Articles | Volume 15, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1153-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1153-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
27 Jun 2019
Research article |
| 27 Jun 2019
| 27 Jun 2019
Late Quaternary climate variability at Mfabeni peatland, eastern South Africa
Charlotte Miller
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of
Bremen, Bremen, Germany
Jemma Finch
School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Trevor Hill
School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Francien Peterse
Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Marc Humphries
Molecular Sciences Institute, School of Chemistry, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Matthias Zabel
MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of
Bremen, Bremen, Germany
Enno Schefuß
MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of
Bremen, Bremen, Germany
Related authors
Annette Hahn, Enno Schefuß, Jeroen Groeneveld, Charlotte Miller, and Matthias Zabel
Clim. Past, 17, 345–360, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-345-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-345-2021, 2021
Vera Dorothee Meyer, Jürgen Pätzold, Gesine Mollenhauer, Isla S. Castañeda, Stefan Schouten, and Enno Schefuß
Clim. Past, 20, 523–546, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-523-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-523-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The climatic factors sustaining vegetation in the Sahara during the African humid period (AHP) are still not fully understood. Using biomarkers in a marine sediment core from the eastern Mediterranean, we infer variations in Mediterranean (winter) and monsoonal (summer) rainfall in the Nile river watershed around the AHP. We find that winter and summer rain enhanced during the AHP, suggesting that Mediterranean moisture supported the monsoon in sustaining the “green Sahara”.
Yord W. Yedema, Timme Donders, Francien Peterse, and Francesca Sangiorgi
J. Micropalaeontol., 42, 257–276, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-42-257-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-42-257-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The pollen and dinoflagellate cyst content of 21 surface sediments from the northern Gulf of Mexico is used to test the applicability of three palynological ratios (heterotroph/autotroph, pollen/dinocyst, and pollen/bisaccate ratio) as proxies for marine productivity and distance to the coast/river. Redundancy analysis confirms the suitability of these three ratios, where the H/A ratio can be used as an indicator of primary production, and the P/B ratio best tracks the distance to the coast.
Allix Jean Baxter, Francien Peterse, Dirk Verschuren, Aihemaiti Maitituerdi, Nicolas Waldmann, and Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2486, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2486, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates the impact of long-term lake system evolution on the climate signal recorded by GDGTs, a popular biomarker in paleoclimate research. It compares downcore changes in GDGTs in the 250,000-year Lake Chala (Kenya/Tanzania) sediment sequence to independent data for lake mixing and water column chemistry. These factors critically influence the GDGT proxies during the earliest depositional phases (before ~180,000 ka), confounding the climate signal.
Frida S. Hoem, Adrián López-Quirós, Suzanna van de Lagemaat, Johan Etourneau, Marie-Alexandrine Sicre, Carlota Escutia, Henk Brinkhuis, Francien Peterse, Francesca Sangiorgi, and Peter K. Bijl
Clim. Past, 19, 1931–1949, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1931-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1931-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We present two new sea surface temperature (SST) records in comparison with available SST records to reconstruct South Atlantic paleoceanographic evolution. Our results show a low SST gradient in the Eocene–early Oligocene due to the persistent gyral circulation. A higher SST gradient in the Middle–Late Miocene infers a stronger circumpolar current. The southern South Atlantic was the coldest region in the Southern Ocean and likely the main deep-water formation location in the Middle Miocene.
Chris D. Fokkema, Tobias Agterhuis, Danielle Gerritsma, Myrthe de Goeij, Xiaoqing Liu, Pauline de Regt, Addison Rice, Laurens Vennema, Claudia Agnini, Peter K. Bijl, Joost Frieling, Matthew Huber, Francien Peterse, and Appy Sluijs
Clim. Past Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2023-70, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2023-70, 2023
Revised manuscript accepted for CP
Short summary
Short summary
Polar amplification (PA) is a key uncertainty in climate projections. The factors that dominantly control PA are difficult to separate. Here we provide an estimate for the non-ice-related PA by reconstructing tropical ocean temperature variability from the ice-free early Eocene, which we compare to deep-ocean-derived high latitude temperature variability across short-lived warming periods. We find a PA factor of 1.7–2.3 on 20-kyr timescales, which matches previous multi-million-year estimates.
Suning Hou, Foteini Lamprou, Frida S. Hoem, Mohammad Rizky Nanda Hadju, Francesca Sangiorgi, Francien Peterse, and Peter K. Bijl
Clim. Past, 19, 787–802, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-787-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-787-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Neogene climate cooling is thought to be accompanied by increased Equator-to-pole temperature gradients, but mid-latitudes are poorly represented. We use biomarkers to reconstruct a 23 Myr continuous sea surface temperature record of the mid-latitude Southern Ocean. We note a profound mid-latitude cooling which narrowed the latitudinal temperature gradient with the northward expansion of subpolar conditions. We surmise that this reflects the strengthening of the ACC and the expansion of sea ice.
Yord W. Yedema, Francesca Sangiorgi, Appy Sluijs, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, and Francien Peterse
Biogeosciences, 20, 663–686, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-663-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-663-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Terrestrial organic matter (TerrOM) is transported to the ocean by rivers, where its burial can potentially form a long-term carbon sink. This burial is dependent on the type and characteristics of the TerrOM. We used bulk sediment properties, biomarkers, and palynology to identify the dispersal patterns of plant-derived, soil–microbial, and marine OM in the northern Gulf of Mexico and show that plant-derived OM is transported further into the coastal zone than soil and marine-produced TerrOM.
Frédérique M. S. A. Kirkels, Hugo J. de Boer, Paulina Concha Hernández, Chris R. T. Martes, Marcel T. J. van der Meer, Sayak Basu, Muhammed O. Usman, and Francien Peterse
Biogeosciences, 19, 4107–4127, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4107-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4107-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The distinct carbon isotopic values of C3 and C4 plants are widely used to reconstruct past hydroclimate, where more C3 plants reflect wetter and C4 plants drier conditions. Here we examine the impact of regional hydroclimatic conditions on plant isotopic values in the Godavari River basin, India. We find that it is crucial to identify regional plant isotopic values and consider drought stress, which introduces a bias in C3 / C4 plant estimates and associated hydroclimate reconstructions.
Frédérique M. S. A. Kirkels, Huub M. Zwart, Muhammed O. Usman, Suning Hou, Camilo Ponton, Liviu Giosan, Timothy I. Eglinton, and Francien Peterse
Biogeosciences, 19, 3979–4010, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3979-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3979-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Soil organic carbon (SOC) that is transferred to the ocean by rivers forms a long-term sink of atmospheric CO2 upon burial on the ocean floor. We here test if certain bacterial membrane lipids can be used to trace SOC through the monsoon-fed Godavari River basin in India. We find that these lipids trace the mobilisation and transport of SOC in the wet season but that these lipids are not transferred far into the sea. This suggests that the burial of SOC on the sea floor is limited here.
