Late Quaternary sea level and environmental changes from relic carbonate deposits of the western margin of India

Abstract. South Africa is a key region for paleoclimate studies reconstructing and understanding past changes in atmospheric circulation, i.e., temperate Westerlies and tropical Easterlies. However, due to the scarcity of natural archives, the environmental evolution during the late Quaternary remains highly debated. Many archives that are available are peri-coastal lakes and wetlands and sea level changes during the Holocene often overprinted the paleoenvironmental signals in these archives. This study presents a new record from the coastal wetland Voёlvlei, which is an intermittent lake situated in the year-round rainfall zone (YRZ) of South Africa at the southern Cape coast. It presents an ideal archive to investigate both sea level and environmental changes. A 13 m-long sediment core was retrieved from Voёlvlei and analysed using a multi-proxy approach. The chronology reveals a basal age of 8,440+200/−250 cal BP. Paleoecological and elemental analyses indicate marine intrusions from 8,440 to 7,000 cal BP with a salinity optimum at 7,030+150/−190 cal BP. Since 6,000 cal BP, silting up has been causing an intermittent freshwater lake. Inferred from changes in allochthonous input, δ13Cn-alkane and δ2Hn-alkane increasing moisture is observed from 8,440+200/−250 cal BP. The δ2Hn-alkane record provides new evidence in contribution of different precipitation sources throughout the record with contributions from both Westerlies and Easterlies from 8,440 to 7,070 cal BP. Westerlies dominate from 7,070 to 6,420 cal BP followed by a distinct shift to an Easterly-dominance at 6,420 cal BP. An overall trend to a Westerly-lasting until 2,060 cal BP is followed by a trend towards an Easterlies-dominance, but both phases show several climatic spikes. Those spikes are also evident in other regional studies highlighting that the source and seasonality of precipitation has a mayor role for the hydrological balance. By comparing the Voёlvlei record with other regional studies, a similar trend in the overall moisture evolution along the southern Cape coast is inferred during the past 8.500 yrs.

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Submerged landscapes of the eastern Adriatic – from the river across the lake all the way to the sea

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-12177 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Slobodan Miko ◽

Keyword(s):

Sea Level ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Late Quaternary ◽

River Estuary ◽

Integrated System ◽

Submarine Channels ◽

Side Scan Sonar ◽

Sedimentary Sequences ◽

Marine Sedimentation ◽

Geophysical Surveys

Submerged paleolandscapes constitute records of long-term paleoenvironmental change, climate, and sea level. To date, there is a very limited knowledge concerning the submerged karst paleolandscapes of the eastern Adriatic coast and the Late Quaternary sedimentary sequences along the eastern part of the Mid Adriatic Deep (MAD). We aim to improve this through the project &#8220;Sediments between source and sink during a Late Quaternary eustatic cycle: The Krka and the Mid Adriatic Deep System&#8221; (QMAD). The QMAD project supports multidisciplinary research by application of the high-resolution geophysical surveys (multibeam, side-scan sonar and sub-bottom profiler), in combination with sedimentological, petrophysical, geochemical (trace elements and isotopes), micropaleontological (ostracod and foraminifera), mineralogical and aDNA techniques. This suite of analyses will enable tracking of the paleoenvironmental evolution from fluvial/lake to deeper marine environments, on a short transect less than 100 km in length (Lake Prokljan in the Krka River estuary to the eastern part of MAD). The submerged Late Pleistocene and Holocene environments that occur include isolation basins, lagoons, deltas, estuaries, submarine channels and shelf. The continuous marine sedimentation during the Late Quaternary is investigated in the MAD. In the case of the central part of the eastern side of the Adriatic Sea (Krka catchment - MAD) these different environments compose an integrated system; thus, they can&#8217;t be analysed separately. The main goals of this project fill the existing gaps in understanding of the climatic and environmental changes, including sea-level related landscape changes and their interplay during the Late Quaternary eustatic cycle. More data on the Pleistocene environments, especially from the region of Krka estuary that was land during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), will complete the picture of the evolution and environmental adaptation of Paleolithic humans and their relationship with vegetation changes. Attention is also paid to potential anthropogenic environments, recent sedimentation rates, landscape features and artefacts. All results of the multi-proxy approach applied in this project will eventually be merged into a comprehensive Late Quaternary paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic reconstruction of the eastern Adriatic landscapes that contribute to the understanding of these changes in the Mediterranean region.

