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A >22,000 yr diatom record from the plateau of Zambia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 July 2017

Kurt A. Haberyan
Kurt A. Haberyan*
Affiliation:
Department of Natural Sciences, Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, Missouri 64468, USA
*
*Corresponding author at: Department of Natural Sciences, Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, Missouri 64468, USA. E-mail address: khaber@nwmissouri.edu (K.A. Haberyan).
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Abstract

Diatoms and sediments were examined in a 530 cm core from Ishiba Ngandu, Zambia, a lake formed by gentle downwarping. Diatom zone D (>20 cal ka BP) was mostly sand with abundant Aulacoseira and Eunotia, suggesting a shallow lake perhaps kept fresh by spring inputs and lake discharge, except during deposition of the lowermost 66 cm. Gyttja deposition between about 22 and 20 cal ka BP suggested a deeper lake and a wetter climate, perhaps because the Congo Air Boundary (CAB) was farther southeast relative to modern times. The next zone, zone C (about 20–19 cal ka BP), was sand with abundant Achnanthidium and Eunotia but very few planktonic diatoms, apparently representing very shallow water and an arid period without the CAB. The gyttja and diatoms in zone B (19–4 ka) suggested an increase in moisture when the CAB returned. Zone A (4–0 cal ka BP) was dominated by the planktonic Aulacoseira (>89%), suggesting an increase in wind-driven mixing. Uniquely, Ishiba Ngandu likely has been relatively moist since the last glacial maximum, matching pre-Holocene wetness in Botswana but not its Holocene aridity; evidently the climate here had switched to that of East Africa.

Keywords

PaleoclimatePaleolimnologyAfricaZambiaHoloceneLast glacial maximum
Type
Tribute to Daniel Livingstone and Paul Colinvaux
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 89 , Issue 1: Tribute to Daniel Livingstone and Paul Colinvaux , January 2018 , pp. 33 - 42
Copyright
Copyright © University of Washington. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2017 

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