The Reading Palaeofire Database: an expanded global resource to document changes in fire regimes from sedimentary charcoal records

Ea h Sys . Sci. Da a, 14, 1109–1124, 2022 h ps://doi.o g/10.5194/essd-14-1109-2022 © Au ho (s) 2022. This wo k is dis ibu ed unde he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 License. The Reading Palaeo i e Da abase: an expanded global esou ce o documen changes in i e egimes om sedimen a y cha coal eco ds Sandy P. Ha ison1,2, Robe o Villegas-Diaz1, Esme alda C uz-Sil a1, Daniel Gallaghe 2,3, Da id Kesne 1,2, Paul Lincoln1,2, Yicheng Shen1, Luke Sweeney1,2, Daniele Colomba oli2,3, Adam Ali4, Chéïma Ba houmi5, Y es Be ge on6,7, Ta iana Blyakha chuk8, Pˇ emysl Bobek9, Richa d B adshaw10, Jenni e L. Clea 11, Sambo Cze wi´ nski12, Anne-Lau e Daniau13, John Dodson14,15, Ke in J. Edwa ds16,17,18,19, Ma y E. Edwa ds20, Angelica Feu dean21, Da id Fos e 22, Kon ad Gajewski23, Ma iusz Gałka24, Michelle Ga neau25, Thomas Giesecke26, G aciela Gil Rome a27,28, Ma in P. Gi a din29, Dana Hoe e 30, Kangyou Huang31, Jun Inoue32, E a Jam icho á9, Nau is Jasiunas33, Wenying Jiang34, Gonzalo Jiménez-Mo eno35, Monika Ka pi´ nska-Kołaczek12, Pio Kołaczek12, Niina Kuosmanen36, Ma iusz Lamen owicz37, Ma in La oie38, Fang Li39, Jianyong Li40, Olga Lisi syna41,42, José An onio López-Sáez43, Reyes Luelmo-Lau enschlaege 43, Gab iel Magnan25, Eniko Ka alin Magya i44, Alekss Maksims45, Ka a zyna Ma cisz12, Elena Ma ino a46, Jenn Ma lon47, Sco Mensing48, Joanna Mi oslaw-G abowska49, Wya Oswald22,50, Sebas ián Pé ez-Díaz51, Ramón Pé ez-Obiol52, Sanna Piilo53, Anneli Poska41,54, Xiaoguang Qin34, Cécile C. Remy55, Pie e J. H. Richa d56, Saka i Salonen36, Naoko Sasaki57, Hieke Schneide 58, William Sho yk59, Migle S ancikai e60, Dace Š einbe ga45, No munds S i ins33,41,61, Hika u Takaha a62, Zhihai Tan63, Li a T asune33,36, Cha les E. Umbanhowa 64,65, Minna Väli an a53, Jü i Vassilje 41, Xiayun Xiao66, Qinghai Xu67, Xin Xu39, Edy a Zawisza49, Yan Zhao68, Zheng Zhou31, and Jo dan Pailla d56 1School o A chaeology, Geog aphy and En i onmen al Science, Uni e si y o Reading, Whi eknigh s, Reading, RG6 6AH, UK 2Le e hulme Cen e o Wild i es, En i onmen and Socie y, Impe ial College London, Sou h Kensing on, London, SW7 2BW, UK 3Depa men o Geog aphy, Royal Holloway, Uni e si y o London, Egham, TW20 0SS, UK 4Ins i u des Sciences de l’E olu ion de Mon pellie (CNRS, IRD, EPHE), Uni e si é de Mon pellie , 34090 Mon pellie , F ance 5Depa men o Palynology and Clima e Dynamics, Alb ech - on-Halle -Ins i u e o Plan Sciences, Uni e si y o Gö ingen, Un e e Ka spüle 2, 37073 Gö ingen, Ge many 6Fo es Resea ch Ins i u e (IRF), Uni e si é du Québec en Abi ibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT), Rouyn-No anda, QC, J9X 5E4, Canada 7Depa men o Biological Sciences, Uni e si é du Québec à Mon éal (UQAM), Mon éal, QC, H3C 3P8, Canada 8Ins i u e o Moni o ing o Clima ic and Ecological Sys ems o Sibe ian b anch o he Russian Academy o Sciences (IMCES SB RAS), 634055, Tomsk, Russia 9Ins i u e o Bo any, Czech Academy o Sciences, Lidická 25/27, 602 00 B no, Czech Republic 10Geog aphy and Planning, Uni e si y o Li e pool, Li e pool, L69 7ZT, UK 11Depa men o Geog aphy and En i onmen al Science, Li e pool Hope Uni e si y, Tagga S ee , Childwall, Li e pool, L16 9JD, UK 12Clima e Change Ecology Resea ch Uni , Facul y o Geog aphical and Geological Sciences, Adam Mickiewicz Uni e si y Pozna´ n, Bogumiła K ygowskiego 10, 61-680 Pozna´ n, Poland Published by Cope nicus Publica ions. 1110 S. P. Ha ison e al.: The Reading Palaeo i e Da abase 13En i onnemen s e Paléoen i onnemen s Océaniques e Con inen aux (EPOC), Uni é Mix e de Reche che (UMR) 5805, Cen e Na ional de la Reche che Scien i ique (CNRS), Uni e si é de Bo deaux, 33615 Pessac, F ance 14Ins i u e o Ea h En i onmen , Chinese Academy o Sciences, Keji 1s Rd, Yan a Dis ic , Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710061, Shaanxi P o ince, China 15School o Ea h, A mosphe ic and Li e Sciences, Uni e si y o Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Aus alia 16Depa men o Geog aphy and En i onmen , Uni e si y o Abe deen, Abe deen, AB24 3UX, UK 17Depa men o A chaeology, Uni e si y o Abe deen, AB24 3UX, UK 18McDonald Ins i u e o A chaeological Resea ch, Uni e si y o Camb idge, Camb idge, CB2 1TN, UK 19Sco Pola Resea ch Ins i u e, Uni e si y o Camb idge, Camb idge, CB2 1TN, UK 20School o Geog aphy and En i onmen al Science, Uni e si y o Sou hamp on, Sou hamp on, SO17 1BJ, UK 21Ins i u e o Physical Geog aphy, Goe he Uni