Climate and ecology of the palaeo-Agulhas Plain from stable carbon and oxygen isotopes in bovid tooth enamel from Nelson Bay Cave, South Africa

Sealy, Judith; Naidoo, Navashni; Hare, Vincent; Brunton, S.; Faith, J. Tyler

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.105974

Cited by 20 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…The oldest part of our sequence (17,060-16,750 cal yr BP, Unit 3c) indicates cold conditions with increased precipitation likely during autumn-winter-spring. This is in strong agreement with an increasing body of recent literature that has supported relatively humid conditions over southernmost regions of southern Africa, which included an expanded WRZ in northerly and easterly extensions during the late LGM [6][7][8][9][10][11]. Not only were SWW (and the associated passage of cold fronts) more intense and/or shifted in an equatorward direction during this time over southern Africa [e.g., 9], but responded in a similar manner over South America [114] and Australia [115].…”

Section: Regional Context and Implicationssupporting

confidence: 91%

“…In contrast, the opposite situation has been observed on longer, geological time scales. During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), when mountain glaciers reached their maximum ice extent in the mid-latitude southern hemisphere (23,000 and 19,000 cal yr BP) [4][5][6], it is suggested that an equatorward shift of the SWW extended the WRZ, generating humid conditions over much of southern Africa [e.g., [7][8][9][10][11]. However, a number of open questions related to climate development from the LGM to present still exist.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Late glacial (17,060–13,400 cal yr BP) sedimentary and paleoenvironmental evolution of the Sekhokong Range (Drakensberg), southern Africa

et al. 2021

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Southern Africa sits at the junction of tropical and temperate systems, leading to the formation of seasonal precipitation zones. Understanding late Quaternary paleoclimatic change in this vulnerable region is hampered by a lack of available, reliably-dated records. Here we present a sequence from a well-stratified sedimentary infill occupying a lower slope basin which covers 17,060 to 13,400 cal yr BP with the aim to reconstruct paleoclimatic variability in the high Drakensberg during the Late Glacial. We use a combination of pollen, total organic carbon and nitrogen, δ13C, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) spectral and elemental data on contiguous samples with high temporal resolution (10 to 80 years per sample). Our data support a relatively humid environment with considerable cold season precipitation during what might have been the final stage of niche-glaciation on the adjoining southern aspects around 17,000 cal yr BP. Then, after an initial warmer and drier period starting ~15,600 cal yr BP, we identify a return to colder and drier conditions with more winter precipitation starting ~14,380 cal yr BP, which represents the first local evidence for the Antarctic Cold Reversal (ACR) in this region. On decadal to centennial timescales, the Late Glacial period was one marked by considerable climatic fluctuation and bi-directional environmental change, which has not been identified in previous studies for this region. Our study shows complex changes in both moisture and thermal conditions providing a more nuanced picture of the Late Glacial for the high Drakensburg.

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Section: Regional Context and Implicationssupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Late glacial (17,060–13,400 cal yr BP) sedimentary and paleoenvironmental evolution of the Sekhokong Range (Drakensberg), southern Africa

et al. 2021

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“…Recent works have also shown that the influence of CO 2 on δ 13 C p value is not affected by water availability (Lomax et al, 2019) or atmospheric O 2 levels (Porter et al, 2017), and it is recorded within multiple organic substrates (e.g., cellulose and collagen [Hare et al, 2018], hair [Zhao et al, 2019], and n-alkanes [Wu et al, 2017]) and inorganic substrates (e.g., speleothems [Breecker, 2017] and cave air [Bergel et al, 2017]). Consequently, researchers now correct δ 13 C values for changes in CO 2 across a myriad of fossil (e.g., ungulate teeth [Luyt et al, 2019;Sealy et al, 2019], soil-respired carbon [Caves Rugenstein and Page Chamberlain, 2018], soil carbonate [Basu et al, 2019], pyrogenic carbon and n-alkanes [Zhou et al, 2017], and pollen [Bell et al, 2019]), and modern (e.g., fungi [Hobbie et al, 2017] and leaves [Tibby et al, 2016]) substrates, and recent experiments have shown that the δ 13 C p value can produce accurate estimates of paleo-CO 2 concentration (Porter et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A 23 m.y. record of low atmospheric CO2

Cui

Schubert

Jahren

2020

Geology

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Current atmospheric CO2 concentration is known to be higher than it has been during the past ~800 k.y. of Earth history, based on direct measurement of CO2 within ice cores. A comparison to the more ancient past is complicated by a deficit of CO2 proxies that may be applied across very long spans of geologic time. Here, we present a new CO2 record across the past 23 m.y. of Earth history based on the δ13C value of terrestrial C3 plant remains, using a method applicable to the entire ~400 m.y. history of C3 photosynthesis on land. Across the past 23 m.y., CO2 likely ranged between ~230 ppmv and 350 ppmv (68% confidence interval: ~170–540 ppm). CO2 was found to be highest during the early and middle Miocene and likely below present-day levels during the middle Pliocene (84th percentile: ~400 ppmv). These data suggest present-day CO2 (412 ppmv) exceeds the highest levels that Earth experienced at least since the Miocene, further highlighting the present-day disruption of long-established CO2 trends within Earth’s atmosphere.

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“…South coast sites dating from MIS 6 onwards (e.g., Blombos Cave, Die Kelders Cave, Klasies River, Nelson Bay Cave, Pinnacle Point) frequently include extinct or extralimital grazers (e.g., Klein, 1972Klein, , 1976Klein, , 1983Klein and Cruz-Uribe, 2000;Henshilwood et al 2001;Rector and Reed, 2010), with very high abundances of grazers often observed during the LGM and late glacial (Klein, 1972(Klein, , 1978(Klein, , 1983Faith, 2013). Stable isotope evidence (δ13C) from ungulate grazers at Boomplaas Cave indicate consumption of primarily C3 grasses during the LGM (Sealy et al, 2016), as is also the case at Nelson Bay Cave (Sealy et al 2020). Williams et al (2020 measured stable isotopes on teeth of micromammals and macromammals from a hyena den found at Pinnacle Point and dated to MIS 6 (penultimate glaciation).…”

Section: Open Grasslands In the South-western Cape?mentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Dupont

Zhao

Charles

et al. 2021

Preprint

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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.

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Climate and ecology of the palaeo-Agulhas Plain from stable carbon and oxygen isotopes in bovid tooth enamel from Nelson Bay Cave, South Africa

Cited by 20 publications

References 78 publications

Late glacial (17,060–13,400 cal yr BP) sedimentary and paleoenvironmental evolution of the Sekhokong Range (Drakensberg), southern Africa

Late glacial (17,060–13,400 cal yr BP) sedimentary and paleoenvironmental evolution of the Sekhokong Range (Drakensberg), southern Africa

A 23 m.y. record of low atmospheric CO2

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

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