Carolien M. H. van der Weijst, Koen J. van der Laan, Francien Peterse, Gert-Jan Reichart, Francesca Sangiorgi, Stefan Schouten, Tjerk J. T. Veenstra, and Appy Sluijs
Clim. Past, 18, 1947–1962, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1947-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1947-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The TEX86 proxy is often used by paleoceanographers to reconstruct past sea-surface temperatures. However, the origin of the TEX86 signal in marine sediments has been debated since the proxy was first proposed. In our paper, we show that TEX86 carries a mixed sea-surface and subsurface temperature signal and should be calibrated accordingly. Using our 15-million-year record, we subsequently show how a TEX86 subsurface temperature record can be used to inform us on past sea-surface temperatures.
Julia Gensel, Marc Steven Humphries, Matthias Zabel, David Sebag, Annette Hahn, and Enno Schefuß
Biogeosciences, 19, 2881–2902, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2881-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2881-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We investigated organic matter (OM) and plant-wax-derived biomarkers in sediments and plants along the Mkhuze River to constrain OM's origin and transport pathways within South Africa's largest freshwater wetland. Presently, it efficiently captures OM, so neither transport from upstream areas nor export from the swamp occurs. Thus, we emphasize that such geomorphological features can alter OM provenance, questioning the assumption of watershed-integrated information in downstream sediments.
Peter K. Bijl, Joost Frieling, Margot J. Cramwinckel, Christine Boschman, Appy Sluijs, and Francien Peterse
Clim. Past, 17, 2393–2425, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2393-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2393-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Here, we use the latest insights for GDGT and dinocyst-based paleotemperature and paleoenvironmental reconstructions in late Cretaceous–early Oligocene sediments from ODP Site 1172 (East Tasman Plateau, Australia). We reconstruct strong river runoff during the Paleocene–early Eocene, a progressive decline thereafter with increased wet/dry seasonality in the northward-drifting hinterland. Our critical review leaves the anomalous warmth of the Eocene SW Pacific Ocean unexplained.
Annette Hahn, Enno Schefuß, Jeroen Groeneveld, Charlotte Miller, and Matthias Zabel
Clim. Past, 17, 345–360, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-345-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-345-2021, 2021
Appy Sluijs, Joost Frieling, Gordon N. Inglis, Klaas G. J. Nierop, Francien Peterse, Francesca Sangiorgi, and Stefan Schouten
Clim. Past, 16, 2381–2400, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-2381-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-2381-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We revisit 15-year-old reconstructions of sea surface temperatures in the Arctic Ocean for the late Paleocene and early Eocene epochs (∼ 57–53 million years ago) based on the distribution of fossil membrane lipids of archaea preserved in Arctic Ocean sediments. We find that improvements in the methods over the past 15 years do not lead to different results. However, data quality is now higher and potential biases better characterized. Results confirm remarkable Arctic warmth during this time.
Loes G. J. van Bree, Francien Peterse, Allix J. Baxter, Wannes De Crop, Sigrid van Grinsven, Laura Villanueva, Dirk Verschuren, and Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté
Biogeosciences, 17, 5443–5463, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5443-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5443-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) are used as a paleothermometer based on their temperature dependence in global soils, but aquatic production complicates their use in lakes. BrGDGTs in the water column of Lake Chala, East Africa, respond to oxygen conditions and mixing. Changes in their signal can be linked to bacterial community composition rather than membrane adaptation to changing conditions. Their integrated signal in the sediment reflects mean air temperature.
Margot J. Cramwinckel, Lineke Woelders, Emiel P. Huurdeman, Francien Peterse, Stephen J. Gallagher, Jörg Pross, Catherine E. Burgess, Gert-Jan Reichart, Appy Sluijs, and Peter K. Bijl
Clim. Past, 16, 1667–1689, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1667-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1667-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Phases of past transient warming can be used as a test bed to study the environmental response to climate change independent of tectonic change. Using fossil plankton and organic molecules, here we reconstruct surface ocean temperature and circulation in and around the Tasman Gateway during a warming phase 40 million years ago termed the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum. We find that plankton assemblages track ocean circulation patterns, with superimposed variability being related to temperature.
Erin L. McClymont, Heather L. Ford, Sze Ling Ho, Julia C. Tindall, Alan M. Haywood, Montserrat Alonso-Garcia, Ian Bailey, Melissa A. Berke, Kate Littler, Molly O. Patterson, Benjamin Petrick, Francien Peterse, A. Christina Ravelo, Bjørg Risebrobakken, Stijn De Schepper, George E. A. Swann, Kaustubh Thirumalai, Jessica E. Tierney, Carolien van der Weijst, Sarah White, Ayako Abe-Ouchi, Michiel L. J. Baatsen, Esther C. Brady, Wing-Le Chan, Deepak Chandan, Ran Feng, Chuncheng Guo, Anna S. von der Heydt, Stephen Hunter, Xiangyi Li, Gerrit Lohmann, Kerim H. Nisancioglu, Bette L. Otto-Bliesner, W. Richard Peltier, Christian Stepanek, and Zhongshi Zhang
Clim. Past, 16, 1599–1615, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1599-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1599-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We examine the sea-surface temperature response to an interval of climate ~ 3.2 million years ago, when CO2 concentrations were similar to today and the near future. Our geological data and climate models show that global mean sea-surface temperatures were 2.3 to 3.2 ºC warmer than pre-industrial climate, that the mid-latitudes and high latitudes warmed more than the tropics, and that the warming was particularly enhanced in the North Atlantic Ocean.
Jingjing Guo, Miriam Glendell, Jeroen Meersmans, Frédérique Kirkels, Jack J. Middelburg, and Francien Peterse
Biogeosciences, 17, 3183–3201, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3183-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3183-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The fluxes of soil organic carbon (OC) transport from land to sea are poorly constrained, mostly due to the lack of a specific tracer for soil OC. Here we evaluate the use of specific molecules derived from soil bacteria as a tracer for soil OC in a small river catchment. We find that the initial soil signal is lost upon entering the aquatic environment. However, the local environmental history of the catchment is reflected by these molecules in the lake sediments that act as their sink.
Emily Dearing Crampton-Flood, Lars J. Noorbergen, Damian Smits, R. Christine Boschman, Timme H. Donders, Dirk K. Munsterman, Johan ten Veen, Francien Peterse, Lucas Lourens, and Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté
Clim. Past, 16, 523–541, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-523-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-523-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The mid-Pliocene warm period (mPWP; 3.3–3.0 million years ago) is thought to be the last geological interval with similar atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations as the present day. Further, the mPWP was 2–3 °C warmer than present, making it a good analogue for estimating the effects of future climate change. Here, we construct a new precise age model for the North Sea during the mPWP, and provide a detailed reconstruction of terrestrial and marine climate using a multi-proxy approach.
Maria-Elena Vorrath, Juliane Müller, Oliver Esper, Gesine Mollenhauer, Christian Haas, Enno Schefuß, and Kirsten Fahl
Biogeosciences, 16, 2961–2981, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2961-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2961-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The study highlights new approaches in the investigation of past sea ice in Antarctica to reconstruct the climate conditions in earth's history and reveal its future development under global warming. We examined the distribution of organic remains from different algae at the Western Antarctic Peninsula and compared it to fossil and satellite records. We evaluated IPSO25 – the sea ice proxy for the Southern Ocean with 25 carbon atoms – as a useful tool for sea ice reconstructions in this region.
