The dynamics of phosphorus (P) in the environment is important for regulating nutrient cycles in natural and managed ecosystems and an integral part in assessing biological resilience against environmental change. Organic P (P_o) compounds play key roles in biological and ecosystems function in the terrestrial environment being critical to cell function, growth and reproduction.

Century-to-millennial scale fluctuations in precipitation and temperature are an established feature of European Holocene climates. Changes in moisture delivery are driven by complex interactions between ocean moisture sources and atmospheric circulation modes, making it difficult to resolve the drivers behind millennial scale variability in European precipitation. Here, we present two overlapping decadal resolution speleothem oxygen isotope (δ¹⁸O) records from a cave on the Atlantic coastline of northern Iberia, covering the period 12.1–0 ka. Speleothem δ¹⁸O reveals nine quasi-cyclical events of relatively wet-to-dry climatic conditions during the Holocene. Dynamic Harmonic Regression modelling indicates that changes in precipitation occurred with a ~1500 year frequency during the late Holocene and at a shorter length during the early Holocene. The timing of these cycles coincides with changes in North Atlantic Ocean conditions, indicating a connectivity between ocean conditions and Holocene moisture delivery. Early Holocene climate is potentially dominated by freshwater outburst events, whilst ~1500 year cycles in the late Holocene are more likely driven by changes internal to the ocean system. This is the first continental record of its type that clearly demonstrates millennial scale connectivity between the pulse of the ocean and precipitation over Europe through the entirety of the Holocene.

Understanding the phosphate oxygen isotope (δ¹⁸O‐PO₄) composition of bedrock phosphate sources is becoming ever more important, especially in areas of soil research which use this isotope signature as a proxy for biological cycling of phosphorus (P). For many of these studies, obtaining a sample of the source bedrock or applied mineral fertiliser for isotope analysis is impossible; meaning there is now a demand for a comprehensive characterisation of global bedrock δ¹⁸O‐PO₄ to support this work. Here we compile δ¹⁸O‐PO₄ data from a wide range of global bedrocks, including 56 new values produced as part of this study and a comprehensive overview of those within the previously existing literature. We present δ¹⁸O‐PO₄ data from the range of major phosphatic lithologies alongside as much metadata for the samples as could be gathered. Much of the data comes from bedrocks of marine sedimentary origin (< 1 Ma = > +22‰, > 540 Ma = ≈ +12‰), but we also present data from bedrocks associated with guano (range: +19.5 to +15‰) and igneous deposits (range: +12 to –0.8‰), both of which have distinct δ¹⁸O‐PO₄ signatures due to their formation mechanisms. We show that where repeat measurements of the same formation have been undertaken, regardless of method or exact sample location, there is an average within formation error of ± 1.25‰. This is important, as is constitutes a reasonable level of uncertainty for phosphorus cycling studies which need to estimate bedrock δ¹⁸O‐PO₄ composition based on the literature. In combination, this data set presents 284 δ¹⁸O‐PO₄ values from 56 countries; a comprehensive starting point for researchers interested in understanding bedrock end member δ¹⁸O‐PO₄.

Rationale: Current studies which use the oxygen isotope composition from diatom silica (δ ¹⁸ O _diatom ) as a palaeoclimate proxy assume that the δ ¹⁸ O _diatom value reflects the isotopic composition of the water in which the diatom formed. However, diatoms dissolve post mortem, preferentially losing less silicified structures in the water column and during/after burial into sediments. The impact of dissolution on δ ¹⁸ O _diatom values and potential misinterpretation of the palaeoclimate record are evaluated. Methods: Diatom frustules covering a range of ages (6 samples from the Miocene to the Holocene), environments and species were exposed to a weak alkaline solution for 48 days at two temperatures (20 °C and 4 °C), mimicking natural dissolution post mucilage removal. Following treatment, dissolution was assessed using scanning electron microscope images and a qualitative diatom dissolution index. The diatoms were subsequently analysed for their δ ¹⁸ O values using step‐wise fluorination and isotope ratio mass spectrometry. Results: Variable levels of diatom dissolution were observed between the six samples; in all cases higher temperatures resulted in more frustule degradation. Dissolution was most evident in younger samples, probably as a result of the more porous nature of the silica. The degree of diatom dissolution does not directly equate to changes in the isotope ratios; the δ ¹⁸ O _diatom value was, however, lower after dissolution, but in only half the samples was this reduction outside the analytical error (2σ analytical error = 0.46‰). Conclusions: We have shown that dissolution can have a small negative impact on δ ¹⁸ O _diatom values, causing reductions of up to 0.59‰ beyond analytical error (0.46‰) at natural environmental temperatures. These findings need to be considered in palaeoenvironmental reconstructions using δ ¹⁸ O _diatom values, especially when interpreting variations in these values of <1‰. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.