Terrestrial temperature evolution of southern Africa during the late Pleistocene and Holocene: Evidence from the Mfabeni Peatland

Susanne Fietz; Andrea Baker; Charlotte S. Miller; B D A Naafs; Francien Peterse; Jemma finch; Marc Humphries; Enno Schefuss; Alakendra N. Roychoudhury; Joyanto Routh

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107870

Terrestrial temperature evolution of southern Africa during the late Pleistocene and Holocene: Evidence from the Mfabeni Peatland

Susanne Fietz^*
, Andrea Baker
, Charlotte S. Miller
, B D A Naafs
, Francien Peterse
, Jemma finch
, Marc Humphries
, Enno Schefuss
, Alakendra N. Roychoudhury
, Joyanto Routh

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

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Abstract

The scarcity of suitable high-resolution archives, such as ancient natural lakes, that span beyond the Holocene, hinders long-term late Quaternary temperature reconstructions in southern Africa. Here we target two cores from Mfabeni Peatland, one of the few long continuous terrestrial archives in South Africa that reaches into the Pleistocene, to generate a composite temperature record spanning the last ∼43 kyr. The Mfabeni Peatland has previously been proven suitable for temperature and hydrological reconstructions based on pollen and geochemical proxies. Here we use branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) preserved in the Mfabeni peatland to derive a new quantitative air temperature record for south-east Africa. Our temperature record generally follows global trends in temperature and atmospheric CO2 concentrations, but is decoupled at times. Annual air temperatures during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 were moderately high (c. 20.5 °C), but dropped by c. 5 °C during the Last Glacial Maximum, reaching a minimum at c.16–15 ka. Asynchronous with local insolation, this cooling may have resulted from reduced sea surface temperatures linked to a northward shift in the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds. Concurrent with the southward retreat of the westerlies, and increasing sea surface temperatures offshore, warming from minimum temperatures (c. 15.0 °C) to average Holocene temperatures (c. 20.0 °C) occurred across the deglaciation. This warming was briefly but prominently interrupted by a millennial-scale cooling event of c. 3 °C at c. 2.4 ka, concurrent with a sudden change in hydrological conditions. The average Holocene temperatures of c. 20.0 °C were similar to those reconstructed for MIS 3, but after the 2.4 ka cooling period, air temperatures in the Mfabeni peat recovered and steadily increased towards the present. In summary, our record demonstrates that land temperature in eastern South Africa is highly sensitive to global drivers as well as nearby sea surface temperatures.

Original language	English
Article number	107870
Journal	Quaternary Science Reviews
Volume	299
Early online date	29 Nov 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107870
Publication status	Published - 1 Jan 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Patrick Prestele, Stellenbosch University, is acknowledged for support with SL6 sample processing. Ralph Kreutz, MARUM, is thanked for support with MF4-12 sample processing and analyses. David Rudberg, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden, is acknowledged for support with LOWESS smoothing. Fig. 1 was drafted by Brice Gijsbertsen at the UKZN Geography Cartography Unit. This research has been supported by Stellenbosch University Sub-Committee-B Research Funding, National Research Foundation South Africa (Grant No: 98905, 84431), and Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF; RAiN project, grant no. 03G0840 A/B). Field work and other expenses were partly supported by a grant to J.R. from Ventenskapsrådet (Grant 348-2009-6500). B.D.A.N. was funded through a Royal Society Tata University Research Fellowship. F.P. acknowledges funding from the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO; Vidi grant 192.074). E.S. is supported by the DFG-Cluster of Excellence ‘The Ocean in the Earth System’ at MARUM. We thank Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority for granting us permission to work at Mfabeni (OP 1630/2013). Three anonymous reviewers are acknowledged for valuable, insightful and respectful comments on this and previous versions that helped improve this manuscript.