Loeka L. Jongejans, Jens Strauss, Josefine Lenz, Francien Peterse, Kai Mangelsdorf, Matthias Fuchs, and Guido Grosse
Biogeosciences, 15, 6033–6048, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-6033-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-6033-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Arctic warming mobilizes belowground organic matter in northern high latitudes. This study focused on the size of organic carbon pools and organic matter quality in ice-rich permafrost on the Baldwin Peninsula, West Alaska. We analyzed biogeochemistry and found that three-quarters of the carbon is stored in degraded permafrost deposits. Nonetheless, using biomarker analyses, we showed that the organic matter in undisturbed yedoma permafrost has a higher potential for decomposition.
Julian D. Hartman, Francesca Sangiorgi, Ariadna Salabarnada, Francien Peterse, Alexander J. P. Houben, Stefan Schouten, Henk Brinkhuis, Carlota Escutia, and Peter K. Bijl
Clim. Past, 14, 1275–1297, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1275-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1275-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We reconstructed sea surface temperatures for the Oligocene and Miocene periods (34–11 Ma) based on archaeal lipids from a site close to the Wilkes Land coast, Antarctica. Our record suggests generally warm to temperate surface waters: on average 17 °C. Based on the lithology, glacial and interglacial temperatures could be distinguished, showing an average 3 °C offset. The long-term temperature trend resembles the benthic δ18O stack, which may have implications for ice volume reconstructions.
Julie Lattaud, Frédérique Kirkels, Francien Peterse, Chantal V. Freymond, Timothy I. Eglinton, Jens Hefter, Gesine Mollenhauer, Sergio Balzano, Laura Villanueva, Marcel T. J. van der Meer, Ellen C. Hopmans, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, and Stefan Schouten
Biogeosciences, 15, 4147–4161, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-4147-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-4147-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Long-chain diols (LCDs) are biomarkers that occur widespread in marine environments and also in lakes and rivers. In this study, we looked at the distribution of LCDs in three river systems (Godavari, Danube, and Rhine) in relation to season, precipitation, and temperature. We found out that the LCDs are likely being produced in calm areas of the river systems and that marine LCDs have a different distribution than riverine LCDs.
Muhammed Ojoshogu Usman, Frédérique Marie Sophie Anne Kirkels, Huub Michel Zwart, Sayak Basu, Camilo Ponton, Thomas Michael Blattmann, Michael Ploetze, Negar Haghipour, Cameron McIntyre, Francien Peterse, Maarten Lupker, Liviu Giosan, and Timothy Ian Eglinton
Biogeosciences, 15, 3357–3375, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-3357-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-3357-2018, 2018
Timme H. Donders, Niels A. G. M. van Helmond, Roel Verreussel, Dirk Munsterman, Johan ten Veen, Robert P. Speijer, Johan W. H. Weijers, Francesca Sangiorgi, Francien Peterse, Gert-Jan Reichart, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, Lucas Lourens, Gesa Kuhlmann, and Henk Brinkhuis
Clim. Past, 14, 397–411, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-397-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-397-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The buildup and melting of ice during the early glaciations in the Northern Hemisphere, around 2.5 million years ago, were far shorter in duration than during the last million years. Based on molecular compounds and microfossils from sediments dating back to the early glaciations we show that the temperature on land and in the sea changed simultaneously and was a major factor in the ice buildup in the Northern Hemisphere. These data provide key insights into the dynamics of early glaciations.
Rony R. Kuechler, Lydie M. Dupont, and Enno Schefuß
Clim. Past, 14, 73–84, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-73-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-73-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Measuring deuterium and stable carbon isotopes of higher plant wax extracted from marine sediments offshore of Mauritania, we recovered a record of hydrology and vegetation change in West Africa for two Pliocene intervals: 5.0–4.6 and 3.6–3.0 Ma. We find that changes in local summer insolation cannot fully explain the variations in the West African monsoon and that latitudinal insolation and temperature gradients are important drivers of tropical monsoon systems.
María Fernanda Sánchez Goñi, Stéphanie Desprat, Anne-Laure Daniau, Frank C. Bassinot, Josué M. Polanco-Martínez, Sandy P. Harrison, Judy R. M. Allen, R. Scott Anderson, Hermann Behling, Raymonde Bonnefille, Francesc Burjachs, José S. Carrión, Rachid Cheddadi, James S. Clark, Nathalie Combourieu-Nebout, Colin. J. Courtney Mustaphi, Georg H. Debusk, Lydie M. Dupont, Jemma M. Finch, William J. Fletcher, Marco Giardini, Catalina González, William D. Gosling, Laurie D. Grigg, Eric C. Grimm, Ryoma Hayashi, Karin Helmens, Linda E. Heusser, Trevor Hill, Geoffrey Hope, Brian Huntley, Yaeko Igarashi, Tomohisa Irino, Bonnie Jacobs, Gonzalo Jiménez-Moreno, Sayuri Kawai, A. Peter Kershaw, Fujio Kumon, Ian T. Lawson, Marie-Pierre Ledru, Anne-Marie Lézine, Ping Mei Liew, Donatella Magri, Robert Marchant, Vasiliki Margari, Francis E. Mayle, G. Merna McKenzie, Patrick Moss, Stefanie Müller, Ulrich C. Müller, Filipa Naughton, Rewi M. Newnham, Tadamichi Oba, Ramón Pérez-Obiol, Roberta Pini, Cesare Ravazzi, Katy H. Roucoux, Stephen M. Rucina, Louis Scott, Hikaru Takahara, Polichronis C. Tzedakis, Dunia H. Urrego, Bas van Geel, B. Guido Valencia, Marcus J. Vandergoes, Annie Vincens, Cathy L. Whitlock, Debra A. Willard, and Masanobu Yamamoto
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 9, 679–695, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-679-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-679-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
The ACER (Abrupt Climate Changes and Environmental Responses) global database includes 93 pollen records from the last glacial period (73–15 ka) plotted against a common chronology; 32 also provide charcoal records. The database allows for the reconstruction of the regional expression, vegetation and fire of past abrupt climate changes that are comparable to those expected in the 21st century. This work is a major contribution to understanding the processes behind rapid climate change.
Annette Hahn, Enno Schefuß, Sergio Andò, Hayley C. Cawthra, Peter Frenzel, Martin Kugel, Stephanie Meschner, Gesine Mollenhauer, and Matthias Zabel
Clim. Past, 13, 649–665, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-649-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-649-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Our study demonstrates that a source to sink analysis in the Gouritz catchment can be used to obtain valuable paleoclimatic information form the year-round rainfall zone. In combination with SST reconstructions these data are a valuable contribution to the discussion of Southern Hemisphere palaeoenvironments and climate variability (in particular atmosphere–ocean circulation and hydroclimate change) in the South African Holocene.
