Description: To better understand Holocene vegetation and hydrological changes in South Africa, we analyzed pollen and microcharcoal records of two marine sites GeoB8331 and GeoB8323 from the Namaqualand mudbelt offshore the west coast of South Africa covering the last 9900 and 2200 years, respectively. Our data corroborate findings from literature that climate developments apparently contrast between the summer rainfall zone (SRZ) and winter rainfall zone (WRZ) over the last 9900 years, especially during the early and middle Holocene. During the early Holocene (9900-7800 cal.yr BP), a minimum of grass pollen suggests low summer rainfall in the SRZ, and the initial presence of Renosterveld vegetation indicates relatively wet conditions in the WRZ. Towards the middle Holocene (7800-2400 cal. yr BP), a rather moist savanna/grassland rich in grasses suggests higher summer rainfall in the SRZ resulting from increased austral summer insolation and a decline of fynbos vegetation accompanied by an increasing Succulent Karoo vegetation in the WRZ possibly suggests a southward shift of the Southern Hemisphere westerlies. During the last 2200 years, a trend towards higher aridity was observed for the SRZ, while the climate in the WRZ remained relatively stable. The Little Ice Age (ca. 700-200 cal. yr BP) was rather cool in both rainfall zones and drier in the SRZ while wetter in the WRZ.

Description: Vegetation and climate change in nortwestern South America were studied using pollen analysis in combination with XRF scanning on marine sediments of ODP Site 1239 from the East Equatorial Pacific comprising the interval between 4.7 and 4.2 Ma. The study site is sensitive to latitudinal shifts of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) shifts insofar as a southward (northward) shift would result in increased (decreased) precipitation over Ecuador. The presented pollen record (46 samples) comprises representatives from five ecological groups: lowland rainforest, lower montane forest, upper montane forest, páramo, and broad range taxa. A broad tropical rainforest coverage persisted in the study area throughout the early Pliocene, without significant open vegetation below the forest line. Between 4.7 and 4.42 Ma, humidity increases, reaching its peak around 4.42 Ma, and slightly decreasing again afterwards. The stable, permanently humid conditions are rather in agreement with paleoceanographic data indicating a southward shift of the ITCZ, possibly in response to closure of the Central American Seaway. The presence of páramo vegetation indicates that the Western Cordillera of the northern Andes had already reached considerable elevation by the early Pliocene. The trend in iron/potassium-ratios (Fe/K) is similar to the pattern of humidity inferred from the pollen spectrum, showing the highest values around 4.46 Ma, thus supporting the hydrological interpretation of the pollen record.

Description: We investigate the redistribution of terrigenous materials in the northeastern (NE) South American continental margin during slowdown events of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). The compilation of stratigraphic data from 108 marine sediment cores collected across the western tropical Atlantic shows an extreme rise in sedimentation rates off the Parnaíba River mouth (about 2°S) during Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1, 18-15 ka). Sediment core GeoB16206-1, raised offshore the Parnaíba River mouth, documents relatively constant 143Nd/144Nd values (expressed as epsilonNd(0)) throughout the last 30 ka. Whereas the homogeneous epsilonNd(0) data support the input of fluvial sediments by the Parnaíba River from the same source area directly onshore, the increases in Fe/Ca, Al/Si and Rb/Sr during HS1 indicate a marked intensification of fluvial erosion in the Parnaíba River drainage basin. In contrast, the epsilonNd(0) values from sediment core GeoB16224-1 collected off French Guiana (about 7°N) suggest Amazon-sourced materials within the last 30 ka. We attribute the extremely high volume of terrigenous sediments deposited offshore the Parnaíba River mouth during HS1 to (i) an enhanced precipitation in the catchment region and (ii) a reduced North Brazil Current, which are both associated with a weakened AMOC.

Description: Detailed knowledge about tropical South American precipitation patterns during Heinrich (H) and Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) stadials provides relevant insights into the possible evolution of Amazonian hydroclimate under future climate change. Sediment core GeoB16224-1 (ca. 7°N), raised from a site in the continental slope off French Guiana in western equatorial Atlantic under the influence of the Amazon River discharge, documents the impacts of H and DO stadials on both inorganic (i.e., Fe/Ca record) and organic (i.e., alkenone C37 concentration and C37/C38 ratio) geochemistry between 41 and 13 ka BP. Our results show millennial-scale covariations of increased Fe/Ca values with decreased C37 concentration and C37/C38 ratios during H and DO stadials. Comparing our high temporal resolution data with previously published records from ca. 17°N to 4°S, we are able to differentiate the influence of H and DO stadials upon tropical South American precipitation. We find that records under the influence of the South American summer monsoon (e.g., western Amazon) and the northern edge of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) (e.g., northernmost South America) exhibit strong climate shifts during both H and DO stadials, but regions under the influence of the southern edge of the ITCZ (e.g., northeastern Brazil) experience a weaker reaction during DO stadials than during H stadials.

Description: We compared particle data from a moored video camera system with sediment trap derived fluxes at ~1100 m depth in the highly dynamic coastal upwelling system off Cape Blanc, Mauritania. Between spring 2008 and winter 2010 the trap collected settling particles in 9-day intervals, while the camera recorded in-situ particle abundance and size-distribution every third day. Particle fluxes were highly variable (40-1200 mg m**-2 d**-1) and followed distinct seasonal patterns with peaks during spring, summer and fall. The particle flux patterns from the sediment traps correlated to the total particle volume captured by the video camera, which ranged from1 to 22 mm**3 l**-1. The measured increase in total particle volume during periods of high mass flux appeared to be better related to increases in the particle concentrations, rather than to increased average particle size. We observed events that had similar particle fluxes, but showed clear differences in particle abundance and size-distribution, and vice versa. Such observations can only be explained by shifts in the composition of the settling material, with changes both in particle density and chemical composition. For example, the input of wind-blown dust from the Sahara during September 2009 led to the formation of high numbers of comparably small particles in the water column. This suggests that, besides seasonal changes, the composition of marine particles in one region underlies episodical changes. The time between the appearance of high dust concentrations in the atmosphere and the increase lithogenic flux in the 1100 m deep trap suggested an average settling rate of 200 m d**-1, indicating a close and fast coupling between dust input and sedimentation of the material.