A penultimate glacial climate record from southern Hungary

A flowstone from the central European Abaliget Cave (Mecsek Mts, Hungary) provides a record of uninterrupted calcite deposition between ∼160 and ∼124 ka, covering most of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 and part of 5e. δ 18 O values of three lateral drill cores show synchronous high‐frequency (millennial‐scale) variability during MIS 6, interpreted as stadials and interstadials, and a 3.4‰ rise at the MIS 6/5e boundary. The interstadials are mostly symmetrical in shape and show consistently lower δ 18 O values than calcite formed during MIS 5e. The rises (decreases) in δ 18 O are followed by drops (increases) in δ 13 C with a delay of 1–2 ka, implying enhanced (reduced) soil bioproductivity. This period of highly variable climate is bracketed by two broad δ 18 O minima. The first minimum between ∼160 and ∼148 ka coincided with a maximum in ice‐rafted detritus in the eastern North Atlantic. The second one from ∼134 to ∼129 ka occurred during Heinrich 11, before the rapid and large δ 18 O increase at ∼128 ka.