Shuwen Sun, Enno Schefuß, Stefan Mulitza, Cristiano M. Chiessi, André O. Sawakuchi, Matthias Zabel, Paul A. Baker, Jens Hefter, and Gesine Mollenhauer
Biogeosciences, 14, 2495–2512, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-2495-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-2495-2017, 2017
C. Häggi, C. M. Chiessi, and E. Schefuß
Biogeosciences, 12, 7239–7249, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-7239-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-7239-2015, 2015
F. Peterse, C. M. Moy, and T. I. Eglinton
Biogeosciences, 12, 933–943, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-933-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-933-2015, 2015
A. Govin, C. M. Chiessi, M. Zabel, A. O. Sawakuchi, D. Heslop, T. Hörner, Y. Zhang, and S. Mulitza
Clim. Past, 10, 843–862, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-843-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-843-2014, 2014
J. A. Collins, A. Govin, S. Mulitza, D. Heslop, M. Zabel, J. Hartmann, U. Röhl, and G. Wefer
Clim. Past, 9, 1181–1191, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1181-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1181-2013, 2013
P. Pop Ristova, F. Wenzhöfer, A. Ramette, M. Zabel, D. Fischer, S. Kasten, and A. Boetius
Biogeosciences, 9, 5031–5048, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-5031-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-5031-2012, 2012
Related subject area
Subject: Vegetation Dynamics | Archive: Terrestrial Archives | Timescale: Pleistocene
Spring onset and seasonality patterns during the Late Glacial period in the eastern Baltic region
Pollen-based quantitative land-cover reconstruction for northern Asia covering the last 40 ka cal BP
The last glacial termination on the eastern flank of the central Patagonian Andes (47 ° S)
Paleoclimate in continental northwestern Europe during the Eemian and early Weichselian (125–97 ka): insights from a Belgian speleothem
Terrestrial biosphere changes over the last 120 kyr
Vegetation responses to interglacial warming in the Arctic: examples from Lake El'gygytgyn, Far East Russian Arctic
Hominin responses to environmental changes during the Middle Pleistocene in central and southern Italy
High-latitude environmental change during MIS 9 and 11: biogeochemical evidence from Lake El'gygytgyn, Far East Russia
Masked millennial-scale climate variations in South West Africa during the last glaciation
Leeli Amon, Friederike Wagner-Cremer, Jüri Vassiljev, and Siim Veski
Clim. Past, 18, 2143–2153, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-2143-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-2143-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The spring onset and growing season dynamics during the Late Glacial period in the Baltic region were reconstructed using the micro-phenology based on dwarf birch subfossil leaf cuticles. The comparison of pollen- and chironomid-inferred past temperature estimations with spring onset, growth degree day, and plant macrofossil data shows coherent patterns during the cooler Older Dryas and warmer Bølling–Allerød periods but more complicated climate dynamics during the Younger Dryas cold reversal.
Xianyong Cao, Fang Tian, Furong Li, Marie-José Gaillard, Natalia Rudaya, Qinghai Xu, and Ulrike Herzschuh
Clim. Past, 15, 1503–1536, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1503-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1503-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The high-quality pollen records (collected from lakes and peat bogs) of the last 40 ka cal BP form north Asia are homogenized and the plant abundance signals are calibrated by the modern relative pollen productivity estimates. Calibrated plant abundances for each site are generally consistent with in situ modern vegetation, and vegetation changes within the regions are characterized by minor changes in the abundance of major taxa rather than by invasions of new taxa during the last 40 ka cal BP.
William I. Henríquez, Rodrigo Villa-Martínez, Isabel Vilanova, Ricardo De Pol-Holz, and Patricio I. Moreno
Clim. Past, 13, 879–895, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-879-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-879-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Results from Lago Edita, central-western Patagonia (47° S), allow examination of the timing and direction of paleoclimate signals during the last glacial termination (T1) in southern midlatitudes. Cold and wet conditions prevailed during T1, terminated by warm pulses at 13 000 and 11 000 yr BP. Delayed warming, relative to sites along the Pacific coast, raises the possibility that residual ice masses in the Andes induced regional cooling along downwind sectors of central Patagonia during T1.
Stef Vansteenberge, Sophie Verheyden, Hai Cheng, R. Lawrence Edwards, Eddy Keppens, and Philippe Claeys
Clim. Past, 12, 1445–1458, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1445-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1445-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
The use of stalagmites for last interglacial continental climate reconstructions in Europe has been successful in the past; however to expand the geographical coverage, additional data from Belgium is presented. It has been shown that stalagmite growth, morphology and stable isotope content reflect regional and local climate conditions, with Eemian optimum climate occurring between 125.3 and 117.3 ka. The start the Weichselian is expressed by a stop of growth caused by a drying climate.
B. A. A. Hoogakker, R. S. Smith, J. S. Singarayer, R. Marchant, I. C. Prentice, J. R. M. Allen, R. S. Anderson, S. A. Bhagwat, H. Behling, O. Borisova, M. Bush, A. Correa-Metrio, A. de Vernal, J. M. Finch, B. Fréchette, S. Lozano-Garcia, W. D. Gosling, W. Granoszewski, E. C. Grimm, E. Grüger, J. Hanselman, S. P. Harrison, T. R. Hill, B. Huntley, G. Jiménez-Moreno, P. Kershaw, M.-P. Ledru, D. Magri, M. McKenzie, U. Müller, T. Nakagawa, E. Novenko, D. Penny, L. Sadori, L. Scott, J. Stevenson, P. J. Valdes, M. Vandergoes, A. Velichko, C. Whitlock, and C. Tzedakis
Clim. Past, 12, 51–73, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-51-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-51-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper we use two climate models to test how Earth’s vegetation responded to changes in climate over the last 120 000 years, looking at warm interglacial climates like today, cold ice-age glacial climates, and intermediate climates. The models agree well with observations from pollen, showing smaller forested areas and larger desert areas during cold periods. Forests store most terrestrial carbon; the terrestrial carbon lost during cold climates was most likely relocated to the oceans.
A. V. Lozhkin and P. M. Anderson
Clim. Past, 9, 1211–1219, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1211-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1211-2013, 2013
R. Orain, V. Lebreton, E. Russo Ermolli, A.-M. Sémah, S. Nomade, Q. Shao, J.-J. Bahain, U. Thun Hohenstein, and C. Peretto
Clim. Past, 9, 687–697, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-687-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-687-2013, 2013
R. M. D'Anjou, J. H. Wei, I. S. Castañeda, J. Brigham-Grette, S. T. Petsch, and D. B. Finkelstein
Clim. Past, 9, 567–581, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-567-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-567-2013, 2013
I. Hessler, L. Dupont, D. Handiani, A. Paul, U. Merkel, and G. Wefer
Clim. Past, 8, 841–853, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-841-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-841-2012, 2012
Cited articles
Aichner, B., Herzschuh, U., and Wilkes, H.: Influence of aquatic macrophytes on
the stable carbon isotopic signatures of sedimentary organic matter in lakes
on the Tibetan Plateau, Org. Geochem., 41, 706–718, 2010.