e si y F ank u , Al enhö e allee 1, 60438 F ank u am Main, Ge many 22Ha a d Fo es , Ha a d Uni e si y, Pe e sham, MA 01366, USA 23Dépa emen de Géog aphie, En i onnemen e Géoma ique, Uni e si é d’O awa, O awa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada 24Depa men o Biogeog aphy, Paleoecology and Na u e P o ec ion, Facul y o Biology and En i onmen al P o ec ion, Uni e si y o Lodz, 1/3 Banacha S ., 90-237 Łód´z, Poland 25Geo op, Uni e si é du Québec à Mon éal, Mon éal, QC, H2X 3Y7, Canada 26Depa men o Physical Geog aphy, Facul y o Geosciences, U ech Uni e si y, 2584 CS U ech , he Ne he lands 27Ins i u o Pi enaico de Ecología – CSIC, A da. Mon añana 1005, 50059 Za agoza, Spain 28Plan Ecology and Geobo any, Philipps Uni e si y o Ma bu g, Ka l-Von-F isch-S aße 8, 35037 Ma bu g, Ge many 29Lau en ian Fo es y Cen e, Canadian Fo es Se ice, Na u al Resou ces Canada, Québec Ci y, QC, G1V V4C, Canada 30Senckenbe g Resea ch S a ion o Qua e na y Palaeon ology, Am Jakobski chho 4, 99423 Weima , Ge many 31School o Ea h Sciences and Enginee ing, Sun Ya -sen Uni e si y, Zhuhai 519082, China 32Depa men o Geosciences, G adua e School o Science, Osaka Ci y Uni e si y, Osaka 558-8585, Japan 33Depa men o Geog aphy, Uni e si y o La ia, Jelga as iela 1, Riga, 1004, La ia 34Key Labo a o y o Cenozoic Geology and En i onmen , Ins i u e o Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy o Sciences, No. 19 Bei ucheng Wes Rd, Beijing, 100029, China 35Depa amen o de Es a ig a ía y Paleon ología, Facul ad de Ciencias, Uni e sidad de G anada, A da. Fuen e Nue a S/N, 18002 G anada, Spain 36Depa men o Geosciences and Geog aphy, Uni e si y o Helsinki, P.O. Box 64, 00014, Helsinki, Finland 37Facul y o Geog aphical and Geological Sciences, Adam Mickiewicz Uni e si y Pozna´ n, Bogumiła K ygowskiego 10, 61-680 Pozna´ n, Poland 38Dépa emen de géog aphie, Uni e si é La al, Québec Ci y, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada 39In e na ional Cen e o Clima e and En i onmen Sciences, Ins i u e o A mosphe ic Physics, Chinese Academy o Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China 40Shaanxi Key Labo a o y o Ea h Su ace Sys em and En i onmen al Ca ying Capaci y, College o U ban and En i onmen al Sciences, No hwes Uni e si y, Xi’an 710127, China 41Depa men o Geology, Tallinn Uni e si y o Technology, Ehi aja e ee 5, 19086 Tallinn, Es onia 42Russian S a e Ag a ian Uni e si y, Timi yaze skaya S ., 49, 127550, Moscow, Russia 43En i onmen al A chaeology Resea ch G oup, Ins i u e o His o y, CSIC, 28037 Mad id, Spain 44ELKH-MTM-ELTE Resea ch G oup o Paleon ology, Depa men o En i onmen al and Landscape Geog aphy, Eö ös Lo ánd uni e si y, Pazmany Pe e s ny 1/c, 1117 Budapes , Hunga y 45Depa men o Geology, Uni e si y o La ia, Jelga as iela 1, Riga, 1004, La ia 46Labo a o y o A chaeobo any, S a e O ice o Cul u al He i age Baden-Wü embe g, Fische s eig 9, 78343 Gaienho en-Hemmenho en, Ge many 47Yale School o he En i onmen , New Ha en, CT 06511, USA 48Depa men o Geog aphy, Uni e si y o Ne ada, Reno, 1664 N Vi ginia S ., Reno, NV 89557, USA 49Ins i u e o Geological Sciences, Polish Academy o Sciences, Twa da 51/55, 00-818 Wa saw, Poland Ea h Sys . Sci. Da a, 14, 1109–1124, 2022 h ps://doi.o g/10.5194/essd-14-1109-2022 S. P. Ha ison e al.: The Reading Palaeo i e Da abase 1111 50Ma lbo o Ins i u e o Libe al A s and In e disciplina y S udies, Eme son College, Bos on, MA 02116, USA 51Depa men o Geog aphy, U ban and Regional Planning, Uni e si y o Can ab ia, 39005 San ande , Spain 52Uni a de Bo ànica, Facul a de Biociències, Uni e si a Au ònoma de Ba celona, Ce danyola del Vallès, 08193 Ba celona, Spain 53Ecosys ems, En i onmen Resea ch P og amme, En i onmen al Change Resea ch Uni (ECRU), Facul y o Biological and En i onmen al Sciences, Uni e si y o Helsinki, Viikinkaa i 1, P.O. Box 65, 00014, Helsinki, Finland 54Depa men o Physical Geog aphy and Ecosys em Science, Lund Uni e si y, Lund, Sweden 55Ins i u ü Geog aphie, Uni e si ä Augsbu g, 86135 Augsbu g, Ge many 56Dépa emen de Géog aphie, Uni e si é de Mon éal, Mon éal, QC, H2V 0B3, Canada 57G adua e School o Li e and En i onmen al Sciences, Kyo o P e ec u al Uni e si y, Shimogamo, Sakyo-ku, 1-5 Hangi-cho, 606-8522 Kyo o, Japan 58Ins i u ü Geog aphie, F ied ich-Schille -Uni e si ä Jena, Löbde g aben 32, 07743 Jena, Ge many 59Depa men o Renewable Resou ces, Uni e si y o Albe a, 348B Sou h Academic Building, Edmon on, AB, T6G 2H1, Canada 60Ins i u e o Geology and Geog aphy, Na u e Resea ch Cen e, Akademijos S . 