 for underlying peat). This composite record covers the past 7200 years. Leaf waxes were extracted from the sediments using silica gel column chromatography. Compounds were then treated with copper to remove elemental sulfur and eluted through silver nitrate-impregnated silica gel to remove unsaturated hydrocarbons before quantification on an Agilent 7890 gas chromatograph (GC) equipped with mass selective (MSD) and flame ionization (FID) detectors. Isotope ratios were then determined using a Thermo Delta V Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer (IRMS). The data are organized per paper figure (all compiled in Adobe Illustrator) per .txt file: here, we only upload leaf wax data that was specifically generated for this specific study (not related datasets listed in the metadata fields). These, and all other plotted context data that has been previously published and/or generated by others, are stored in a Supplementary Data file that accompanies our paper. The data behind Figure 3 includes the abundance (%) of all measured leaf wax n-alkane chain lengths for each down-core sample (with accompanying depth and age information), as well as the Average Chain Length (ACL). The data behind Figure 4 shows the average abundance (%) and calculated standard deviations (σ) for each n-alkane chain length per stratigraphic unit (D and F) or sediment type (lacustrine or peat). The data behind Figure 6 includes the isotope composition (‰) of each analyzed n-alkane chain length for each measured sample (with accompanying depth and age information). The data behind Figure 9 includes the measured or inferred offset between terrestrial (terr) and aquatic (aq) n-alkane chain lengths, an index used in the discussion to argue for wind-driven evaporation at our study site. Additional details may be found in our readme file.

Microsoft Excel, 365

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Adobe Illustrator, 2022