Archer, E. R. M., Landman, W. A., Tadross, M. A., Malherbe, J., Weepener, H.,
Maluleke, P., and Marumbwa, F. M.: Understanding the evolution of the 2014–2016
summer rainfall seasons in southern Africa: Key lessons, Climate Risk
Management, 16, 22–28, 2017.
Baker, A., Routh, J., Blaauw, M., and Roychoudhury, A. N.: Geochemical records of
palaeoenvironmental controls on peat forming processes in the Mfabeni
peatland, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa since the Late Pleistocene,
Palaeogeogr. Palaeocl., 395, 95–106, 2014.
Baker, A., Routh, J., and Roychoudhury, A. N.: Biomarker records of
palaeoenvironmental variations in subtropical Southern Africa since the late
Pleistocene: Evidences from a coastal peatland, Pleistocene, Palaeogeogr.
Palaeocl., 451, 1–12, 2016.
Baker, A., Pedentchouk, N., Routh, J., and Roychoudhury, A. N.: 2017. Climatic
variability in Mfabeni peatlands (South Africa) since the late Pleistocene,
Quaternary Sci. Rev., 160, 57–66, 2017.
Barker, P. A., Leng, M. J., Gasse, F., and Huang, Y.: Century-to-millennial scale
climatic variability in Lake Malawi revealed by isotope records, Earth
Planet. Sc. Lett., 261, 93–103, 2007.
Baxter, A.: Late Quaternary Palaeoenvironments of the Sandveld, Western Cape
Province, South Africa, PhD, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South
Africa, 1996.
Baxter, A. J.: Pollen analysis of a Table Mountain cave deposit, University
of Cape Town, Cape Town, 1989.
Beerling, D. J. and Osborne, C. P.: The origin of the savanna biome, Glob.
Change Biol., 12, 2023–2031, 2006.
Bianchi, C. and Gersonde, R.: Climate evolution at the last deglaciation: the
role of the Southern Ocean, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 228, 407–424, 2004.
Blaauw, M. and Christen, J. A.: Flexible paleoclimate age-depth models using an
autoregressive gamma process, Bayesian Anal., 6, 457–474, 2011.
Black, C. C., Chen, T. M., and Brown, R. H.: Biochemical Basis for Plant
Competition, Weed Sci., 17, 338–344, 1969.
Braconnot, P., Otto-Bliesner, B., Harrison, S., Joussaume, S., Peterchmitt, J.-Y., Abe-Ouchi, A., Crucifix, M., Driesschaert, E., Fichefet, Th., Hewitt, C. D., Kageyama, M., Kitoh, A., Laîné, A., Loutre, M.-F., Marti, O., Merkel, U., Ramstein, G., Valdes, P., Weber, S. L., Yu, Y., and Zhao, Y.: Results of PMIP2 coupled simulations of the Mid-Holocene and Last Glacial Maximum – Part 1: experiments and large-scale features, Clim. Past, 3, 261–277, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-3-261-2007, 2007.
Bray, E. E. and Evans, E. D.: Distribution of n-paraffins as a clue to
recognition of source beds, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 22, 2–15, 1961.
Cappa, C. D., Hendricks, M. B., DePaolo, D. J., and Cohen, R. C.: Isotopic
fractionation of water during evaporation, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 108, 4525, https://doi.org/10.1029/2003JD003597, 2003.
Carr, A. S., Boom, A., Chase, B. M., Meadows, M. E., and Grimes, H. L.: Holocene sea
level and environmental change on the west coast of South Africa: evidence
from plant biomarkers, stable isotopes and pollen, J. Paleolimnol., 53,
415–432, 2015.
Chase, B. M. and Meadows, M. E.: Late Quaternary dynamics of southern Africa's
winter rainfall zone, Earth-Sci. Rev., 84, 103–138, 2007.
Chase, B. M., Chevalier, M., Boom, A., and Carr, A. S.: The dynamic relationship
between temperate and tropical circulation systems across South Africa since
the last glacial maximum, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 174, 54–62, 2017.
Chevalier, M. and Chase, B. M.: Southeast African records reveal a coherent
shift from high- to low-latitude forcing mechanisms along the east African
margin across last glacial–interglacial transition, Quaternary Sci. Rev.,
125, 117–130, 2015.
Chevalier, M. and Chase, B. M.: Determining the drivers of long-term aridity
variability: a southern African case study, J. Quaternary Sci., 31, 143–151,
2016.
Chevalier, M., Brewer, S., and Chase, B. M.: Qualitative assessment of PMIP3
rainfall simulations across the eastern African monsoon domains during the
mid-Holocene and the Last Glacial Maximum, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 156,
107–120, 2017.
Clark, P. U., Dyke, A. S., Shakun, J. D., Carlson, A. E., Clark, J., Wohlfarth,
B., Mitrovica, J. X., Hostetler, S. W., and McCabe, A. M.: The Last Glacial
Maximum, Sci. J., 325, 710–714, 2009.
Cockcroft, M. J., Wilkinson, M. J., and Tyson, P. D.: The application of a
present-day climatic model to the late quaternary in southern Africa, Climatic
Change, 10, 161–181, 1987.
Cohen, A. L. and Tyson, P. D.: Sea-surface temperature fluctuations during
the Holocene off the south coast of Africa: implications for terrestrial
climate and rainfall, Holocene, 5, 304–312, 1995.
Collins, J. A., Schefuß, E., Mulitza, S., Prange, M., Werner, M.,
Tharammal, T., Paul, A., and Wefer, G.: Estimating the hydrogen isotopic
composition of past precipitation using leaf-waxes from western Africa,
Quaternary Sci. Rev., 65, 88–101, 2013.
Collister, J. W., Rieley, G., Stern, B., Eglinton, G., and Fry, B.:
Compound-specific δ13C analyses of leaf lipids from plants with
differing carbon dioxide metabolisms, Org. Geochem., 21, 619–627, 1994.
Cook, K. H.: The South Indian Convergence Zone and Interannual Rainfall
Variability over Southern Africa, J. Climate, 13, 3789–3804, 2000.
Cook, K. H.: A Southern Hemisphere Wave Response to ENSO with Implications
for Southern Africa Precipitation, J. Atmos. Sci., 58,
2146–2162, 2001.
Craig, H.: Isotopic Variations in Meteoric Waters, Sci. J., 133, 1702–1703,
1961.
Dansgaard, W.: Stable isotopes in precipitation, Tellus, 16, 436–468, 1964.
Dedekind, Z., Engelbrecht, F. A., and van der Merwe, J.: Model simulations
of rainfall over southern Africa and its eastern escarpment, Water SA, 42,
129–143, 2016.
Diefendorf, A. F. and Freimuth, E. J.: Extracting the most from terrestrial
plant-derived n-alkyl lipids and their carbon isotopes from the sedimentary
record: A review, Org. Geochem., 103, 1–21, 2017.
DiNezio, P. N., Tierney, J. E., Otto-Bliesner, B. L., Timmermann, A.,
Bhattacharya, T., Rosenbloom, N., and Brady, E.: Glacial changes in tropical
climate amplified by the Indian Ocean, Sci. Adv., 4, 1–11, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aat9658, 2018.
