Stefan W. Grab

Temperature variability over Africa during the last 2000 years

A growing number of proxy, historical and instrumental data sets are now available from continental Africa through which past variations in temperature can be assessed. This paper, co-authored by members of the PAGES Africa2k Working Group, synthesises published material to produce a record of temperature variability for Africa as a whole spanning the last 2000 years. The paper focuses on temperature variability during the ‘Medieval Climate Anomaly’ (MCA), ‘Little Ice Age’ (LIA) and late 19th–early 21st centuries. Warmer conditions during the MCA are evident in records from Lake Tanganyika in central Africa, the Ethiopian Highlands in northeastern Africa, and Cango Cave, the Kuiseb River and Wonderkrater in southern Africa. Other records covering the MCA give ambiguous signals. Warming appears to have been greater during the early MCA (c. ad 1000) in parts of southern Africa and during the later MCA (from ad 1100) in Namibia, Ethiopia and at Lake Tanganyika. LIA cooling is evident in Ethiopian and southern African pollen records and in organic biomarker data from Lake Malawi in southeastern tropical Africa, while at Lake Tanganyika the temperature depression appears to have been less consistent. A warming trend in mean annual temperatures is clearly evident from historical and instrumental data covering the late 19th to early 21st centuries. General warming has occurred over Africa since the 1880s punctuated only by a period of cooling in the mid 20th century. The rate of temperature increase appears to have accelerated towards the end of the 20th century. The few long high-resolution proxy records that extend into the late 20th century indicate that average annual temperatures were 1–2°C higher in the last few decades than during the MCA.

Aspects of the geomorphology, genesis and environmental significance of earth hummocks (thúfur, pounus): miniature cryogenic mounds

Miniature varieties of cryogenic mounds that are capable of forming in seasonally frozen ground are commonly referred to as earth hummocks (e.g., North America), thúfur (e.g., Greenland and Iceland) and pounus (Fennoscandia). Over the past few decades there has been a consistent interest to study earth hummocks from a variety of environmental settings. This review summarizes the current knowledge of earth hummocks, highlighting aspects on the external and internal morphology, and thermal characteristics, which may assist to explain hummock formation. Several hypotheses have been proposed for the genesis of earth hummocks, including the ‘cryoexpulsion’ of clasts, hydrostatic and cryostatic pressure, cellular circulation, and differential frost heave. These hypotheses are critically evaluated and some research gaps identified. It emerges that considerable advances have been made towards an improved understanding of earth hummock development, modification and disintegration. Much progress has been made in the application of earth hummock studies to a variety of environmental research approaches such as palaeoenvironmental reconstructions and assessing their impact on hillslope drainage.

Multi-proxy summer and winter precipitation reconstruction for southern Africa over the last 200 years

This study presents the first consolidation of palaeoclimate proxy records from multiple archives to develop statistical rainfall reconstructions for southern Africa covering the last two centuries. State-of-the-art ensemble reconstructions reveal multi-decadal rainfall variability in the summer and winter rainfall zones. A decrease in precipitation amount over time is identified in the summer rainfall zone. No significant change in precipitation amount occurred in the winter rainfall zone, but rainfall variability has increased over time. Generally synchronous rainfall fluctuations between the two zones are identified on decadal scales, with common wet (dry) periods reconstructed around 1890 (1930). A strong relationship between seasonal rainfall and sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the surrounding oceans is confirmed. Coherence among decadal-scale fluctuations of southern African rainfall, regional SST, SSTs in the Pacific Ocean and rainfall in south-eastern Australia suggest SST-rainfall teleconnections across the southern hemisphere. Temporal breakdowns of the SST-rainfall relationship in the southern African regions and the connection between the two rainfall zones are observed, for example during the 1950s. Our results confirm the complex interplay between large-scale teleconnections, regional SSTs and local effects in modulating multi-decadal southern African rainfall variability over long timescales.

Plant phenology and climate change Progress in methodological approaches and application

Phenology, the timing of annually recurrent reproductive biological events, provides a critical signal of climate variability and change effects on plants. Considerable work over the past five decades has quantified the extent to which plant phenophases are responding to local changes in temperature and rainfall. Originally undertaken through the analysis of ground-based phenological observations, the discipline has more recently included phenophase indicators from satellite images and digital repeat photography. With research advances it has become evident that the responses of plant phenology to climate variability and change are both location- and species-specific. The extent to which plants are affected by changes in temperature and rainfall, their intrinsic adaptation capacity, will ultimately determine the potential for sustained ecological stability and food security. We review methodological approaches to plant phenological-climate change over time, analyse the regions and phenophases for which climate variability demonstrates a clear causal role, and finally reflect on the applications of phenological climate change investigations in broader biogeographical contexts.