2, 08412, Vilnius, Li huania 61Ins i u e o La ian His o y, Uni e si y o La ia, Kalpaka bl . 4, Riga, 1050, La ia 62G adua e School o Ag icul u e, Kyo o P e ec u al Uni e si y, Shimogamo, Sakyo-ku, 1-5, Hangi-cho, 606-8522 Kyo o, Japan 63School o En i onmen and Chemis y Enginee ing, Xi’an Poly echnic Uni e si y, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710048, China 64Depa men o Biology, S Ola College, 1520 S Ola A e, No h ield, MN 55057, USA 65Depa men o En i onmen al S udies, S Ola College, 1520 S Ola A e, No h ield, MN 55057, USA 66S a e Key Labo a o y o Lake Science and En i onmen , Nanjing Ins i u e o Geog aphy and Limnology, Chinese Academy o Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China 67College o Resou ces and En i onmen Science, Hebei No mal Uni e si y, Shijiazhuang 050024, China 68Ins i u e o Geog aphic Sciences and Na u al Resou ces Resea ch, Chinese Academy o Sciences, Beijing 100101, China Co espondence: Sandy P. Ha ison ([email p o ec ed]) Recei ed: 12 Augus 2021 – Discussion s a ed: 19 Augus 2021 Re ised: 12 Janua y 2022 – Accep ed: 28 Janua y 2022 – Published: 11 Ma ch 2022 Abs ac . Sedimen a y cha coal eco ds a e widely used o econs uc egional changes in i e egimes h ough ime in he geological pas . Exis ing global compila ions a e no geog aphically comp ehensi e and do no p o- ide consis en me ada a o all si es. Fu he mo e, he age models p o ided o hese eco ds a e no ha monised and many a e based on olde calib a ions o he adioca bon ages. These issues limi he use o exis ing compila- ions o esea ch in o pas i e egimes. He e, we p esen an expanded da abase o cha coal eco ds, accompanied by new age models based on ecalib a ion o adioca bon ages using In Cal20 and Bayesian age-modelling so - wa e. We documen he s uc u e and con en s o he da abase, he cons uc ion o he age models, and he quali y con ol measu es applied. We also eco d he expansion o geog aphical co e age ela i e o p e ious cha coal compila ions and he expansion o me ada a ha can be used o in o m analyses. This i s e sion o he Read- ing Palaeo i e Da abase con ains 1676 eco ds (en i ies) om 1480 si es wo ldwide. The da abase (RPD 1b – Ha ison e al., 2021) is a ailable a h ps://doi.o g/10.17864/1947.000345. h ps://doi.o g/10.5194/essd-14-1109-2022 Ea h Sys . Sci. Da a, 14, 1109–1124, 2022 1112 S. P. Ha ison e al.: The Reading Palaeo i e Da abase 1 In oduc ion Wild i es ha e majo impac s on e es ial ecosys ems (Bond e al., 2005; Bowman e al., 2016; He e al., 2019; Lasslop e al., 2020), he global ca bon cycle (Li e al., 2014; A o a and Mel on, 2018; Pelleg ini e al., 2018; Lasslop e al., 2019), a mosphe ic chemis y ( an de We e al., 2010; Voulga akis and Field, 2015; Sokolik e al., 2019), and clima e (Rande son e al., 2006; Li e al., 2017; Ha - ison e al., 2018; Liu e al., 2019). Al hough he clima ic, ege a ion, and an h opogenic con ols on wild i es a e el- a i ely well unde s ood (e.g. Ha ison e al., 2010; Bis i- nas e al., 2014; Kno e al., 2016; Fo kel e al., 2017; Li e al., 2019), ecen yea s ha e seen wild i es occu - ing in egions whe e hey we e his o ically a e (e.g. no h- e n Alaska, G eenland, no he n Scandina ia – E angeliou e al., 2019; Hayasaka, 2021) and an inc ease in i e e- quency and se e i y in mo e i e-p one egions (e.g. Cali o - nia, he ci cum-Medi e anean, eas e n Aus alia; e.g. Aba - zoglou and Williams, 2016; Du a e al., 2016; Williams e al., 2019; Nolan e al., 2020). I is use ul o look a he p e- indus ial e a (con en ionally de ined as p e-1850 CE) o un- de s and whe he hese e en s a e a ypical. The p e-indus ial pas also p o ides an oppo uni y o cha ac e ise i e egimes be o e an h opogenic in luences, in e ms o bo h igni ions and i e supp ession, became impo an . Ice-co e eco ds p o ide a global pic u e o changes in wild i e in he geologic pas (Rubino e al., 2016). How- e e , wild i es exhibi conside able local o egional a iabil- i y because o he spa ial he e ogenei y o he a ious ac- o s con olling hei occu ence and in ensi y (Bis inas e al., 2014; Andela e al., 2019; Fo kel e al., 2019). Thus, i is use ul o use in o ma ion ha can p o ide a pic u e o e- gional changes h ough ime. Cha coal, p ese ed in lake, pea , o ma ine sedimen s, can p o ide a pic u e o such changes (Cla k and Pa e son, 1997; Conede a e al., 2009). The wild i e egime can be cha ac e ised om sedimen a y cha coal eco ds h ough o al cha coal abundance pe uni o sedimen , which can be conside ed a measu e o he o al biomass bu ned (e.g. Ma lon e al., 2006), o by he p esence o peaks in cha coal accumula ion, which, in