Relationship between Antarctic sea ice and southwest African climate during the late Quaternary

• Published in: Geology
• Main Authors: Stuut, Jan-Berend, Crosta, Xavier, van Der Borg, Klaas, Schneider, Ralph
• Other Authors: Environnements et Paléoenvironnements OCéaniques (EPOC), Observatoire aquitain des sciences de l'univers (OASU), Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1 (UB)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1 (UB)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institute of Geosciences Kiel, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (CAU)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2004
• Subjects: grain size; trade wind strength; aridity; late Quaternary; dust; sea ice; diatoms; end-member modeling; [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean; Atmosphere; [SDU.STU.OC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Oceanography; [SDU.STU.CL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Climatology; Antarctic; Antarc*; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-02105700; https://doi.org/10.1130/G20709.1

International audience Here we compare late Quaternary southwest African climate records from the west coast of southern Africa (published winter rainfall and trade wind intensity records from a core off the coast of Namibia) to records of Antarctic sea-ice extent. This comparison reveals coherent changes between Antarctic sea-ice extent and the southwest African winter rain region since 45 k.y. B.P., with enhanced winter rainfall and trade-wind vigor during periods of increased sea-ice presence. We propose an oceanic and atmospheric coupling between Antarctic sea ice and the winter rainfall zone of southwest Africa that may lead to increased desertification in the region if global warming persists.