Late glacial interhemispheric climate dynamics revealed in South African hyrax middens

Influence of tropical easterlies in southern Africa's winter rainfall zone during the Holocene

“…At Katbakkies, which is within the Fynbos biome and dominated by vegetation using the C 3 photosynthetic pathway, midden d 13 C is interpreted to primarily reflect changes in plant water-use efficiency. Therein, more humid conditions are reflected in more depleted d 13 C values as determined by water availability and temperature (Ehleringer and Cooper, 1988;Pate, 2001;Chase et al, 2011). The absolute values and muted amplitude of the d 13 C record is consistent with changes in water-use efficiency being the primary determinant of d 13 C variability.…”

Climatic change recorded in the sediments of the Chew Bahir basin, southern Ethiopia, during the last 45,000 years

“…The transitions are often characterized by an abruptness that can be explained by mechanisms such as climate-biosphere feedbacks functioning as strong amplifiers of basically moderate trends (Renssen et al, 2006;Castañeda et al, 2009). Apart from orbitally-forced variability, centennial-scale variations such as DansgaardeOeschger cycles, Heinrich events and the Younger Dryas (YD) have also influenced low-latitude climate, although the sign, magnitude and phasing of their impact are debated (Partridge et al, 2004;Brown et al, 2007;Carto et al, 2009;Chase et al, 2011;Stager et al, 2011). Furthermore, Atlantic and Indian Ocean SST changes, related to the thermohaline circulation, are considered to have a strong influence on African climate (Gasse and Van Campo, 1994;deMenocal et al, 2000;Trauth et al, 2010).…”

A high resolution 15,600-year pollen and microcharcoal record from the Cederberg Mountains, South Africa

“…In hyrax middens, estimates of past changes in water availability have been determined using δ 13 C and δ 15 N (cf. Chase et al, 2011Chase et al, , 2012. For comparison with our pollen record, we use the stable isotope records from the DR2 section of the De Rif midden where the records overlap .…”