eco ds wi h a su icien ly high empo al esolu ion, can indica e indi idual episodes o i e (e.g. Powe e al., 2006). The Global Paleo i e Wo king G oup (GPWG) was es- ablished in 2006 o coo dina e he compila ion and anal- ysis o cha coal da a globally, h ough he cons uc ion o he Global Cha coal Da abase (GCD – Powe e al., 2008). The GPWG was ini ia ed by he In e na ional Geosphe e- Biosphe e P og amme (IGBP) Fas -T ack Ini ia i e on Fi e and subsequen ly ecognised as a wo king g oup o he Pas Global Changes (PAGES) p ojec in 2008. The e ha e now been se e al i e a ions o he GCD (Powe e al., 2008, 2010; Daniau e al., 2012; Bla quez e al., 2014; Ma lon e al., 2016), which since 2020 has been managed by he In e na- ional Paleo i e Ne wo k as he Global Paleo i e Da abase (GPD; h ps://paleo i e.o g, las access: 21 Feb ua y 2022). The GCD has been used o examine changes in i e egimes o e he pas 2 millennia (Ma lon e al., 2008), du ing he cu - en in e glacial (Ma lon e al., 2013), on glacial–in e glacial imescales (Powe e al., 2008; Daniau e al., 2012; Williams e al., 2015), and in esponse o apid clima e changes (Ma - lon e al., 2009; Daniau e al., 2010), as well as o examine egional i e his o ies (e.g. Mooney e al., 2011; Vanniè e e al., 2011; Ma lon e al., 2012; Powe e al., 2013a, b; Feu - dean e al., 2020). Howe e , he e a e a numbe o limi a ions o he use o he GCD o analyses o palaeo i e egimes. Fi s ly, he da abase does no include many ecen ly pub- lished eco ds and needs o be upda ed. Secondly, he e a e inconsis encies among he a ious e sions o he da abase including duplica ed and/o missing si es, di e ences in he me ada a included o each si e o eco d, and missing me a- da a and da ing in o ma ion o some si es o eco ds. Pe - haps mos c ucially, he age models included in he da abase we e made a di e en imes, using di e en adioca bon cal- ib a ion cu es, and using di e en age-modelling me hods. The dispa i ies be ween he a chi ed age models p eclude a de ailed compa ison o changes in wild i e egimes ac oss egions. He e, we p esen an expanded da abase o cha coal eco ds ( he Reading Palaeo i e Da abase, RPD), accompanied by new age models based on ecalib a ion o adioca bon ages using In Cal20 (Reime e al., 2020) and using a consis en Bayesian app oach (Bacon – Blaauw e al., 2021) o age- model cons uc ion. Howe e , we ha e e ained he o iginal age models o all he si es o compa ison and o allow he use o choose a p e e ed age model. The RPD is designed o acili a e egional analyses o i e his o y; i is no designed as a pe manen eposi o y. We documen he s uc u e and con- en s o he da abase, he cons uc ion o he new age mod- els, he expanded me ada a a ailable, and he quali y con ol measu es applied o check he da a en y. We also documen he expansion o he geog aphic and empo al co e age and he a ailabili y o me ada a, ela i e o p e ious GCD com- pila ions. 2 Da a and me hods 2.1 Compila ion o da a The da abase con ains sedimen a y cha coal eco ds, me a- da a o acili a e he in e p e a ion o hese eco ds, and in o - ma ion on he da es used o cons uc he o iginal age model o each eco d. Some eco ds we e ob ained om he GCD. The e a e mul iple e sions o he GCD which di e in e ms o he si es and he ypes o me ada a included. We com- pa ed he GCD 3 (Ma lon e al., 2016), GCD 4 (Bla quez, 2018), and GCD web page e sions (h p://paleo i e.o g, las access: 21 Feb ua y 2022) and ex ac ed a single unique e - sion o each si e and en i y ac oss he h ee e sions. Whe e si es o en i ies we e duplica ed in di e en e sions o he Ea h Sys . Sci. Da a, 14, 1109–1124, 2022 h ps://doi.o g/10.5194/essd-14-1109-2022 S. P. Ha ison e al.: The Reading Palaeo i e Da abase 1113 GCD, we used he la es e sion. Missing me ada a and da - ing in o ma ion o hese eco ds we e ob ained om he li - e a u e o om he o iginal da a p o ide s. Some si es in he GCD we e ep esen ed by bo h concen a ion da a and he same da a exp essed as in lux (i.e. concen a ion pe yea ) om he same samples; because in lux calcula ions a e ime dependen , we ha e only e ained concen a ion da a o such si es o allow o u u e imp o emen s o age mod- els. In lux can be easily compu ed using da a a ailable in he RPD. We also emo ed duplica es whe e he GCD con- ained bo h aw da a and concen a ion da a om he same en i y. We ex ac ed published cha coal eco ds om public eposi o ies, speci ically PANGAEA (h ps://www.pangaea. de/, las access: 21 Feb ua y 2022), NOAA Na ional Cen e s o En i onmen al In o ma ion (h ps://www.ncdc.noaa.go / da a-access/paleoclima ology-da a, las access: 21 Feb ua y 2022), he Neo oma Paleoecology Da abase (h ps://www. neo omadb.o g/, las access: 21 Feb ua y 2022), he Eu o- pean Pollen Da abase (h p://www.eu opeanpollenda abase. ne /index.php, las access: 21 Feb ua y 2022), and he A c- ic Da a Cen e (h ps://a c icda a.io/ca alog/, las access: 21 Feb ua y 2022); i hese eco ds we e also in he GCD, we eplaced he GCD e sion. Addi ional cha coal da a, da ing in o ma ion, and me ada a we e p o ided di ec ly by he au- ho s. All he eco ds in he cu en e sion o he da abase a e lis ed in he Supplemen (Table S1). 