South African dust contribution to the high southern latitudes and East Antarctica during interglacial stages

• Published in: Communications Earth & Environment
• Main Authors: Gili, Stefania, Vanderstraeten, Aubry, Chaput, Amélie, King, James, Gaiero, Diego M., Delmonte, Barbara, Vallelonga, Paul, Formenti, Paola, Di Biagio, Claudia, Cazanau, Mathieu, Pangui, Edouard, Doussin, Jean-François, Mattielli, Nadine
• Other Authors: Laboratoire d’Océanologie et de Géosciences (LOG) - UMR 8187 (LOG), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale (ULCO)-Université de Lille-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD France-Nord ), Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (LISA (UMR_7583)), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12 (UPEC UP12)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2022
• Subjects: [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]; [SDU.STU.CL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Climatology; Antarctic; East Antarctica; Southern Ocean; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://insu.hal.science/insu-03749599; https://insu.hal.science/insu-03749599/document; https://insu.hal.science/insu-03749599/file/s43247-022-00464-z.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00464-z

International audience Mineral dust is a natural tracer of atmospheric composition and climate variability. Yet, there is still much to be known about the Southern Hemisphere dust cycle. Major efforts have attempted to solve the puzzle of the origin of the potential source areas contributing dust to the Southern Ocean and East Antarctica. Here we present a comprehensive geochemical characterization of a source area, whose role as a dust supplier to high latitude environments has significantly been underestimated. Sediments collected within the major dust-producing areas along the Namibian coast in Southern Africa (Kuiseb, Omaruru and Huab river catchments and the Namib Sand Sea region), were analyzed for radiogenic isotope ratios and rare earth element concentrations. We find that during warm periods, the Southern African dust signature can be found in archives of the Southern Hemisphere, especially in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean and peripheral areas of the East Antarctic plateau.