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

Abstract

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.