2.1.1 S uc u e o he da abase The da a a e s o ed in a ela ional da abase (MySQL), which consis s o 10 linked ables, speci ically “si e”, “en i y”, “sample”, “da e in o”, “uni ”, “en i y link publica ion”, “pub- lica ion”, “ch onology”, “age model”, and “model name”. Figu e 1 shows he ela ionships be ween hese ables. A de- sc ip ion o he s uc u e and con en o each o he ables is gi en below, and mo e de ailed in o ma ion abou indi idual ields is gi en in he Supplemen (Table S2). 2.1.2 Si e me ada a ( able name – si e) A si e is de ined as he hyd ological basin om which cha - coal eco ds ha e been ob ained (Table 1). The e may be se e al cha coal eco ds om he same si e, o example whe e cha coal eco ds ha e been ob ained on cen al and ma ginal co es om he same lake o whe e he e is a lake co e and addi ional co es om pea lands and/o e es ial deposi s (e.g. small hollows, soils) wi hin he same hyd olog- ical basin. A si e may he e o e be linked o se e al cha coal eco ds, whe e each eco d is ea ed as a sepa a e en i y. The si e able con ains basic me ada a abou he basin, including si e ID, si e name, la i ude, longi ude, ele a ion, si e ype, and maximum wa e dep h. The si e names a e exp essed wi hou diac i ics o acili a e da abase que ying and subse- quen analyses in p og amming languages ha do no handle hese cha ac e s. La i ude and longi ude a e gi en in decimal deg ees, unca ed o six decimal places since his gi es an accu acy o <1 m a he Equa o . B oad ca ego ies o si e ype a e di e en ia ed (e.g. e es ial, lacus ine, ma ine), wi h subdi isions acco ding o geomo phic o igin (e.g. lakes a e eco ded acco ding o whe he hey a e, o example, lu- ial, glacial, o olcanic in o igin). In addi ion o coas al sal ma shes and es ua ies, we include a gene ic coas al ca ego y o all ypes o si es ha lie wi hin he coas al zone and whose hyd ology may he e o e ha e been a ec ed by changes in sea le el. Whe e e possible, he size o he basin and he ca chmen a e eco ded (in km2), bu i accu a e quan i ied in o ma ion is no a ailable, he basin and ca chmen size a e eco ded by size classes. The si e able also con ains in o ma- ion on whe he he lake o pea land is hyd ologically closed o has in lows and ou lows, which can a ec he sou ce, quan i y, and p ese a ion o cha coal in he sedimen s. A comple e lis ing o he si es and en i ies in he RPD is gi en in Table S1. A lis o he alid choices o ields ha a e se- lec ed om a p e-de ined lis (e.g. si e ype) is gi en in Ta- ble S2. 2.1.3 En i y me ada a ( able name – en i y) This able p o ides me ada a o each indi idual en i y (Ta- ble 2). In addi ion o dis inguishing mul iple co es om he same basin as sepa a e en i ies, we also dis inguish di e en size classes o cha coal om he same co e when hese da a a e a ailable. Di e en cha coal size classes om he same co e a e also ea ed as sepa a e en i ies in he da abase. How- e e , we ha e emo ed duplica es whe e he same eco d was exp essed in di e en ways (e.g. as bo h aw coun s and con- cen a ion o as concen a ion and in lux) o a oid con usion and mis akes when subsequen ly p ocessing hese da a. The RPD con ains aw da a whe e e possible and concen a ion da a when he aw da a a e no a ailable, and i only includes in lux da a i nei he aw no concen a ion da a a e a ail- able. When speci ic co es we e gi en dis inc i e names in he o iginal publica ion o by he o iginal au ho , we include his in o ma ion in he en i y name o ease o c oss- e e encing. The en i y me ada a include in o ma ion ha can be used o in e p e he cha coal eco ds, including deposi ional con ex , co e loca ion, measu emen me hod, and measu emen uni . The e is no s anda d measu emen uni o cha coal, and in ac , he e a e >100 di e en uni s employed in he da abase. Fo con enience, he e is a link able o he measu emen uni s ( able name – uni ). In addi ion, he en i y able p o- ides he sou ce om which he cha coal da a we e ob ained, including whe he hese da a a e om a e sion o he GCD o a da a