Late Quaternary floodplain reworking and the preservation of alluvial sedimentary archives in unconfined and confined river valleys in the eastern interior of South Africa

Geomorphology ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 185 ◽  
pp. 54-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Keen-Zebert ◽  
S. Tooth ◽  
H. Rodnight ◽  
G.A.T. Duller ◽  
H.M. Roberts ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
River Valleys

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 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 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.

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.

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.

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