Downes, R. W.: Differences in transpiration rates between tropical and
temperate grasses under controlled conditions, Planta, 88, 261–273, 1969.
Dupont, L.: Orbital scale vegetation change in Africa, Quaternary Sci. Rev.,
30, 3589–3602, 2011.
Dupont, L. M., Caley, T., Kim, J.-H., Castañeda, I., Malaizé, B., and Giraudeau, J.: Glacial-interglacial vegetation dynamics in South Eastern Africa coupled to sea surface temperature variations in the Western Indian Ocean, Clim. Past, 7, 1209–1224, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-7-1209-2011, 2011.
Dyson, L. L. and Van Heerden, J.: A model for the identification of tropical
weather systems over South Africa, Water SA, 28, 249–258, 2002.
Eglinton, G. and Hamilton, R. J.: Leaf Epicuticular Waxes, Sci. J., 156,
1322–1335, 1967.
Ficken, K. J., Li, B., Swain, D. L., and Eglinton, G.: An n-alkane proxy for the
sedimentary input of submerged/floating freshwater aquatic macrophytes, Org.
Geochem., 31, 745–749, 2000.
Ficken, K. J., Wooller, M. J., Swain, D. L., Street-Perrott, F. A., and
Eglinton, G.: Reconstruction of a subalpine grass-dominated ecosystem, Lake
Rutundu, Mount Kenya: a novel multi-proxy approach, Palaeogeogr.
Palaeocl., 177, 137–149, 2002.
Finch, J. M. and Hill, T. R.: A late Quaternary pollen sequence from Mfabeni
Peatland, South Africa: Reconstructing forest history in Maputaland,
Quaternary Res., 70, 442–450, 2008.
Fischer, H., Fundel, F., Ruth, U., Twarloh, B., Wegner, A., Udisti, R.,
Becagli, S., Castellano, E., Morganti, A., Severi, M., Wolff, E., Littot,
G., Röthlisberger, R., Mulvaney, R., Hutterli, M. A., Kaufmann, P.,
Federer, U., Lambert, F., Bigler, M., Hansson, M., Jonsell, U., de Angelis,
M., Boutron, C., Siggaard-Andersen, M.-L., Steffensen, J. P., Barbante, C.,
Gaspari, V., Gabrielli, P., and Wagenbach, D.: Reconstruction of millennial
changes in dust emission, transport and regional sea ice coverage using the
deep EPICA ice cores from the Atlantic and Indian Ocean sector of
Antarctica, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 260, 340–354, 2007.
Gasse, F., Chalié, F., Vincens, A., Williams, M. A. J., and Williamson,
D.: Climatic patterns in equatorial and southern Africa from 30,000 to
10,000 years ago reconstructed from terrestrial and near-shore proxy data,
Quaternary Sci. Rev., 27, 2316–2340, 2008.
Gat, J. R., Mook, W. G., and Meijer, H. A.: Environmental isotopes in the
hydrological cycle, Water Resources Programme, 2001.
Gimeno, L., Drumond, A., Nieto, R., Trigo, R. M., and Stohl, A.: On the
origin of continental precipitation, Geophys. Res. Lett., 37, L13804, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010GL043712, 2010.
Grab, S. W. and Simpson, A. J.: Climatic and environmental impacts of cold
fronts over KwaZulu-Natal and the adjacent interior of southern Africa South
Afr. J. Sci., 96, 602–608, 2000.
Grundling, P., Grootjans, A. P., Price, J. S., and Ellery, W. N.: Development and
persistence of an African mire: How the oldest South African fen has
survived in a marginal climate, Catena, 110, 176–183, 2013.
Grundling, P., Clulow, A. D., Price, J. S., and Everson, C. S.: Quantifying the
water balance of Mfabeni Mire (iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa) to
understand its importance, functioning and vulnerability, Mires Peat, 16,
1–18, 2015.
Hart, N. C. G., Washington, R., and Reason, C. J. C.: On the Likelihood of
Tropical–Extratropical Cloud Bands in the South Indian Convergence Zone
during ENSO Events, J. Climate, 31, 2797–2817, 2018.
Helliker, B. R. and Ehleringer, J. R.: Establishing a grassland signature in
veins: 18O in the leaf water of C3 and C4 grasses, P.
Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 97, 7894–7898, 2000.
Hogg, A. G., Hua, Q., Blackwell, P. G., Niu, M., Buck, C. E., Guilderson, T. P.,
Heaton, T. J., Palmer, J. G., Reimer, P. J., Reimer, R. W., Turney, C. S. M.,
and Zimmerman, S. R. H.: SHCal13 Southern Hemisphere Calibration, 0–50,000 Years
cal BP, Radiocarbon, 55, 1889–1903, 2016.
Holmgren, K., Lee-Thorp, J. A., Cooper, G. R. J., Lundblad, K., Partridge,
T. C., Scott, L., Sithaldeen, R., Siep Talma, A., and Tyson, P. D.:
Persistent millennial-scale climatic variability over the past 25,000 years
in Southern Africa, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 22, 2311–2326, 2003.
Hua, Q., Barbetti, M., and Rakowski, A. Z.: Atmospheric Radiocarbon for the
Period 1950–2010, Radiocarbon, 55, 2059–2072, 2016.
Hudson, D. A. and Hewitson, B. C.: The atmospheric response to a reduction in
summer Antarctic sea-ice extent, Clim. Res., 16, 79–99, 2001.
Huffman, T. N.: Intensive El Niño and the Iron Age of South-eastern
Africa, J. Archaeol. Sci., 37, 2572–2586, 2010.
Humphries, M. S., Green, A. N., and Finch, J. M.: Evidence of El Niño driven
desiccation cycles in a shallow estuarine lake: The evolution and fate of
Africa's largest estuarine system, Lake St Lucia, Global Planet. Change,
147, 97–105, 2016.
Humphries, M. S., Benitez-Nelson, C. R., Bizimis, M., and Finch, J. M.: An aeolian
sediment reconstruction of regional wind intensity and links to larger scale
climate variability since the last deglaciation from the east coast of
southern Africa, Global Planet. Change, 156, 59–67, 2017.
IPCC: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of
Working Group I of the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, 2013.
Kahmen, A., Schefuß, E., and Sachse, D.: Leaf water deuterium enrichment
shapes leaf wax n-alkane δD values of angiosperm plants I:
Experimental evidence and mechanistic insights, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac.,
111, 39–49, 2013.
Lamy, F., Hebbeln, D., Röhl, U., and Wefer, G.: Holocene rainfall
variability in southern Chile: a marine record of latitudinal shifts of the
Southern Westerlies, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 185, 369–382, 2001.
Lamy, F., Kilian, R., Arz, H. W., Francois, J.-P., Kaiser, J., Prange, M., and
Steinke, T.: Holocene changes in the position and intensity of the southern
westerly wind belt, Nat. Geosci., 3, 695–699, 2010.