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Late‐Quaternary miliolite (biogenic carbonate) deposits and their implications for sea‐level fluctuations and climatic variability

Earth Surface Processes and Landforms ◽

10.1002/esp.5067 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

A. Durga Prasad ◽

Falguni Bhattacharya ◽

Gaurav Chauhan ◽

D. Balaji ◽

M.G. Thakkar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sea Level ◽

Late Quaternary ◽

Climatic Variability ◽

Biogenic Carbonate ◽

Sea Level Fluctuations ◽

Carbonate Deposits

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Holocene sea level and environmental change at the southern Cape – an 8.5 kyr multi-proxy paleoclimate record from Lake Voëlvlei, South Africa

Climate of the Past ◽

10.5194/cp-17-1567-2021 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 17 (4) ◽

pp. 1567-1586

Author(s):

Paul Strobel ◽

Marcel Bliedtner ◽

Andrew S. Carr ◽

Peter Frenzel ◽

Björn Klaes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Sea Level ◽

Coastal Wetland ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Late Quaternary ◽

Regional Studies ◽

Sea Level Changes ◽

Cape Coast ◽

The Holocene ◽

Elemental Analyses

Abstract. South Africa is a key region to reconstruct and understand past changes in atmospheric circulation, i.e. temperate westerlies and tropical easterlies. However, due to the scarcity of natural archives, South Africa's environmental evolution during the late Quaternary remains highly debated. Many available sediment archives are peri-coastal lakes and wetlands; however, the paleoenvironmental signals in these archives are often overprinted by sea-level changes during the Holocene. This study presents a new record from the coastal wetland Voëlvlei, which is situated in the year-round rainfall zone of South Africa on the southern Cape coast. It presents an ideal sedimentary archive to investigate both sea level and environmental changes. A 13 m long sediment core was retrieved and analysed using a multi-proxy approach. The chronology reveals a basal age of 8440 +200/-250 cal BP. Paleoecological and elemental analyses indicate marine incursions from ca. 8440 to ca. 7000 cal BP with a salinity optimum occurring at 7090 +170/-200 cal BP. At ca. 6000 cal BP, the basin of Voëlvlei was in-filled with sediment resulting in an intermittent (sporadically desiccated) freshwater lake similar to present. In contrast to previous investigations which used indirect proxies for hydrological reconstructions, here we apply a combined biomarker–sedimentological approach that allows the potential identification of precipitation sources, in combination with relative estimates of moisture availability. Increasing moisture is observed throughout the record starting from 8440 +200/-250 cal BP with contributions from both westerlies and easterlies from ca. 8440 to ca. 7070 cal BP. Westerly-derived rainfall dominates from ca. 7070 to ca. 6420 cal BP followed by a distinct shift to an easterly dominance at ca. 6420 cal BP. An overall trend to westerly dominance lasting until ca. 2060 cal BP is followed by a trend towards an easterly dominance to the present, but both phases show several intense, short-term variations. These variations are also evident in other regional studies, highlighting that the source and seasonality of precipitation has varied distinctly on the southern Cape during the Holocene. Comparison of the Voëlvlei record with other regional studies suggests a coherent trend in the overall moisture evolution along the southern Cape coast during the past 8500 years.

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Distribution of Salt-marsh foraminifera in Jiaozhou Bay: Implications for sea-level reconstructions

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-10354 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Haiyan Long ◽

Ziye Li

Keyword(s):

Salt Marsh ◽

Sea Level ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Jiaozhou Bay ◽

The Yellow Sea ◽

Western Margin ◽

Latitude Range ◽

Tidal Salt Marsh ◽

Key Indicators ◽

Salt Marsh Species

Salt-marsh foraminifera are routinely used as sea-level indicators since their vertical distribution is closely linked with elevation relative to the tidal frame. In this study, 106 surface sediment samples were collected across separate intertidal transects established at five micro-tidal salt-marsh situated along the&#160;coasts of the Jiaozhou Bay, western margin of the Yellow Sea, dead and live foraminifera were identified respectively. The dead population contains the mixture of both subtidal species and salt-marsh species, and all the live assemblages consist of salt-marsh species which can provide exact information of salt-marsh foraminiferal distribution. The agglutinated species present in the five marshes including Trochammina inflata, Miliammina fusca and Jadammina macrecens are all cosmopolitan species, however, the calcareous species contain numbers of endemic species, overall, dominant calcareous species included Cribrononion porisuturalis, Pseudononionella variabilis, Elphidiella kiangsuensis and Pseudogyroidina sinensis. Vertical foraminifera zonations have been recognized in Daguhe and Hongshiya marsh samples with some species occupying strict latitude range, which primarily related to elevation, however, no obvious assemblages zonations can be recognized in Nvgukou, Shanjiaodi and Yanghe marsh. We hypothesize that salt-marsh foraminifera in Jiaozhou Bay possesses potential in paleoenvironmental studies as the key indicators for monitoring Holocene sea-level and environmental changes.

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