Kilimanjaro Ice Core Records: Evidence of Holocene Climate Change in Tropical Africa

Thompson, Lonnie G.; Mosley‐Thompson, Ellen; Davis, M. E.; Henderson, Keith; Brecher, Henry H.; Zagorodnov, V.; Mashiotta, Tracy A.; Lin, Ping-Nan; Mikhalenko, Vladimir; Hardy, Douglas R.; Beer, Jürg

doi:10.1126/science.1073198

Cited by 733 publications

(526 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The Kibo (i.e. at 5800 m.a.s.l) normally reaches up to −7.1˚C [20]. However, the alpine belt (3500 to 4000 m.a.s.l) experiences summer during the daytime and winter periods during the night [19].…”

Section: Location and Characteristics Of The Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Livestock Grazing on Soil Characteristics in Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Mligo¹

2015

GEP

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Livestock grazing is an anthropogenic disturbance on the soil properties in montane forests of the northern slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. It was determined the effect of livestock grazing on SOC, N, CEC, SAS, SFD and P in the montane forest. Forty plots were randomly established for collection of soil samples. Data showed livestock grazing decreased the accumulation of SOC and consequently negatively affected the natural pattern of N, P, SFD, CEC and SAS. An opposing pattern of available soil phosphorus was interpreted that the nutrient pool retained in plant tissues particularly in the long-lived trees, which were absent in heavily grazed area. The observed positive correlation between SOC with TN and CEC implies the livestock grazing impacts on the former negatively affected the later soil parameters. Low fungal density in degraded parts of the montane forest indicates that they are sensitive to the current land use change. Based on the observation from this study, it can be regarded that excessive livestock grazing has a long-term negative ramification for soil conservation in montane forest. An important decision has to be sought off with regard to the conservation management of soil characteristics of the montane forest in Kilimanjaro Mountain.

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Section: Location and Characteristics Of The Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Livestock Grazing on Soil Characteristics in Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Mligo¹

2015

GEP

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“…Kilimanjaro the most recent phase of ice accumulation seems to have commenced at circa 11.8 ka [Thompson et al, 2002]. The precipitation required to construct these ice fields is Figure 3.…”

Section: South Of the Equatormentioning

confidence: 99%

An abrupt change in the African monsoon at the end of the Younger Dryas

Talbot

Filippi

Jensen

et al. 2007

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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[1] High-resolution studies of variations in the elemental and stable carbon-and nitrogen-isotope composition of organic matter in cores from Lakes Malawi, Tanganyika, and Bosumtwi (tropical Africa) indicate an abrupt change in the wind-driven circulation of these lakes that, within the limits of available chronologies, was contemporaneous with the end of the Younger Dryas in the northern hemisphere. The change was also coincident with shifts in surface winds recorded in cores from off the west and northeast coasts of Africa. A range of other proxies indicate that these changes in wind regime were accompanied by a marked increase in precipitation in the northern tropics. Africa south of 5°-10°S, on the other hand, initially suffered drought conditions. Together, the evidence suggests an abrupt northward translation of the African monsoon system at circa 11.5 ± 0.25 ka B.P. The data assembled here contribute to a growing body of work showing that the Younger Dryas was a major climatic excursion in tropical Africa. Furthermore, they add substance to recent suggestions that climatic events in the southern hemisphere may have played a significant role in the abrupt demise of the Younger Dryas.

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“…For the three glaciated massifs in East Africa (Mount Kenya, Rwenzori, 1 and Kilimanjaro), this was comprehensively reported by Hastenrath (1984). Specific details for Mount Kenya are provided by Hastenrath and coworkers (Kruss and Hastenrath, 1987;Hastenrath, 1989;Hastenrath et al, 1989), for the Rwenzori by Kaser and coworkers Noggler, 1991, 1996;Kaser and Osmaston, 2002), and for Kilimanjaro by Hastenrath and Greischar (1997) and Thompson et al (2002). Decreased precipitation and increasing temperature, and, therefore, a higher position of the lower snow fall limit, are regarded as dominating reasons for the generally strong glacier recession in Equatorial East Africa (Kruss and Hastenrath, 1987;Kaser and Noggler, 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The contribution of increased incoming shortwave radiation to the retreat of the Rwenzori Glaciers, East Africa, during the 20th century

Mölg

Georges

Kaser

2003

Intl Journal of Climatology

100

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Based on (i) the observation of spatially differential glacier retreats in the tropical Rwenzori Range (East Africa) during the 20th century, which are most striking on the mountains Baker and Speke, and (ii) the information on an abrupt climate change to drier conditions in East Africa at the end of the 19th century, the following hypothesis is derived: owing to a drier atmosphere than in a previous period, both accumulation (possibly supported by increasing air temperatures) and convective cloud activity have decreased. Consequently, increased incoming shortwave radiation, especially during the morning hours, induced a differentially increased ablation that could not be compensated by mass advection on the mountains Baker and Speke.The results obtained from a combined radiation-terrain model, run for one more humid and one drier climatic scenario, confirm the hypothesis by quantifying the correlation between increased incoming shortwave radiation and glacier surface area loss. In the context of modern climate fluctuations, the results are a further indicator for a drastic climatic dislocation in East Africa at the end of the 19th century, leaving a humid regime behind and leading to a relatively dry regime, which is forcing the recession of glaciers not only by less accumulation but also by less protection against shortwave radiation through clouds.

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Kilimanjaro Ice Core Records: Evidence of Holocene Climate Change in Tropical Africa

Cited by 733 publications

References 32 publications

The Impact of Livestock Grazing on Soil Characteristics in Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

The Impact of Livestock Grazing on Soil Characteristics in Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

An abrupt change in the African monsoon at the end of the Younger Dryas

The contribution of increased incoming shortwave radiation to the retreat of the Rwenzori Glaciers, East Africa, during the 20th century

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