Late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental change in the year-round rainfall zone of South Africa derived from peat sediments from Vankervelsvlei

Strobel, Paul; Kasper, Thomas; Frenzel, Peter; Schittek, Karsten; Quick, Lynne J.; Meadows, Michael E.; Mäusbacher, Roland; Haberzettl, Torsten

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.06.014

Cited by 27 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 93 publications

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“…Moist conditions between 7,000 and 4,700 cal BP are in line with studies from the central southern Cape coast (Quick et al, 2018;Strobel et al, 2019;Wündsch et al, 2018). However, beside increased moisture, also an increased wind driven evapotranspiration was reconstructed at Vankervelsvlei (Strobel et al, 2019). The latter is also possibly related to an increased…”

Section: Paleoenvironmental and -Climate Evolutionsupporting

confidence: 84%

“…Similarly at Vankervelsvlei, input of reworked soil material during this time is likely a result of low vegetation cover in the catchment (Strobel et al, 2019). This interpretation of dry conditions between 8,440 +200 /-250 and 7,070 +160 /-200 cal BP is also in line with the findings from Eilandvlei, where low Afrotemperate forest (AFT) pollen percentages are interpreted as overall dry conditions between ~8,500 and 7,000 cal BP (Quick et al, 2018) (Fig.…”

Section: Paleoenvironmental and -Climate Evolutionsupporting

confidence: 79%

“…However, the terrestrial climate signals in these coastal archives are often overprinted by marine water intrusions induced by relative sea level change during the Holocene (Martin, 1959(Martin, , 1968Reinwarth et al, 2013;Wündsch et al, 2018;Wündsch et al, 2016a) or anthropogenic impact (Haberzettl et al, 2019). Further paleoenvironmental information from this area is available from e.g., peatlands (Quick et al, 2016;Strobel et al, 2019) and speleothems (Braun et al, 2018;Braun et al, 2020;Talma and Vogel, 1992), rock hyrax midden (Chase et al, 2019;Chase et al, 2017;Chase et al, 2015) and marine sediments (Hahn et al, 2017) (Fig. 1 A).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the climate evolution of South Africa is still debated, reflecting potential spatial variability in climate drivers at the regional scale, and due to the application of different methodological approaches in various studies (Chase and Quick, 2018;Strobel et al, 2019). Consequently, the understanding of environmental dynamics and changing interactions between tropical and temperate climate systems affecting the YRZ is limited.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In South Africa, the δ 2 Hn-alkane signal shows the potential to reconstruct the isotopic signal of precipitation and thus directly refers to the precipitation source (Herrmann et al, 2017;Strobel et al, 2020). Although, δ Hn-alkane has hitherto rarely been used in terrestrial archives at the southern Cape coast (Strobel et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Strobel¹,

Bliedtner²,

Carr³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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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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Section: Paleoenvironmental and -Climate Evolutionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Section: Paleoenvironmental and -Climate Evolutionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

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

Strobel¹,

Bliedtner²,

Carr³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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The Application of Paleoenvironmental Research in Supporting Land Management Approaches and Conservation in South Africa

Kirsten,

Forbes,

Finch

et al. 2024

Ecological Studies

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Research into past environments and climates of South Africa has significantly grown in recent decades, owing to its rich archeological heritage and high biodiversity. The paleoscience community has worked toward an improved understanding of long-term climate and environmental dynamics, yet the application and dissemination of such information into the realm of conservation and land-use management have remained limited. In this chapter, we briefly explore the current state of paleoenvironmental research in South Africa, recent methodological advancements and potential applications of paleoresearch for natural resource management and conservation. We advocate for a more integrated research approach, bringing together the fields of ecology, ecosystem restoration, conservation biology and paleoecology, as an avenue toward tackling uncertainties in conservation and land-use management practices. We use a case study from the Kruger National Park, to demonstrate the benefits of incorporating a long-term perspective in understanding the natural variability and thresholds of an ecological system, and thereby inform more sound natural resource management strategies and conservation planning.

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An extended last glacial maximum in the Southern Hemisphere: A contribution to the SHeMax project

Petherick

Knight

Shulmeister

et al. 2022

Earth-Science Reviews

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Late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental change in the year-round rainfall zone of South Africa derived from peat sediments from Vankervelsvlei

Cited by 27 publications

References 93 publications

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

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

The Application of Paleoenvironmental Research in Supporting Land Management Approaches and Conservation in South Africa

An extended last glacial maximum in the Southern Hemisphere: A contribution to the SHeMax project

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