eposi o y o we e p o ided by he o iginal au ho , and an indica ion o when he eco d was las upda ed. A lis o he alid choices o ields ha a e selec ed om a p e- de ined lis (e.g. deposi ional con ex ) is gi en in Table S2. A lis o he cha coal measu emen uni s cu en ly in use in he RPD is gi en in Table S3. h ps://doi.o g/10.5194/essd-14-1109-2022 Ea h Sys . Sci. Da a, 14, 1109–1124, 2022 1114 S. P. Ha ison e al.: The Reading Palaeo i e Da abase Figu e 1. Diag am showing he s uc u e o he da abase, indi idual ables and hei con en s, and he na u e o he ela ionships be ween he componen ables. One- o-many linkages indica e ha i is possible o ha e se e al en ies in one able linked o a single en y in ano he able. The da abase uses bo h p ima y and o eign keys. The p ima y key ensu es ha da a included in a speci ic ield a e unique. The o eign key e e s o he ield in a able which is he p ima y key o ano he able and ensu es ha he e is a link be ween hese ables. 2.1.4 Sample me ada a and da a ( able name – sample) The sample able p o ides in o ma ion on he a e age dep h in he co e o p o ile and he hickness o he sample on which cha coal was measu ed (Table 3). The hickness mea- su emen s ela e o he o al hickness o he cha coal sam- ple and p o ide an indica ion o whe he he sampling was con iguous downco e. The sample able also p o ides in- o ma ion on he sample size and uni s and he quan i y o cha coal p esen . The cha coal measu emen uni s ha e been s anda dised by con e ing uni s exp essed as mul iples (e.g. agmen s ×100) back o he whole numbe s and by con e - ing uni s exp essed in millig ams o kilog ams o g ams. As a esul , he alues in he RPD may appa en ly di e om published alues. 2.1.5 Da ing in o ma ion ( able name – da e_in o) This able p o ides in o ma ion abou he da es a ailable o each en i y ha can be used o cons uc an age model (Ta- ble 4). We include in o ma ion abou he age o he co e op o eco ds ha we e known o be ac i ely accumula ing sed- imen a he ime o collec ion. In addi ion o adiome ic da es, we include in o ma ion abou he p esence o eph as (ei he da ed a he si e o independen ly da ed elsewhe e) and s a ig aphic e en s ha can be used o es ablish co ela- i e ages (e.g. changes in he pollen assemblage ha a e da ed in o he co es om he egion o e idence o known i es in he ca chmen ). Whe e e possible he name o a eph a is gi en o acili a e he use o subsequen and mo e accu a e es ima es o i s age. Simila ly, he basis o co ela i e da es is gi en, again o acili a e he use o upda ed es ima es o he age o he e en . Radioca bon ages a e gi en in adioca bon yea s, bu all o he ages a e gi en in calenda yea s be o e p esen (BP) using 1950 CE as he e e ence ze o da e. E o es ima es a e gi en o adiome ic ages and whe e e possi- ble o calenda ages. We p o ide an indica ion o whe he a speci ic da e was used in he o iginal age model o he en i y and an explana ion o why speci ic da es we e ejec ed, since his can be a guide as o whe he he da es should be inco - po a ed in he cons uc ion o new age models. A lis o he alid choices o ields ha a e selec ed om a p e-de ined lis (e.g. ma e ial da ed) is gi en in Table S2. 2.1.6 Publica ion in o ma ion ( able name – publica ion) This able p o ides ull bibliog aphic ci a ions o he o igi- nal e e ences documen ing he cha coal eco ds and/o hei age models. The e may be mul iple publica ions o a sin- gle cha coal eco d, and all o hese e e ences a e lis ed. Con e sely, he e may be a single publica ion o mul iple Ea h Sys . Sci. Da a, 14, 1109–1124, 2022 h ps://doi.o g/10.5194/essd-14-1109-2022 S. P. Ha ison e al.: The Reading Palaeo i e Da abase 1115 Table 1. De ini ion o he si e able. Field name De ini ion Da a ype Cons ain s/no es ID_SITE Unique iden i ie o each si e Unsigned in ege Posi i e in ege si e_name Si e name as gi en by o iginal au ho s o as de ined by us whe e he e was no unique name gi en o he si e Tex Requi ed la i ude La i ude o he sampling si e, gi en in decimal deg ees, whe e N is posi i e and S is nega i e Double Nume ic alue be ween −90 and 90 longi ude Longi ude o he sampling si e in decimal deg ees, whe e E is posi i e and W is nega i e Double Nume ic alue be ween −180 and 180 ele a ion Ele a ion o he sampling si e in me es abo e (+) o below (−) sea le el Double None si e_ ype In o ma ion abou he ype o si e (e.g. lake, pea land, e es ial) Tex Selec ed om p e-de ined lis wa e _dep h Wa e dep h o he sampling si e in me es Double None low_ ype Indica ion o whe he he e is in low and/o ou low om he sampled si e Tex Selec ed om p e-de