Leaf wax δD inferring variable medieval hydroclimate and early initiation of Little Ice Age (LIA) dryness in southern Mozambique

Norström, Elin; Noren, Gabriel; Smittenberg, Rienk H.; Massuanganhe, Elídio A.; Ekblom, Anneli

doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2018.09.004

Cited by 10 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…Other records spanning the last 1300 years do exist in southern Africa (e.g. Norström et al, 2018;Scott, 1996;Stager et al, 2013), but we defer detailed inter-regional consideration of these records for a fuller synthetic study.…”

Section: Climate and Environmental Change During The Last ~1300 Yearsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation and climate change during the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the Little Ice Age on the southern Cape coast of South Africa: Pollen evidence from Bo Langvlei

et al. 2020

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This paper presents continuous, high resolution fossil pollen and microcharcoal records from Bo Langvlei, a lake in the Wilderness Embayment on South Africa’s southern Cape coast. Spanning the past ~1300 years and encompassing the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA; c. AD 950–1250) and the Little Ice Age (LIA; c. AD 1300–1850), these records provide a rare southern African perspective on past temperature, moisture and vegetation change during these much debated periods of the recent geological past. Considered together with other records from the Wilderness Embayment, we conclude that conditions in the region during the MCA chronozone were – in the context of the last 1300 years – likely relatively dry (reduced levels of Afrotemperate forest pollen) and perhaps slightly cooler (increased percentages of Stoebe-type pollen) than present. The most significant phase of forest expansion, and more humid conditions, occurred during the transition between the MCA and the most prominent cooling phase of the LIA. The LIA is clearly identified at this locality as a period of cool, dry conditions between c. AD 1600 and 1850. The mechanisms driving the changes observed in the Bo Langvlei pollen record appear to be generally linked to changes in temperature, and changes in the influence of tropical circulation systems. During warmer periods, moisture availability was higher at Bo Langvlei, and rainfall was perhaps less seasonal. During colder periods, precipitation resulting from tropical disturbances was more restricted, resulting in drier conditions. While increased precipitation has been reported during the LIA from Verlorenvlei in the Western Cape as a result of an equatorward displacement of the westerly storm-track at this time, the opposing response at Bo Langvlei suggests that any increased influence of westerlies was insufficient to compensate for the concurrent reduction in tropical/local rainfall in the region.

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Section: Climate and Environmental Change During The Last ~1300 Yearsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation and climate change during the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the Little Ice Age on the southern Cape coast of South Africa: Pollen evidence from Bo Langvlei

et al. 2020

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“…The interest in molecular fingerprinting plant biomarkers in archeological 49–55 and paleoanthropological 6–20,22,56 studies (Figure 3), lies in key advantages this technique holds over other proxies. Plant wax δ 13 C (Box 2) is not biased toward herbivore feeding behavior like that of tooth enamel, and lipid biomarkers are more widespread than paleosol carbonates which only form in soils where annual rainfall is less than 1000 mm per year 57 .…”

Section: Complementary Addition To Multi‐proxy Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant wax biomarkers in human evolutionary studies

Patalano

Roberts

Boivin

et al. 2021

Evolutionary Anthropology

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Plant wax biomarkers are an innovative proxy for reconstructing vegetation composition and structure, rainfall intensity, temperature, and other climatic and environmental dynamics. Traditionally used in earth sciences and climate studies from “off‐site” ocean and lake records, biomarker research is now incorporated in archeology and paleoanthropology to answer questions relating to past human‐environment interactions and human evolution. Biomarker research is generating new and exciting information on the ecological context in which Homo and its closest relatives evolved, adapted, and invented stone tool technologies. In this review, we examine plant wax biomarkers and their use in reconstructing past plant landscapes and hydroclimates. We summarize the applications of plant wax molecular proxies in archeological research, assess challenges relating to taphonomy, consider the role of modern plant ecosystems in interpreting ancient habitats, and examine case studies conducted at key paleoanthropological locations in eastern and southern Africa and Europe.

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A re-evaluation of the average chain length of lacustrine sedimentary n-alkanes as a paleoproxy on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Wang,

Li,

Toney

et al. 2023

Front. Earth Sci.

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Leaf wax δD inferring variable medieval hydroclimate and early initiation of Little Ice Age (LIA) dryness in southern Mozambique

Cited by 10 publications

References 76 publications

Vegetation and climate change during the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the Little Ice Age on the southern Cape coast of South Africa: Pollen evidence from Bo Langvlei

Vegetation and climate change during the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the Little Ice Age on the southern Cape coast of South Africa: Pollen evidence from Bo Langvlei

Plant wax biomarkers in human evolutionary studies

A re-evaluation of the average chain length of lacustrine sedimentary n-alkanes as a paleoproxy on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

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