Funding Information:
Patrick Prestele, Stellenbosch University , is acknowledged for support with SL6 sample processing. Ralph Kreutz, MARUM, is thanked for support with MF4-12 sample processing and analyses. David Rudberg, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden, is acknowledged for support with LOWESS smoothing. Fig. 1 was drafted by Brice Gijsbertsen at the UKZN Geography Cartography Unit. This research has been supported by Stellenbosch University Sub-Committee-B Research Funding, National Research Foundation South Africa (Grant No: 98905 , 84431 ), and Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF; RAiN project, grant no. 03G0840 A/B ). Field work and other expenses were partly supported by a grant to J.R. from Ventenskapsrådet (Grant 348-2009-6500 ). B.D.A.N. was funded through a Royal Society Tata University Research Fellowship. F.P. acknowledges funding from the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO; Vidi grant 192.074 ). E.S. is supported by the DFG-Cluster of Excellence ‘The Ocean in the Earth System’ at MARUM. We thank Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority for granting us permission to work at Mfabeni (OP 1630/2013). Three anonymous reviewers are acknowledged for valuable, insightful and respectful comments on this and previous versions that helped improve this manuscript.

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© 2022 Elsevier Ltd

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Fietz, S., Baker, A., Miller, C. S., Naafs, B. D. A., Peterse, F., finch, J., Humphries, M., Schefuss, E., Roychoudhury, A. N., & Routh, J. (2023). Terrestrial temperature evolution of southern Africa during the late Pleistocene and Holocene: Evidence from the Mfabeni Peatland. Quaternary Science Reviews, 299, Article 107870. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107870

@article{1376c1b624d043158af1940e3cd9e898,

title = "Terrestrial temperature evolution of southern Africa during the late Pleistocene and Holocene: Evidence from the Mfabeni Peatland",

abstract = "The scarcity of suitable high-resolution archives, such as ancient natural lakes, that span beyond the Holocene, hinders long-term late Quaternary temperature reconstructions in southern Africa. Here we target two cores from Mfabeni Peatland, one of the few long continuous terrestrial archives in South Africa that reaches into the Pleistocene, to generate a composite temperature record spanning the last ∼43 kyr. The Mfabeni Peatland has previously been proven suitable for temperature and hydrological reconstructions based on pollen and geochemical proxies. Here we use branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) preserved in the Mfabeni peatland to derive a new quantitative air temperature record for south-east Africa. Our temperature record generally follows global trends in temperature and atmospheric CO2 concentrations, but is decoupled at times. Annual air temperatures during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 were moderately high (c. 20.5 °C), but dropped by c. 5 °C during the Last Glacial Maximum, reaching a minimum at c.16–15 ka. Asynchronous with local insolation, this cooling may have resulted from reduced sea surface temperatures linked to a northward shift in the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds. Concurrent with the southward retreat of the westerlies, and increasing sea surface temperatures offshore, warming from minimum temperatures (c. 15.0 °C) to average Holocene temperatures (c. 20.0 °C) occurred across the deglaciation. This warming was briefly but prominently interrupted by a millennial-scale cooling event of c. 3 °C at c. 2.4 ka, concurrent with a sudden change in hydrological conditions. The average Holocene temperatures of c. 20.0 °C were similar to those reconstructed for MIS 3, but after the 2.4 ka cooling period, air temperatures in the Mfabeni peat recovered and steadily increased towards the present. In summary, our record demonstrates that land temperature in eastern South Africa is highly sensitive to global drivers as well as nearby sea surface temperatures.",

author = "Susanne Fietz and Andrea Baker and Miller, \{Charlotte S.\} and Naafs, \{B D A\} and Francien Peterse and Jemma finch and Marc Humphries and Enno Schefuss and Roychoudhury, \{Alakendra N.\} and Joyanto Routh",