Laskar, J., Fienga, A., Gastineau, M., and Manche, H.: La2010: a new orbital
solution for the long-term motion, Astron. Astrophys., 532, 1–15, https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201116836, 2011.
Lindesay, J. A.: South African rainfall, the Southern Oscillation and a
Southern Hemisphere semi-annual cycle, J. Climatol., 8, 17–30, 1988.
Macron, C., Pohl, B., Richard, Y., and Bessafi, M.: How do Tropical
Temperate Troughs Form and Develop over Southern Africa?, J.
Climate, 27, 1633–1647, 2014.
Mason, S. J. and Jury, M. R.: Climatic variability and change over southern
Africa: a reflection on underlying processes, Prog. Phys. Geogr., 21, 23–50,
1997.
Meadows, M. E. and Baxter, A. J.: Holocene vegetation history and
palaeoenvironments at Klaarfontein Springs, Western Cape, South Africa,
Holocene, 11, 699–706, 2001.
Meadows, M. E. and Sugden, J. M.: The late quaternary palaeoecology of a
floristic kingdom: the southwestern Cape South Africa, Palaeogeogr.
Palaeocl., 101, 271–281, 1993.
Monteith, J. L.: Reassessment of Maximum Growth Rates for C3 and C4 Crops,
Exp. Agr., 14, 1–5, 1978.
Moy, C. M., Seltzer, G. O., Rodbell, D. T., and Anderson, D. M.: Variability of El
Nino/Southern Oscillation activity at millenial timescales during the
Holocene epoch, Nature, 420, 162–165, 2002.
Munday, C. and Washington, R.: Circulation controls on southern African
precipitation in coupled models: The role of the Angola Low, J.
Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 122, 861–877, 2017.
Neumann, F. H., Scott, L., Bousman, C. B., and van As, L.: A Holocene sequence of
vegetation change at Lake Eteza, coastal KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Rev.
Palaeobot. Palyno., 162, 39–53, 2010.
Nicholson, S. E.: The intensity, location and structure of the tropical
rainbelt over west Africa as factors in interannual variability,
Int. J. Climatol., 28, 1775–1785, 2008.
Nicholson, S. E. and Flohn, H.: African environmental and climatic changes and
the general atmospheric circulation in late pleistocene and holocene,
Climatic Change, 2, 313–348, 1980.
Nkoana, R., Engelbrecht, F. A., and Marean, C. W.: Last Glacial Maximum
simulations over southern Africa using a variable-resolution global model:
synoptic-scale verification, 31st Conference of the South African Society
for Atmospheric Science, Hennops River Valley, South Africa, 2015.
Osborne, C. P. and Sack, L.: Evolution of C4 plants: a new hypothesis for an
interaction of CO2 and water relations mediated by plant hydraulics,
Philos. T. R. Soc. B, 367,
583–600, 2012
Otto-Bliesner, B. L., Brady, E. C., Clauzet, G., Tomas, R., Levis, S., and
Kothavala, Z.: Last Glacial Maximum and Holocene Climate in CCSM3, J. Climate,
19, 2526–2544, 2006.
Otto-Bliesner, B. L., Russell, J. M., Clark, P. U., Liu, Z., Overpeck, J.
T., Konecky, B., deMenocal, P., Nicholson, S. E., He, F., and Lu, Z.:
Coherent changes of southeastern equatorial and northern African rainfall
during the last deglaciation, Science, 346, 1223–1227, 2014.
Partridge, T. C., Demenocal, P. B., Lorentz, S. A., Paiker, M. J., Vogel, J. C.:
Orbital forcing of climate over South Africa: A 200,000-year rainfall record
from the pretoria saltpan, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 16, 1125–1133, 1997.
Pinto, H., Sharwood, R. E., Tissue, D. T., and Ghannoum, O.: Photosynthesis
of C3, C3–C4, and C4 grasses at glacial CO2, J. Exp. Bot.,
65, 3669–3681, 2014.
Rácz, Z. and Smith, R. K.: The dynamics of heat lows, Q. J.
Roy. Meteor. Soc., 125, 225–252, 1999.
Reason, C. J. C. and Mulenga, H.: Relationships between South African rainfall
and SST anomalies in the Southwest Indian Ocean, Int. J. Climatol., 19,
1651–1673, 1999.
Risi, C., Bony, S., and Vimeux, F.: Influence of convective processes on the
isotopic composition (δ18O and δD) of precipitation and
water vapor in the tropics: 2. Physical interpretation of the amount effect,
J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 113, D19306, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JD009943, 2008.
Rodbell, D. T., Seltzer, G. O., Anderson, D. M., Abbott, M. B., Enfield, D. B., and
Newman, J. H.: A ∼ 15,000-Year Record of El Niño-Driven
Alluviation in Southwestern Ecuador, Sci. J., 283, 516–520, 1999.
Rojas, M., Moreno, P., Kageyama, M., Crucifix, M., Hewitt, C., Abe-Ouchi,
A., Ohgaito, R., Brady, E. C., and Hope, P.: The Southern Westerlies during the
last glacial maximum in PMIP2 simulations, Clim. Dynam., 32, 525–548, 2009.
Sachse, D., Billault, I., Bowen, G. J., Chikaraishi, Y., Dawson, T. E.,
Feakins, S. J., Freeman, K. H., Magill, C. R., McInerney, F. A., van der Meer,
M. T. J., Polissar, P., Robins, R. J., Sachs, J. P., Schmidt, H.-L., Sessions,
A. L., White, J. W. C., West, J. B., and Kahmen, A.: Molecular Paleohydrology:
Interpreting the Hydrogen-Isotopic Composition of Lipid Biomarkers from
Photosynthesizing Organisms, Annu. Rev. Earth Pl. Sc., 40, 221–249, 2012.
Sage, R. F.: The evolution of C4 photosynthesis, New Phytol., 161,
341–370, 2004.
Sage, R. F., Wedin, D. A., and Li, M.: The Biogeography of C4
Photosynthesis: Patterns and Controlling Factors, in: C4 Plant Biology, edited by:
Sage, R. F. and Monson, R. K., Academic Press, San Diego, 1999.
Sandweiss, D. H., Richardson, J. B., Reitz, E. J., Rollins, H. B., and Maasch, K. A.:
Geoarchaeological Evidence from Peru for a 5000 Years B.P, Onset of El
Niño, Sci. J., 273, 1531–1533, 1996.
Schefuß, E., Schouten, S., and Schneider, R. R.: Climatic controls on central
African hydrology during the past 20,000 years, Nature, 437, 1003–1006,
2005.
Schefuß, E., Kuhlmann, H., Mollenhauer, G., Prange, M., and Pätzold, J.:
Forcing of wet phases in southeast Africa over the past 17,000 years,
Nature, 480, 509, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10685, 2011.
Schmidt, F., Oberhänsli, H., and Wilkes, H.: Biocoenosis response to
hydrological variability in Southern Africa during the last 84 ka BP: A study
of lipid biomarkers and compound-specific stable carbon and hydrogen
isotopes from the hypersaline Lake Tswaing, Global Planet. Change, 112,
92–104, 2014.
