Late Quaternary micromammals and the precipitation history of the southern Cape, South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. 848-860 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Tyler Faith ◽  
Brian M. Chase ◽  
D. Margaret Avery
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Summer Rainfall ◽  
Tyto Alba ◽  
Winter Rainfall ◽  
Rainfall Seasonality ◽  
Barn Owls ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Last Glacial

AbstractThe southern Cape of South Africa is important to understanding regional climate because it straddles the transition between the winter and summer rainfall zones. We examine late Quaternary changes in rainfall seasonality and aridity through analysis of micromammal assemblages from three sites: Boomplaas Cave and Nelson Bay Cave in the aseasonal rainfall zone and Byneskranskop 1 in the winter rainfall zone. Our interpretation is based on analysis of 123 modern micromammal assemblages accumulated by barn owls (Tyto alba), which empirically links species composition to climate. The Pleistocene record (∼65 to 12 ka) from Boomplaas Cave, together with the last glacial maximum (LGM) samples from Nelson Bay Cave, indicates enhanced winter rainfall, especially during the LGM. Boomplaas Cave documents progressive aridification from the LGM to the earliest Holocene, followed by a return to moderately humid conditions through the Holocene. Byneskranskop 1 indicates a dominance of winter rains over the last 17 ka and a shift from an arid middle Holocene to a humid later Holocene. Agreement between the micromammal record and other local and regional proxies reinforces the potential of southern African micromammal assemblages as paleoclimate indicators.

scholarly journals Late Quaternary Vegetation History of Northern North America Based on Pollen, Macrofossil, and Faunal Remains*

2007 ◽  
Vol 59 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 211-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur S. Dyke
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation History ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Climate Trends ◽  
Regional Warming ◽  
Migration Rates ◽  
History Of ◽  
Strong Control ◽  
The Last Glacial

AbstractBiome maps spanning the interval from the last glacial maximum to modern times are presented. The biome distributions at 18 ka BP were probably as nearly in equilibrium with climate as are the modern distributions, but deglacial biomes were probably in disequilibrium. Ice sheet configuration was a strong control of climate until 7 ka BP. Regional climate trends can be inferred from changing biome distributions, but during periods of disequilibrium, biome distributions under-represent summer warming. Because of summer cooling by 2-4 °C during the Holocene, largely in the last 3-5 ka, middle and certain early Holocene biome distributions and species compositions are reasonable analogues of future equilibrium displacements due to equivalent warming, at least in areas that were long-since deglaciated. Past biome migration rates in response to rapid regional warming during deglaciation were mainly in the range of 100-200 m per year. If these rates pertain in the future, biomes may shift 10-20 km in most regions over the next century. A major impediment to using former Holocene conditions as a guide to future conditions is that warmer Holocene summers were accompanied by colder winters, whereas warmer future summers will be accompanied by warmer winters.

Quantifying late Quaternary Australian rainfall seasonality changes using the Poaceae:Asteraceae pollen ratio

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Annika V. Herbert ◽  
Jennifer M. Fitchett
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Climatic Changes ◽  
Double Peak ◽  
Circulation Patterns ◽  
Rainfall Seasonality ◽  
Westerly Winds ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Last Glacial

Abstract Mounting evidence suggests that the Southern Westerly Winds were significantly equatorially displaced and more intense during the last glacial maximum (LGM), prompting deliberate research identifying proxies to reconstruct these changes. This has focused on rainfall seasonality to track changes in major circulation patterns across the southern hemisphere midlatitude regions. Using a common methodology to reconstruct climatic changes aids comparability and makes it easier to draw significant conclusions regarding general circulation movements. We assess the applicability of Coetzee's (1967) Poaceae:Asteraceae pollen ratio, which has been used successfully in South Africa, in the Australian context. The ratio scores from modern samples fail to capture the weak seasonality in the southeast and on Tasmania but is successful for the rest of the continent. The periods of greatest change compared to present day match known periods of distinct climatic events, namely the mid-Holocene (6–7 cal ka BP), the last deglacial period (15–17 cal ka BP), and two periods during the LGM (20–22 and 31–33 cal ka BP), suggesting large parts of Australia experienced a “double peak” of rainfall seasonality change during the LGM. This confirms that the Poaceae:Asteraceae pollen ratio can be used on records outside of South Africa.

scholarly journals Implications of summer breeding frogs from Langebaanweg, South Africa: Regional climate evolution at 5.1 mya

2016 ◽  
Vol Volume 112 (Number 9/10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thalassa Matthews ◽  
G. John Measey ◽  
David L. Roberts ◽  
◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
West Coast ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Summer Rainfall ◽  
Rainfall Regime ◽  
The West ◽  
Winter Rainfall ◽  
Early Pliocene ◽  
Climate Evolution

Abstract No direct palaeoclimatic proxies have been available to indicate the seasonality or amount of rainfall on the west coast of southern Africa during the Early Pliocene. The Benguela Upwelling System (BUS) is today one of the factors responsible for the present-day aridity on the west coast of southern Africa. The initiation of the BUS is frequently linked to the entrenchment of aridity and the establishment of the current winter rainfall pattern on the west coast; however, marine proxies are inconclusive regarding the effects of past fluctuations in the BUS and sea surface temperatures on the rainfall regime. Neither the fossil evidence nor the fact that plants using the C3 photosynthetic pathway predominate at this time, provide direct evidence of winter rainfall at Langebaanweg. We challenge certain assumptions which are commonly made in the literature regarding the timing of inception of a winter rainfall regime on the west coast and the onset of aridity in the Langebaan region, and provide new evidence as to seasonality of rainfall at Langebaanweg in the Early Pliocene. Herein, the identification of frog species from the genus Ptychadena from Langebaanweg provides new and compelling evidence for a summer rainfall regime, or of at least significant summer rainfall, at 5.1 mya in the southwestern Cape of South Africa.