note = "Funding Information: Patrick Prestele, Stellenbosch University, is acknowledged for support with SL6 sample processing. Ralph Kreutz, MARUM, is thanked for support with MF4-12 sample processing and analyses. David Rudberg, Link{\"o}ping University, Link{\"o}ping, Sweden, is acknowledged for support with LOWESS smoothing. Fig. 1 was drafted by Brice Gijsbertsen at the UKZN Geography Cartography Unit. This research has been supported by Stellenbosch University Sub-Committee-B Research Funding, National Research Foundation South Africa (Grant No: 98905, 84431), and Bundesministerium f{\"u}r Bildung und Forschung (BMBF; RAiN project, grant no. 03G0840 A/B). Field work and other expenses were partly supported by a grant to J.R. from Ventenskapsr{\aa}det (Grant 348-2009-6500). B.D.A.N. was funded through a Royal Society Tata University Research Fellowship. F.P. acknowledges funding from the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO; Vidi grant 192.074). E.S. is supported by the DFG-Cluster of Excellence {\textquoteleft}The Ocean in the Earth System{\textquoteright} at MARUM. We thank Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority for granting us permission to work at Mfabeni (OP 1630/2013). Three anonymous reviewers are acknowledged for valuable, insightful and respectful comments on this and previous versions that helped improve this manuscript. Funding Information: Patrick Prestele, Stellenbosch University , is acknowledged for support with SL6 sample processing. Ralph Kreutz, MARUM, is thanked for support with MF4-12 sample processing and analyses. David Rudberg, Link{\"o}ping University, Link{\"o}ping, Sweden, is acknowledged for support with LOWESS smoothing. Fig. 1 was drafted by Brice Gijsbertsen at the UKZN Geography Cartography Unit. This research has been supported by Stellenbosch University Sub-Committee-B Research Funding, National Research Foundation South Africa (Grant No: 98905 , 84431 ), and Bundesministerium f{\"u}r Bildung und Forschung (BMBF; RAiN project, grant no. 03G0840 A/B ). Field work and other expenses were partly supported by a grant to J.R. from Ventenskapsr{\aa}det (Grant 348-2009-6500 ). B.D.A.N. was funded through a Royal Society Tata University Research Fellowship. F.P. acknowledges funding from the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO; Vidi grant 192.074 ). E.S. is supported by the DFG-Cluster of Excellence {\textquoteleft}The Ocean in the Earth System{\textquoteright} at MARUM. We thank Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority for granting us permission to work at Mfabeni (OP 1630/2013). Three anonymous reviewers are acknowledged for valuable, insightful and respectful comments on this and previous versions that helped improve this manuscript. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 Elsevier Ltd",

year = "2023",

month = jan,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107870",

language = "English",

volume = "299",

journal = "Quaternary Science Reviews",

issn = "0277-3791",

publisher = "Elsevier Limited",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Terrestrial temperature evolution of southern Africa during the late Pleistocene and Holocene

T2 - Evidence from the Mfabeni Peatland

AU - Fietz, Susanne

AU - Baker, Andrea

AU - Miller, Charlotte S.

AU - Naafs, B D A

AU - Peterse, Francien

AU - finch, Jemma

AU - Humphries, Marc

AU - Schefuss, Enno

AU - Roychoudhury, Alakendra N.

AU - Routh, Joyanto

N1 - Funding Information: Patrick Prestele, Stellenbosch University, is acknowledged for support with SL6 sample processing. Ralph Kreutz, MARUM, is thanked for support with MF4-12 sample processing and analyses. David Rudberg, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden, is acknowledged for support with LOWESS smoothing. Fig. 1 was drafted by Brice Gijsbertsen at the UKZN Geography Cartography Unit. This research has been supported by Stellenbosch University Sub-Committee-B Research Funding, National Research Foundation South Africa (Grant No: 98905, 84431), and Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF; RAiN project, grant no. 03G0840 A/B). Field work and other expenses were partly supported by a grant to J.R. from Ventenskapsrådet (Grant 348-2009-6500). B.D.A.N. was funded through a Royal Society Tata University Research Fellowship. F.P. acknowledges funding from the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO; Vidi grant 192.074). E.S. is supported by the DFG-Cluster of Excellence ‘The Ocean in the Earth System’ at MARUM. We thank Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority for granting us permission to work at Mfabeni (OP 1630/2013). Three anonymous reviewers are acknowledged for valuable, insightful and respectful comments on this and previous versions that helped improve this manuscript. Funding Information: Patrick Prestele, Stellenbosch University , is acknowledged for support with SL6 sample processing. Ralph Kreutz, MARUM, is thanked for support with MF4-12 sample processing and analyses. David Rudberg, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden, is acknowledged for support with LOWESS smoothing. Fig. 1 was drafted by Brice Gijsbertsen at the UKZN Geography Cartography Unit. This research has been supported by Stellenbosch University Sub-Committee-B Research Funding, National Research Foundation South Africa (Grant No: 98905 , 84431 ), and Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF; RAiN project, grant no. 03G0840 A/B ). Field work and other expenses were partly supported by a grant to J.R. from Ventenskapsrådet (Grant 348-2009-6500 ). B.D.A.N. was funded through a Royal Society Tata University Research Fellowship. F.P. acknowledges funding from the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO; Vidi grant 192.074 ). E.S. is supported by the DFG-Cluster of Excellence ‘The Ocean in the Earth System’ at MARUM. We thank Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority for granting us permission to work at Mfabeni (OP 1630/2013). Three anonymous reviewers are acknowledged for valuable, insightful and respectful comments on this and previous versions that helped improve this manuscript. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Elsevier Ltd

