Collins, James A; Schefuß, Enno; Heslop, David; Mulitza, Stefan; Prange, Matthias; Zabel, Matthias; Tjallingii, Rik; Dokken, Trond; Huang, Enqing; Mackensen, Andreas; Schulz, Michael; Tian, Jun; Zarriess, Michelle; Wefer, Gerold (2011): Age models, organic analyses and major-element analyses of sediment cores on a transect of the tropical African rainbelt [dataset publication series]. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.757457, Supplement to: Collins, JA et al. (2011): Interhemispheric symmetry of tropical African rainbelt over the past 23,000 years. Nature Geoscience, 4(1), 42-45, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1039
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Abstract:
The distribution of rainfall in tropical Africa is controlled by the African rainbelt**1, which oscillates on a seasonal basis. The rainbelt has varied on centennial to millennial timescales along with changes in Northern Hemisphere high-latitude climate**2, 3, 4, 5, the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation**6 and low-latitude insolation**7 over the past glacial-interglacial cycle. However, the overall dynamics of the African rainbelt remain poorly constrained and are not always consistent with a latitudinal migration**2, 4, 5, 6, as has been proposed for other regions**8, 9. Here we use terrestrially derived organic and sedimentary markers from marine sediment cores to reconstruct the distribution of vegetation, and hence rainfall, in tropical Africa during extreme climate states over the past 23,000 years. Our data indicate that rather than migrating latitudinally, the rainbelt contracted and expanded symmetrically in both hemispheres in response to changes in climate. During the Last Glacial Maximum and Heinrich Stadial 1, the rainbelt contracted relative to the late Holocene, which we attribute to a latitudinal compression of atmospheric circulation associated with lower global mean temperatures**10. Conversely, during the mid-Holocene climatic optimum, the rainbelt expanded across tropical Africa. In light of our findings, it is not clear whether the tropical rainbelt has migrated latitudinally on a global scale, as has been suggested**8,9.
Project(s):
Coverage:
Median Latitude: 5.458691 * Median Longitude: -5.884982 * South-bound Latitude: -17.157217 * West-bound Longitude: -18.581700 * North-bound Latitude: 20.751700 * East-bound Longitude: 13.400250
Date/Time Start: 1988-02-28T00:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2005-06-26T22:26:00
Event(s):
175-1078C * Latitude: -11.920770 * Longitude: 13.400250 * Date/Time Start: 1997-09-03T18:10:00 * Date/Time End: 1997-09-04T06:05:00 * Elevation: -426.0 m * Penetration: 165.2 m * Recovery: 149.58 m * Location: Benguela Current, South Atlantic Ocean * Campaign: Leg175 * Basis: Joides Resolution * Method/Device: Drilling/drill rig (DRILL) * Comment: 18 cores; 165.2 m cored; 0 m drilled; 90.5 % recovery
GeoB1023-5 * Latitude: -17.157217 * Longitude: 11.011667 * Date/Time: 1988-02-28T00:00:00 * Elevation: -1978.0 m * Penetration: 12 m * Recovery: 9.5 m * Location: Angola Basin * Campaign: M6/6 * Basis: Meteor (1986) * Method/Device: Gravity corer (Kiel type) (SL) * Comment: cc: clay, olivgreen, shells
GeoB4905-4 * Latitude: 2.500000 * Longitude: 9.390000 * Date/Time: 1998-03-01T06:48:00 * Elevation: -1328.0 m * Recovery: 12.18 m * Location: off Cameroon * Campaign: M41/1 * Basis: Meteor (1986) * Method/Device: Gravity corer (Kiel type) (SL) * Comment: CC: dark olive hemipelagic mud
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC-BY-3.0)
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Datasets listed in this publication series
- Collins, JA; Schefuß, E; Heslop, D et al. (2011): Major element data for tropical western Africa for samples from the Last Glacial Maximum, Heinrich Stadial 1, the mid-Holocene and the late Holocene. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.757398
- Collins, JA; Schefuß, E; Heslop, D et al. (2011): (Figure 2) Plant wax n-alkane carbon isotopes for tropical western Africa for samples from the Last Glacial Maximum, Heinrich Stadial 1, the mid-Holocene and the late Holocene. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.757371
- Collins, JA; Schefuß, E; Heslop, D et al. (2011): (Figure 2) C31 δ¹³C, %C3 vegetation, wet season length and mean annual rainfall for tropical western Africa: mean values for Last Glacial Maximum, Heinrich Stadial 1, mid-Holocene and late Holocene timeslices. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.757391
- Collins, JA; Schefuß, E; Heslop, D et al. (2011): (Figure S5) Dust/river ratios for tropical western Africa: median values for the Last Glacial Maximum, Heinrich Stadial 1, mid-Holocene and late Holocene timeslices. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.757402
- Collins, JA; Schefuß, E; Heslop, D et al. (2011): Age models of sediment cores GeoB7920-2 and GeoB9535-4. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.757419