Late Quaternary paleotemperatures derived from a speleothem from Cango Caves, Cape Province, South Africa
Pleistocene palaeoclimates and palaeoenvironments of southernmost Africa are important for understanding southern hemisphere climate dynamics and for reconstructing human evolution and early human settlement in this region. Measurements of δ13C in tooth enamel of 136 faunal specimens from the archae...
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ftunisfloridatam:oai:digitalcommons.usf.edu:kip_articles-8421 2023-12-17T10:22:20+01:00 Late Quaternary paleotemperatures derived from a speleothem from Cango Caves, Cape Province, South Africa Sealy, Judith Lee-Thorp, Julia Loftus, Emma Faith, J. Tyler 2016-01-01T08:00:00Z https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/kip_articles/7421 https://doi.org/10.1016/0033-5894(92)90082-T unknown Digital Commons @ University of South Florida https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/kip_articles/7421 doi:10.1016/0033-5894(92)90082-T https://doi.org/10.1016/0033-5894(92)90082-T KIP Articles text 2016 ftunisfloridatam https://doi.org/10.1016/0033-5894(92)90082-T 2023-11-23T19:07:33Z Pleistocene palaeoclimates and palaeoenvironments of southernmost Africa are important for understanding southern hemisphere climate dynamics and for reconstructing human evolution and early human settlement in this region. Measurements of δ13C in tooth enamel of 136 faunal specimens from the archaeological site of Boomplaas Cave, South Africa, show significant shifts in proportions of C3 and C4 vegetation from the earliest deposits, probably dating to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5, to the late Holocene. Vegetation communities during the Last Glacial Maximum were strongly C3-dominated, indicating an eastward expansion of the winter rainfall zone at this time. This is consistent with climate models postulating northwards shift and/or intensification of the circumpolar westerly frontal systems during glacials. Winter rainfall and lower temperatures, both of which favour C3 grasses, were clearly more important than lower pCO2 (which favours C4 grasses) in determining the nature of the vegetation. The intervals 40–36 and 17–14k cal a BP supported substantial quantities of C4 grasses, indicating a greater proportion of summer rainfall at these times. These two intervals correspond with warmer climates as reflected in Antarctic ice cores. δ13C of an as yet unnamed caprine indicate that these animals were primarily C3 grazers. Text Antarc* Antarctic Digital Commons University of South Florida (USF) Antarctic Quaternary Research 37 2 203 213 |
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Pleistocene palaeoclimates and palaeoenvironments of southernmost Africa are important for understanding southern hemisphere climate dynamics and for reconstructing human evolution and early human settlement in this region. Measurements of δ13C in tooth enamel of 136 faunal specimens from the archaeological site of Boomplaas Cave, South Africa, show significant shifts in proportions of C3 and C4 vegetation from the earliest deposits, probably dating to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5, to the late Holocene. Vegetation communities during the Last Glacial Maximum were strongly C3-dominated, indicating an eastward expansion of the winter rainfall zone at this time. This is consistent with climate models postulating northwards shift and/or intensification of the circumpolar westerly frontal systems during glacials. Winter rainfall and lower temperatures, both of which favour C3 grasses, were clearly more important than lower pCO2 (which favours C4 grasses) in determining the nature of the vegetation. The intervals 40–36 and 17–14k cal a BP supported substantial quantities of C4 grasses, indicating a greater proportion of summer rainfall at these times. These two intervals correspond with warmer climates as reflected in Antarctic ice cores. δ13C of an as yet unnamed caprine indicate that these animals were primarily C3 grazers. |
format |
Text |
author |
Sealy, Judith Lee-Thorp, Julia Loftus, Emma Faith, J. Tyler |
spellingShingle |
Sealy, Judith Lee-Thorp, Julia Loftus, Emma Faith, J. Tyler Late Quaternary paleotemperatures derived from a speleothem from Cango Caves, Cape Province, South Africa |
author_facet |
Sealy, Judith Lee-Thorp, Julia Loftus, Emma Faith, J. Tyler |
author_sort |
Sealy, Judith |
title |
Late Quaternary paleotemperatures derived from a speleothem from Cango Caves, Cape Province, South Africa |
title_short |
Late Quaternary paleotemperatures derived from a speleothem from Cango Caves, Cape Province, South Africa |
title_full |
Late Quaternary paleotemperatures derived from a speleothem from Cango Caves, Cape Province, South Africa |
title_fullStr |
Late Quaternary paleotemperatures derived from a speleothem from Cango Caves, Cape Province, South Africa |
title_full_unstemmed |
Late Quaternary paleotemperatures derived from a speleothem from Cango Caves, Cape Province, South Africa |
title_sort |
late quaternary paleotemperatures derived from a speleothem from cango caves, cape province, south africa |
publisher |
Digital Commons @ University of South Florida |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/kip_articles/7421 https://doi.org/10.1016/0033-5894(92)90082-T |
geographic |
Antarctic |
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Antarctic |
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Antarc* Antarctic |
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Antarc* Antarctic |
op_source |
KIP Articles |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/kip_articles/7421 doi:10.1016/0033-5894(92)90082-T https://doi.org/10.1016/0033-5894(92)90082-T |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/0033-5894(92)90082-T |
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Quaternary Research |
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37 |
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2 |
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203 |
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213 |
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1785546556836937728 |