Large temperature variability in the southern African tropics since the Last Glacial Maximum

doi:doi:10.1029/2004GL022014

Abstract

GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 32, L08706, 4 PP., 2005
doi:10.1029/2004GL022014

Large temperature variability in the southern African tropics since the Last Glacial Maximum

Lindsay A. Powers

Large Lakes Observatory, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, Minnesota, USA

Thomas C. Johnson

Large Lakes Observatory, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, Minnesota, USA

Josef P. Werne

Large Lakes Observatory, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, Minnesota, USA

Isla S. Castañeda

Large Lakes Observatory, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, Minnesota, USA

Ellen C. Hopmans

Department of Marine Biogeochemistry and Toxicology, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Den Burg, Netherlands

Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté

Department of Marine Biogeochemistry and Toxicology, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Den Burg, Netherlands

Stefan Schouten

Department of Marine Biogeochemistry and Toxicology, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Den Burg, Netherlands

The role of the tropics in global climate change is actively debated, particularly in regard to the timing and magnitude of thermal and hydrological response. Continuous, high-resolution temperature records through the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) from tropical oceans have provided much insight but surface temperature reconstructions do not exist from tropical continental environments. Here we used the TEX₈₆ paleotemperature proxy to reconstruct mean annual lake surface temperatures through the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in Lake Malawi, East Africa (9°–14°S). We find a ∼3.5°C overall warming since the LGM, with temperature reversals of ∼2°C during the Younger Dryas (12.5 ka BP) and at 8.2 ka BP. Maximum Holocene temperatures of ∼29°C were found at 5 ka BP, a period preceding severe drought in Africa. These results suggest a substantial thermal response of southeastern tropical Africa to deglaciation and to varying conditions during the Holocene.

Received 16 November 2004; accepted 17 February 2005; published 23 April 2005.

Citation: Powers, L. A., T. C. Johnson, J. P. Werne, I. S. Castañeda, E. C. Hopmans, J. S. Sinninghe Damsté, and S. Schouten (2005), Large temperature variability in the southern African tropics since the Last Glacial Maximum, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L08706, doi:10.1029/2004GL022014.

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