Scott, L.: Palynology of late Pleistocene hyrax middens, southwestern Cape
Province, South Africa: A preliminary report, Hist. Biol., 9, 71–81,
1994.
Scott, L.: Vegetation history and climate in the Savanna biome South Africa
since 190,000 ka: a comparison of pollen data from the Tswaing Crater (the
Pretoria Saltpan) and Wonderkrater, Quaternary Int., 57–58, 215–223, 1999.
Scott, L.: Fluctuations of vegetation and climate over the last 75 000 years
in the Savanna Biome, South Africa: Tswaing Crater and Wonderkrater pollen
sequences reviewed, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 145, 117–133, 2016.
Scott, L., Holmgren, K., Talma, A. S., Woodborne, S., and Vogel, J. C.: Age
interpretation of the Wonderkrater spring sediments and vegetation change in
the Savanna Biome, Limpopo province, South Africa: research letter, S. Afr.
J. Sci., 99, 484–488, 2003.
Scott, L., Neumann, F. H., Brook, G. A., Bousman, C. B., Norström, E., and
Metwally, A. A.: Terrestrial fossil-pollen evidence of climate change during
the last 26 thousand years in Southern Africa, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 32,
100–118, 2012.
Simon, M. H., Ziegler, M., Bosmans, J., Barker, S., Reason, C. J. C., and Hall,
I. R.: Eastern South African hydroclimate over the past 270,000 years,
Nature, 5, 18153, https://doi.org/10.1038/srep18153, 2015.
Sonzogni, C., Bard, E., and Rostek, F.: Tropical sea-surface temperatures
during the Last Glacial Period: A view based on alkenones in Indian Ocean
sediments, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 17, 1185–1201, 1998.
Sprenger, M., Tetzlaff, D., and Soulsby, C.: Soil water stable isotopes reveal evaporation dynamics at the soil–plant–atmosphere interface of the critical zone, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3839–3858, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3839-2017, 2017.
Stock, W. D., Chuba, D. K., and Verboom, G. A.: Distribution of South African
C3 and C4 species of Cyperaceae in relation to climate and
phylogeny, Austral Ecol., 29, 313–319, 2004.
Stone, A. E. C.: Last Glacial Maximum conditions in southern Africa, Prog.
Phys. Geog., 38, 519–542, 2014.
Stuut, J.-B. W. and Lamy, F.: Climate variability at the southern boundaries of
the Namib (southwestern Africa) and Atacama (northern Chile) coastal deserts
during the last 120,000 yr, Quaternary Res., 62, 301–309, 2004.
Stuut, J.-B. W., Crosta, X., van der Borg, K., and Schneider, R.:
Relationship between Antarctic sea ice and southwest African climate during
the late Quaternary, Geology, 32, 909–912, 2004.
Taylor, R., Kelbe, B., Haldorsen, S., Botha, G. A., Wejden, B., Været,
L., and Simonsen, M. B.: Groundwater-dependent ecology of the shoreline of the
subtropical Lake St Lucia estuary, Environ. Geol., 49, 586–600, 2006.
Tierney, J. E., Russell, J. M., Huang, Y., Sinninghe Damste, J. S., Hopmans,
E. C., and Cohen, A. S.: Northern hemisphere controls on tropical southeast
African climate during the past 60,000 years, Sci. J., 322, 252–255, 2008.
Tipple, B. J., Meyers, S. R., and Pagani, M.: Carbon isotope ratio of Cenozoic
CO2: A comparative evaluation of available geochemical proxies,
Paleoceanography, 25, 1–11, 2010.
Todd, M. and Washington, R.: Circulation anomalies associated with
tropical-temperate troughs in southern Africa and the south west Indian
Ocean, Clim. Dynam., 15, 937–951, 1999.
Toggweiler, J. R., Russell, J. L., and Carson, S. R.: Midlatitude westerlies,
atmospheric CO2, and climate change during the ice ages, Paleoceanography,
21, 1–15, 2006.
Tyson, P. D.: Climatic Change and Variability in Southern Africa, Oxford
University Press, Cape Town, 1986.
Tyson, P. D.: Atmospheric circulation changes and palaeoclimates of southern
Africa, S. Afr. J. Sci., 95, 194–201, 1999.
Tyson, P. D. and Preston-Whyte, R. A.: The Weather and Climate of Southern
Africa, Oxford University Press, Southern Africa, Cape Town, 2000.
van Zinderen Bakker, E. M.: The evolution of Late Quaternary palaeoclimates
of southern Africa, Palaeoeco. A., 9, 160–202, 1976.
Venter, C. E.: The Vegetation Ecology of Mfabeni Peat Swamp, St Lucia,
KwaZulu-Natal, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 2003.
Vigaud, N., Richard, Y., Rouault, M., and Fauchereau, N.: Moisture transport
between the South Atlantic Ocean and southern Africa: relationships with
summer rainfall and associated dynamics, Clim. Dynam., 32, 113–123,
2009.
Vogel, J. C., Fuls, A., and Ellis, R. P.: The geographical distribution of kranz
grasses in south africa, S. Afr. J. Sci., 74, 209–215, 1978.
Vogts, A., Badewien, T., Rullkötter, J., and Schefuß, E.: Near-constant
apparent hydrogen isotope fractionation between leaf wax n-alkanes and
precipitation in tropical regions: Evidence from a marine sediment transect
off SW Africa, Org. Geochem., 96, 18–27, 2016.
Waelbroeck, C., Labeyrie, L., Michel, E., Duplessy, J. C., McManus, J. F.,
Lambeck, K., Balbon, E., and Labracherie, M.: Sea-level and deep water
temperature changes derived from benthic foraminifera isotopic records,
Quaternary Sci. Rev., 21, 295–305, 2002.
Walker, N. D.: Links between South African summer rainfall and temperature
variability of the Agulhas and Benguela Current systems, J. Geophys.
Res.-Occeans., 95, 3297–3319, 1990.
World Weather Online: available at: https://www.worldweatheronline.com/saint-lucia-estuary-weather-averages/kwazulu-natal/za.aspx,
last access: 9 May 2018.
Wündsch, M., Haberzettl, T., Cawthra, H. C., Kirsten, K. L., Quick, L. J.,
Zabel, M., Frenzel, P., Hahn, A., Baade, J., Daut, G., Kasper, T., Meadows,
M. E., and Mäusbacher, R.: Holocene environmental change along the southern
Cape coast of South Africa – Insights from the Eilandvlei sediment record
spanning the last 8.9 kyr, Global Planet. Change, 163, 51–66, 2018.
Short summary
Here we reconstruct vegetation and precipitation, in eastern South Africa, over the last 32 000 years, by measuring the stable carbon and hydrogen isotope composition of plant waxes from Mfabeni peat bog (KwaZulu-Natal). Our results indicate that the late Quaternary climate in eastern South Africa did not respond directly to orbital forcing or to changes in sea-surface temperatures. Our findings stress the influence of the Southern Hemisphere westerlies in driving climate change in the region.
Here we reconstruct vegetation and precipitation, in eastern South Africa, over the last 32 000...
