Late quaternary fossil pollen grains from the Transvaal, South Africa

1982 ◽  
Vol 36 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 241-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Scott
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Fossil Pollen

A Late Quaternary Pollen Record from the Transvaal Bushveld, South Africa

1982 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis Scott
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Montane Forest ◽  
Fossil Pollen ◽  
Pollen Record ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Northern Plains ◽  
Pollen Data ◽  
The Past ◽  
Climatic Evolution

AbstractPollen spectra from cores of organic spring deposits from the Transvaal provide evidence for the climatic evolution of the province during the last 35,000 yr B.P. or more. The past climatic phases are derived from palynological reconstructions of past vegetation types by comparison of fossil pollen data with modern surface pollen spectra from various localities. Evidence is provided for an early moist, cool phase with relatively mesic bushveld and expanded montane forest in the central Transvaal, followed by a drier period with drier bushveld which probably lasted until approximately 25,000 yr B.P. During the next phase, which at the latest ended about 11,000 yr B.P., the temperatures were probably 5°–6°C cooler than at present. At that time bushveld vegetation in the central Transvaal was replaced by open grassland with macchia elements. Climatic amelioration came and semiarid savanna returned to the plains, at first gradually and then developing into a warm Kalahari thornveld-type vegetation. After 6000 yr B.P. it apparently became slightly wetter and a more broad-leafed bushveld developed. About 4000 yr B.P. it again became cooler and slightly wetter and the bushveld vegetation on the central and northern plains was comparable to present open upland types. After 2000 yr B.P. conditions gradually became warner until about 1000 yr B.P., when the modern climate of the central Transvaal bushveld originated.

Carnivore Size and Quaternary Climatic Change in Southern Africa

1986 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard G. Klein
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Geochemical Data ◽  
Mathematical Relationship ◽  
Carnivore Species ◽  
Quantitative Estimates ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Problematic Aspect ◽  
Cool Conditions

The relationship between carnassial length and latitude south is analyzed for 17 African carnivore species to determine if individuals tend to be larger in cooler climates, as predicted by Bergmann's Rule. With modern data in support, middle and late Quaternary temperatures might then be inferred from mean carnassial length in fossil samples, such as those from Equus Cave, Elandsfontein, Sea Harvest. Duinefontein, and Swartklip in the Cape Province of South Africa. One problematic aspect of the study is the use of carnassial length and latitude as necessary but imperfect substitutes for body size and temperature, respectively. For some species, another difficulty is the relatively small number of available modern specimens, combined with their uneven latitudinal spread. Still, in 14 of the species, carnassial length does tend to increase with latitude south, while mean carnassial length in the same species tends to be greater in those fossil samples which accumulated under relatively cool conditions, as inferred from sedimentologic, palynological, or geochemical data. Given larger modern samples from a wide variety of latitudes, refinement of the mathematical relationship between carnassial length and latitude in various species may even permit quantitative estimates of past temperatures in southern Africa.

Episodic late quaternary palaeogully erosion in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

CATENA ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 23 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 327-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greg A. Botha ◽  
Ann G. Wintle ◽  
John C. Vogel
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Kwazulu Natal

Late Quaternary vegetation of the Aleutian Islands, southwestern Alaska

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (6) ◽  
pp. 1320-1326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Calvin J. Heusser
Keyword(s):  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Thickness Distribution ◽  
Patch Dynamics ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Aleutian Islands ◽  
Fossil Pollen ◽  
History Of ◽  
Tephra Layers ◽  
Radiocarbon Chronology

Late Quaternary vegetational history of the Aleutian Islands is interpreted from fossil pollen and spore stratigraphy and radiocarbon chronology of sections of mires on the islands of Attu, Adak, Atka, and Umnak. Mires postdate the withdrawal of ice-age glaciers between approximately 12 000 and 10 000 years ago with the exception of the mire on Attu Island, where deglaciation apparently began as late as 7000 years ago. No uniform pattern of change in Pacific coastal tundra communities is evident in the fossil assemblages. Pollen assemblages, consisting variably of Gramineae, Cyperaceae, Empetrum, Umbelliferae, Salix, Ranunculaceae, Compositae, Polypodiaceae, and Lycopodium, reflect conditions in effect in different sectors of the Aleutian chain. Climate, soil, topography, volcanism, and seismic activity are noteworthy parameters influencing vegetation composition and distribution. Volcanism has been of major importance, as shown by thickness, distribution, and frequency of tephra layers that number 5 on Attu, 24 on Adak, 17 on Atka, and 5 on Umnak. A repeated condition of patch dynamics, created in the main by recurrent volcanic eruptions with widespread accompanying ashfalls, has apparently overprinted the effects of climatic change. Key words: Aleutian Islands, Quaternary, vegetation, fossil pollen, volcanism.