ined lis basin_size_km2 Size o sampled si e (e.g. lake o bog) in km2Double None ca ch_size_km2 Size o hyd ological ca chmen in km2Double None basin_size_class Ca ego ical es ima e o basin size Tex Selec ed om p e-de ined lis ca ch_size_class Ca ego ical es ima e o hyd ological ca chmen size Tex Selec ed om p e-de ined lis cha coal eco ds. The e is also a able ( able name – en- i y_link_publica ion) ha links he publica ions o he spe- ci ic en i y. 2.1.7 O iginal age-model in o ma ion ( able name – ch onology) This able p o ides in o ma ion abou he o iginal age model o each eco d and he ages assigned o indi idual samples. The e can be many eco ds ha use he same ype o age model (e.g. linea in e pola ion, spline, eg ession), and o con enience, he e is a able ha links he eco ds o he age- model name ( able name – model_name). 2.1.8 New age-model in o ma ion ( able name – age_model) This able con ains in o ma ion abou he age models ha ha e been cons uc ed o his e sion o he da abase using he In Cal20 calib a ion cu e (Reime e al., 2020) and he Bacon (Blaauw e al., 2021) age-modelling R package (see Sec . 2.3) (Table 5). We p ese e in o ma ion on he mean and median ages, as well as he quan ile anges o each sam- ple. 2.2 Cons uc ion o new age models The o iginal age models o he cha coal eco ds we e made a di e en imes, using di e en adioca bon calib a ion cu es, and using di e en age-modelling me hods. We s an- da dised he age modelling, using bacon (Blaauw and Ch is- en, 2011; Blaauw e al., 2021) o cons uc new Bayesian age–dep h models in he ageR package (Villegas-Diaz e al., 2021). The ageR package p o ides unc ions ha a- cili a e he supe ised c ea ion o mul iple age models o many co es and di e en da a sou ces, including da abases and comma- and ab-sepa a ed iles. The In Cal20 No he n Hemisphe e calib a ion cu e (Reime e al., 2020) and he SHCal20 Sou he n Hemisphe e calib a ion cu e (Hogg e al., 2020) we e used o en i ies be ween he la i udes o 90 and 15◦N and 15 o 90◦S espec i ely. En i ies in equa o ial la i udes (15◦N o 15◦S) used a 50 :50 mixed calib a ion cu e o accoun o no h–sou h ai mass mixing ollowing Hogg e al. (2020), and adioca bon ages om ma ine en- i ies we e calib a ed using he Ma ine20 calib a ion cu e (Hea on e al., 2020). To es ima e he op imum age-modelling scena ios based upon he da e and sample in o ma ion o each en i y, mul- iple bacon age models we e un using di e en p io accu- mula ion a e (acc.mean) and hickness alues. P io accu- mula ion a e alues we e selec ed using an ini ial linea e- g ession o he ages in each en i y, which was hen inc eased h ps://doi.o g/10.5194/essd-14-1109-2022 Ea h Sys . Sci. Da a, 14, 1109–1124, 2022 1116 S. P. Ha ison e al.: The Reading Palaeo i e Da abase Table 2. De ini ion o he en i y able. Field name De ini ion Da a ype Cons ain s/no es ID_ENTITY Unique iden i ie o each en i y Unsigned in ege Posi i e in ege ID_SITE Re e s o unique iden i ie o each si e (as gi en in si e able) Unsigned in ege Au o-nume ic, o eign key o he si e able, a posi i e in ege en i y_name Name o en i y, whe e an en i y may be a sepa a e co e om he si e o a sepa a e ype o measu emen on he same co e Tex Requi ed la i ude La i ude o he en i y, gi en in decimal deg ees, whe e N is posi i e and S is nega i e Double A nume ic alue be ween −90 and 90 longi ude Longi ude o he en i y, gi en in decimal deg ees, whe e E is posi i e and W is nega i e Double A nume ic alue be ween −180 and 180 ele a ion Ele a ion o he sampling si e, in me es abo e (+) o below (−) sea le el Double None deposi ional_con ex Type o sedimen sampled o cha coal Tex Selec ed om p e-de ined lis measu emen _me hod Me hod used o measu e he amoun o cha coal Tex Selec ed om p e-de ined lis TYPE The uni ype o he measu ed cha coal alues (e.g. con- cen a ion, in lux) Tex Selec ed om p e-de ined lis sou ce Sou ce o cha coal da a Tex Selec ed om p e-de ined lis co e_loca ion Loca ion o he en i y wi hin he si e (e.g. cen al co e o ma ginal co e) Tex Selec ed om p e-de ined lis las _upda ed Da e when he en i y o i s linked da a we e las upda ed Da e In o ma YYYY/mm/dd ID_UNIT Unique iden i ie o measu emen uni (as in uni able) Unsigned in ege Au o-nume ic, o eign key o he uni able, a posi i e in ege Table 3. De ini ion o he sample able. Field name De ini ion Da a ype Cons ain s/no es ID_SAMPLE Unique iden i ie o each cha coal sample Unsigned in ege Au o-nume ic, p ima y key, a posi i e in ege ID_ENTITY Unique iden i ie o he en i y (as in en i y able) Unsigned in ege Au o-nume ic, o eign key