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.

Vegetation and Seasonality Shifts during the Late Quaternary Deduced from 13C/12C Ratios of Grazers at Equus Cave, South Africa

1995 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 426-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia A. Lee-Thorp ◽  
Peter B. Beaumont
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Tooth Enamel ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Relative Proportion ◽  
Major Influence ◽  
Rainfall Regime ◽  
Relative Distribution ◽  
Winter Rainfall ◽  
Recent Climate

AbstractSeason of rainfall can be a major influence on the relative proportions of C3 and C4 grasses in a landscape, since their relative distribution is essentially constrained by temperatures during the growing season; cool growing seasons favor C3 grasses, whereas warm ones favor C4 grasses. 13C/12C ratios in tooth enamel carbonate of grazers from the site of Equus Cave, northern Cape Province, South Africa, were used to determine vegetation and rainfall seasonality shifts during the late Quaternary. The results show shifts in the relative proportion of C3 and C4 grasses during the latter stages of the Pleistocene, and domination by C4 grasses in the Holocene. The data show that the northwestern Cape did not fall within a winter rainfall zone during this period as has been postulated in recent climate models. Instead, a more complex situation is suggested in which at least two periods of enhanced winter rainfall occurred within a predominantly summer rainfall regime.

scholarly journals Underwater faunal assemblages: radiocarbon dates and late Quaternary vertebrates from Cold Lake, Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada

2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-294
Author(s):  
Christopher N. Jass ◽  
Devyn Caldwell ◽  
Christina I. Barrón-Ortiz ◽  
Alwynne B. Beaudoin ◽  
Jack Brink ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
East Central ◽  
Faunal Assemblages ◽  
History Of ◽  
Cold Lake ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
The Last Glacial

Late Quaternary faunal remains from three underwater settings in Cold Lake, Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada, include at least 13 vertebrate taxa consistent with assemblages that postdate the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Seven new radiocarbon dates range from 10 350 ± 40 to 161 ± 23 years BP and provide insight into the post-LGM biotic history of east-central Alberta and west-central Saskatchewan. The presence of an essentially modern large mammal biota is suggested for the mid-Holocene, and possibly earlier, if the absence of extinct or extirpated taxa in association with Late Pleistocene Bison at the Alberta–Saskatchewan site is meaningful. Taphonomically, some of the remains suggest deposition in open environments during the Holocene, possibly when lake levels were lower. The recovery of late Quaternary faunal remains from a present-day lacustrine setting is novel, and suggests that similar records may occur in other lakes in western Canada, including those in areas with scarce Quaternary vertebrate records.

scholarly journals Continuous vegetation record of the Greater Cape Floristic Region (South Africa) covering the past 300 thousand years (IODP U1479)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydie M. Dupont ◽  
Xueqin Zhao ◽  
Chistopher Charles ◽  
J. Tyler Faith ◽  
David Braun
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Vegetation History ◽  
Modern Human ◽  
Cape Floristic Region ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
The Past ◽  
Modern Human Origins ◽  
Last Glaciation ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Last Glacial

Abstract. The flora of the Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR) of South Africa is a biodiversity hotspot of global significance, and its archaeological record has contributed substantially to the understanding of modern human origins. For both reasons, the climate and vegetation history of south-western South Africa is of interest to numerous fields. Currently known paleo-environmental records cover the Holocene, the last glacial-interglacial transition and parts of the last glaciation but do not encompass a full glacial-interglacial cycle. To obtain a continuous vegetation record of the last Pleistocene glacial-interglacial cycles, we studied pollen, spores and micro-charcoal of deep-sea sediments from IODP Site U1479 retrieved from SW of Cape Town. We compare our palynological results of the Pleistocene with previously published results of Pliocene material from the same site. We find that the vegetation of the GCFR, in particular Fynbos and Afrotemperate forest, respond to precessional forcing of climate. The micro-charcoal record confirms the importance of fires in the Fynbos vegetation. Ericaceae-rich and Asteraceae-rich types of Fynbos could extend on the western part of the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain (PAP), which emerged during periods of low sea-level of the Pleistocene.

Stable isotope and 14C study of biogenic calcrete in a termite mound, Western Cape, South Africa, and its palaeoenvironmental significance

2009 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 258-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alastair J. Potts ◽  
Jeremy J. Midgley ◽  
Chris Harris
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Cam Plants ◽  
Termite Mounds ◽  
Last Glacial Period ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Progressive Decline ◽  
The Last Glacial

AbstractLate Quaternary terrestrial climate records from the semi-arid zone of the Western Cape of South Africa are rare. However, palaeoenvironmental information may be inferred from ancient termite mounds of the region. Calcrete lenses in these mounds have δ13C and δ18O values that show systematic changes with radiocarbon dates, which range from 33,629–36,709 to 21,676–23,256 cal yr BP. These dates confirm that these heuweltjies had been present in the landscape since the last glacial period. The decrease in δ13C and δ18O from 33,629–36,709 to 21,676–23,256 cal yr BP indicates that climate information is recorded by the calcretes. It is suggested that a progressive decline in air temperature and an increase in moisture availability, and a decline in abundance of C4 or CAM plants, occurred in the region during the time heuweltjie calcite precipitated.

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