Late Quaternary Paleotemperatures Derived from a Speleothem from Cango Caves, Cape Province, South Africa

1992 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.S. Talma ◽  
John C. Vogel
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Isotopic Composition ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Carbon Isotopic Composition ◽  
Temperature Record ◽  
The Past ◽  
Carbon Isotopic ◽  
Groundwater Aquifer ◽  
Combining Data ◽  
The Last Glacial

AbstractAn oxygen isotope temperature record over a large part of the past 30,000 yr has been obtained for the southern Cape Province of South Africa by combining data on the isotopic composition of a stalagmite from a deep cave with that of a confined groundwater aquifer in the same region. Results show that temperatures during the last glacial maximum were on average about 6°C lower than those today, with peaks up to 7°C lower. A detailed analysis of the past 5000 yr suggests multiple fluctuations, with generally lower temperatures (1–2°C) around 4500 and 3000 yr B.P. The carbon isotopic composition of the stalagmite indicates significant vegetation changes between the late Pleistocene and today, and also during the second half of the Holocene.

scholarly journals Barleria gandhii, a new name for Barleria pauciflora (Acanthaceae)

Phytotaxa ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 204 (4) ◽  
pp. 300
Author(s):  
RAMALINGAM KOTTAIMUTHU
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Species Diversity ◽  
Calcium Oxalate ◽  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Epidermal Cells ◽  
Calcium Oxalate Crystals ◽  
Tropical Africa ◽  
New Name ◽  
Oxalate Crystals

Barleria Linnaeus (1753: 636) is a pantropical genus comprising about 250–300 species (Balkwill & Balkwill 1998, Darbyshire et al. 2012), with its greatest centre of species diversity in tropical Africa, followed by South Africa and Asia (Balkwill & Balkwill 1998, Darbyshire 2010). It can be easily distinguished from other genera of Acanthaceae by a combination of three characters: a 4-partite calyx with 2 large outer (anterior and posterior) segments and 2 smaller inner (lateral) ones, spheroidal, pollen grains with coarsely reticulate exine and the predominance of double cystoliths (calcium oxalate crystals) in the epidermal cells (Balkwill & Balkwill 1997, Champluvier 2011, Darbyshire 2010).

scholarly journals Late Quaternary climate variability at Mfabeni peatland, eastern South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 1153-1170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Miller ◽  
Jemma Finch ◽  
Trevor Hill ◽  
Francien Peterse ◽  
Marc Humphries ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
High Pressure ◽  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
High Pressure Cell ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Pressure Cell ◽  
The Past ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Quaternary Climate

Abstract. The scarcity of continuous, terrestrial, palaeoenvironmental records in eastern South Africa leaves the evolution of late Quaternary climate and its driving mechanisms uncertain. Here we use a ∼7 m long core from Mfabeni peatland (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa) to reconstruct climate variability for the last 32 000 years (cal ka BP). We infer past vegetation and hydrological variability using stable carbon (δ13Cwax) and hydrogen isotopes (δDwax) of plant-wax n-alkanes and use Paq to reconstruct water table changes. Our results indicate that late Quaternary climate in eastern South Africa did not respond directly to orbital forcing or to changes in sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) in the western Indian Ocean. We attribute the arid conditions evidenced at Mfabeni during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to low SSTs and an equatorward displacement of (i) the Southern Hemisphere westerlies, (ii) the subtropical high-pressure cell, and (iii) the South Indian Ocean Convergence Zone (SIOCZ), which we infer was linked to increased Antarctic sea-ice extent. The northerly location of the high-pressure cell and the SIOCZ inhibited moisture advection inland and pushed the rain-bearing cloud band north of Mfabeni, respectively. The increased humidity at Mfabeni between 19 and 14 cal kyr BP likely resulted from a southward retreat of the westerlies, the high-pressure cell, and the SIOCZ, consistent with a decrease in Antarctic sea-ice extent. Between 14 and 5 cal kyr BP, when the westerlies, the high-pressure cell, and the SIOCZ were in their southernmost position, local insolation became the dominant control, leading to stronger atmospheric convection and an enhanced tropical easterly monsoon. Generally drier conditions persisted during the past ca. 5 cal ka BP, probably resulting from an equatorward return of the westerlies, the high-pressure cell, and the SIOCZ. Higher SSTs and heightened El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) activity may have played a role in enhancing climatic variability during the past ca. 5 cal ka BP. Our findings highlight the influence of the latitudinal position of the westerlies, the high-pressure cell, and the SIOCZ in driving climatological and environmental changes in eastern South Africa.

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