PY - 2023/1/1

Y1 - 2023/1/1

N2 - The scarcity of suitable high-resolution archives, such as ancient natural lakes, that span beyond the Holocene, hinders long-term late Quaternary temperature reconstructions in southern Africa. Here we target two cores from Mfabeni Peatland, one of the few long continuous terrestrial archives in South Africa that reaches into the Pleistocene, to generate a composite temperature record spanning the last ∼43 kyr. The Mfabeni Peatland has previously been proven suitable for temperature and hydrological reconstructions based on pollen and geochemical proxies. Here we use branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) preserved in the Mfabeni peatland to derive a new quantitative air temperature record for south-east Africa. Our temperature record generally follows global trends in temperature and atmospheric CO2 concentrations, but is decoupled at times. Annual air temperatures during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 were moderately high (c. 20.5 °C), but dropped by c. 5 °C during the Last Glacial Maximum, reaching a minimum at c.16–15 ka. Asynchronous with local insolation, this cooling may have resulted from reduced sea surface temperatures linked to a northward shift in the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds. Concurrent with the southward retreat of the westerlies, and increasing sea surface temperatures offshore, warming from minimum temperatures (c. 15.0 °C) to average Holocene temperatures (c. 20.0 °C) occurred across the deglaciation. This warming was briefly but prominently interrupted by a millennial-scale cooling event of c. 3 °C at c. 2.4 ka, concurrent with a sudden change in hydrological conditions. The average Holocene temperatures of c. 20.0 °C were similar to those reconstructed for MIS 3, but after the 2.4 ka cooling period, air temperatures in the Mfabeni peat recovered and steadily increased towards the present. In summary, our record demonstrates that land temperature in eastern South Africa is highly sensitive to global drivers as well as nearby sea surface temperatures.

AB - The scarcity of suitable high-resolution archives, such as ancient natural lakes, that span beyond the Holocene, hinders long-term late Quaternary temperature reconstructions in southern Africa. Here we target two cores from Mfabeni Peatland, one of the few long continuous terrestrial archives in South Africa that reaches into the Pleistocene, to generate a composite temperature record spanning the last ∼43 kyr. The Mfabeni Peatland has previously been proven suitable for temperature and hydrological reconstructions based on pollen and geochemical proxies. Here we use branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) preserved in the Mfabeni peatland to derive a new quantitative air temperature record for south-east Africa. Our temperature record generally follows global trends in temperature and atmospheric CO2 concentrations, but is decoupled at times. Annual air temperatures during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 were moderately high (c. 20.5 °C), but dropped by c. 5 °C during the Last Glacial Maximum, reaching a minimum at c.16–15 ka. Asynchronous with local insolation, this cooling may have resulted from reduced sea surface temperatures linked to a northward shift in the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds. Concurrent with the southward retreat of the westerlies, and increasing sea surface temperatures offshore, warming from minimum temperatures (c. 15.0 °C) to average Holocene temperatures (c. 20.0 °C) occurred across the deglaciation. This warming was briefly but prominently interrupted by a millennial-scale cooling event of c. 3 °C at c. 2.4 ka, concurrent with a sudden change in hydrological conditions. The average Holocene temperatures of c. 20.0 °C were similar to those reconstructed for MIS 3, but after the 2.4 ka cooling period, air temperatures in the Mfabeni peat recovered and steadily increased towards the present. In summary, our record demonstrates that land temperature in eastern South Africa is highly sensitive to global drivers as well as nearby sea surface temperatures.

U2 - 10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107870

DO - 10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107870

M3 - Article (Academic Journal)

SN - 0277-3791

VL - 299

JO - Quaternary Science Reviews

JF - Quaternary Science Reviews

M1 - 107870

ER -

Terrestrial temperature evolution of southern Africa during the late Pleistocene and Holocene: Evidence from the Mfabeni Peatland

Abstract

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