o he en i y able, a posi i e in ege a g_dep h A e age sampling dep h, in me es Double None sample_ hickness Sample hickness, in me es Double None cha coal_measu emen Quan i y o cha coal measu ed in he sample Double None analy ical_sample_size To al amoun o sedimen sampled Tex 255-cha ac e maximum leng h analy ical_sample_size_uni Uni s used o he sampling Tex 255-cha ac e maximum leng h (dec eased) sequen ially om he de aul alue o up o wo imes mo e (less) han he ini ial alue. As an example, i he ini ial accumula ion a e alue selec ed om he linea e- g ession was 20 y cm−1, age models would also be un using alues o 10, 15, 20, 30, and 40 y cm−1. In cases whe e he egional accumula ion a e was known, he uppe and lowe alues o he accumula ion a e scena ios we e manually con- s ained. The ange o p io hicknesses used in he models was calcula ed by inc easing and dec easing he bacon de- aul hickness alue (5 cm) o up o a alue one-eigh h o he Ea h Sys . Sci. Da a, 14, 1109–1124, 2022 h ps://doi.o g/10.5194/essd-14-1109-2022 S. P. Ha ison e al.: The Reading Palaeo i e Da abase 1117 Table 4. De ini ion o he da e in o able. Field name De ini ion Da a ype Cons ain s/no es ID_DATE_INFO Unique iden i ie o he da e eco d Unsigned in ege Au o-nume ic, p ima y key, a posi i e in ege ID_ENTITY Unique iden i ie o he en i y (as in en i y a- ble) Unsigned in ege Au o-nume ic, o eign key o he en i y able, a posi i e in e- ge ma e ial_da ed Ma e ial om which he da e was ob ained i applicable Tex Selec ed om p e-de ined lis da e_ ype Technique used o ob ain he da e measu emen Tex Selec ed om p e-de ined lis a g_dep h A e age dep h in he sedimen a y sequence whe e he da e was measu ed, in me es Double None hickness Thickness o he sample used o da ing, in me- es Double None lab_numbe Unique iden i ying code assigned by he da ing labo a o y Tex 65 535-cha ac e maximum leng h age_C14 Uncalib a ed adioca bon age Double None age_calib The calenda age o a da e Double None e o Analy ical o measu emen e o o he da e Double None co ela ion_in o Indica ion o basis o co ela i e da ing (e.g. pollen, eph a, o s a ig aphic co ela ions) Tex Selec ed om p e-de ined lis age_used Indica es whe he da e was used by he au- ho (s) in he cons uc ion o he o iginal age model Tex Selec ed om p e-de ined lis eason_age_no _used Indica ion o why a da e was no used in he o iginal age model, blank i da es we e used in o iginal model Tex Selec ed om p e-de ined lis no es Addi ional commen s ega ding a da e eco d Tex 65 535-cha ac e maximum leng h o e all leng h o he co e. Fo a 400 cm co e o example, he hickness scena ios would be 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, and 50 cm. Thus, he numbe o scena ios c ea ed by possible accumula ion a es and hicknesses a ies be ween di e en en i ies. Dep hs o known hia uses epo ed in he o iginal publica ions we e included in he da e_in o able (Sec . 2.1.5) and ha e also been included in he age models un in ageR. In ins ances whe e he sedimen a ion a es we e di e en abo e and below a hia us, sepa a e age models we e un be o e and a e he non-deposi ion pe iod o accoun o hese a ia ions (Blaauw and Ch is en, 2011). A h ee-s ep p ocedu e was used o selec he bes model o each en i y. Fi s , an op imum model was selec ed by ageR, using he lowes quan i ied a ea be ween he p io and pos e io accumula ion a e dis ibu ion cu es (Supplemen Fig. S1). This selec ion was checked manually using com- pa isons be ween he dis ance o he es ima ed ages and he con ols o check he accu acy o he model in e pola ion. Finally, he age model was isually inspec ed o ensu e ha inal in e pola ion accu a ely ep esen ed he da e in o ma- ion and did no show ab up shi s in accumula ion a es o changes a he da ed dep hs. I he ageR model selec ion was deemed o be e oneous o inaccu a e, he nex sui able model wi h he lowes a ea be ween he p io and pos e io cu es, which accu a ely ep esen ed he dis ibu ion o da es in he sequence, was selec ed (Supplemen Fig. S2). 2.3 Quali y con ol Indi idual eco ds in he RPD we e compiled ei he by he o iginal au ho s o om published and open-access ma e- ial by specialis s in he collec ion and in e p e a ion o cha - coal eco ds. Reco ds ha we e ob ained om published and open-access ma e ial we e c oss-checked agains publica- ions o wi h he o iginal au ho s o hose publica ions when- e e possible. Null alues o me ada a ields we e iden i ied h ps://doi.o g/10.5194/essd-14-1109-2022 Ea h Sys . Sci. Da a, 14, 1109–1124, 2022 1124 S. P. 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