Continental-Scale Temperature Variability during the Past Two Millennia: Supplementary Information

Past global climate changes had strong regional expression. To elucidate their spatio-temporal pattern, we reconstructed past temperatures for seven continental-scale regions during the past one to two millennia. The most coherent feature in nearly all of the regional temperature reconstructions is a long-term cooling trend, which ended late in the nineteenth century. At multi-decadal to centennial scales, temperature variability shows distinctly different regional patterns, with more similarity within each hemisphere than between them. There were no globally synchronous multi-decadal warm or cold intervals that define a worldwide Medieval Warm Period or Little Ice Age, but all reconstructions show generally cold conditions between ad 1580 and 1880, punctuated in some regions by warm decades during the eighteenth century. The transition to these colder conditions occurred earlier in the Arctic, Europe and Asia than in North America or the Southern Hemisphere regions. Recent warming reversed the long-term cooling; during the period ad 1971–2000, the area-weighted average reconstructed temperature was higher than any other time in nearly 1,400 years.

LATE QUATERNARY MORAINES ALONG THE SEKHOKONG RANGE, EASTERN LESOTHO: CONTRASTING THE GEOMORPHIC HISTORY OF NORTH- AND SOUTH-FACING SLOPES

Abstract. Considerable Quaternary environmental reconstruction for the high Drakensberg is based on geomorphological and sedimentological work undertaken along the northern aspects of the Sekhokong mountain range of eastern Lesotho. Given that no previous investigations have focused on the southern aspects, this paper documents the observed geomorphology and provides a more complete palaeo‐environmental picture for this range. Data on the morphology, sedimentology and micromorphology for two linear debris ridges are presented. It is demonstrated that the two ridges are most likely moraines originating from a small niche glacier. The combined use of macro‐ and micro‐scale sedimentology is proven to be an essential tool in ascribing a glacial process origin for the landforms, given the complex depositional history they have undergone. AMS ages obtained from the deposits (14 700 cal. yrs bp and 19 350 cal. yrs bp) places these in the time‐scale of the Last Glacial Maximum. The study demonstrates rather contrasting aspect‐controlled palaegeomorphological environments along the Sekhokong range, which is also reflected in the dissimilar contemporary biophysical micro‐environments. It is suggested that the south‐facing slopes were dominated by glacial processes during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), as is evident from the moraines, while the proposition for previously described north‐facing glacial cirques is rejected based on the absence of erosional/depositional evidence and greater insolation received on these warmerequator‐facing slopes. Rather, we propose that the observed north‐facing hollows are a product of a multitude of geomorphic processes spanning several tens to hundreds of thousands of years.

Geomorphological and Geoecological Controls and Processes Following Gully Development in Alpine Mires, Lesotho

Abstract Despite the international reputation of Lesothos severely eroded landscape, there have been no previous quantitative accounts of soil erosion processes and associated consequences from the alpine belt. This paper examines sedimentological, geomorphological, and geoecological controls and processes following gully development within alpine mires in eastern Lesotho. Contemporary gully extension is controlled by exposure to various sedimentary sequences, by gully sidewall crack development, and by topographic aspect. Significant vertical gully denudation rates of 8 cm (mineral sediment) to 13 cm (peat) were recorded over an 18-mo period. During a 5-d field experiment in July 1999, the continuously frozen south-facing gully walls recorded considerable horizontal movement of peat blocks (avg. = 19.8 mm/5 d), whereas needle ice–induced horizontal particle movement rates on north-facing walls averaged 10.2 mm/5 d. Soil moisture transect data show a pronounced reduction in surface soil moisture toward and between the gullied areas of a mire. The percentage of moisture loss toward midwinter was found to be greater between the gullies (47.4%) than in the adjoining zones, where moisture loss averaged 33.6%. Similarly, vegetation transects indicate a reduction in vegetation cover at the drier and more intensely burrowed (by Otomys, or “ice rats”) zones close to the gullies. Invasive dwarf Karroid shrubs (e.g., Chrysocoma ciliata) are now establishing themselves alongside gullies, burrowed sites, and fringe areas of mires. We found that dryland plant invasions around grazing posts and heavily grazed areas on the slopes subsequently spread along alpine hydrological systems, particularly where gully erosion has created a suitable habitat.

Turf exfoliation in the high Drakensberg, Southern Africa

Limited research attention has focussed on turf exfoliation as a denudation process in mountain environments. This paper examines some characteristics of turf exfoliation forms identified within particular valley zones in the Drakensberg alpine belt. Morphological and sedimentological data are presented for turf exfoliated sites investigated in the Mashai Valley of eastern Lesotho. It is found that a variety of processes, including needle ice action, biological activity, fluvial processes and deflation, operating synergistically, are responsible for contemporary turf exfoliation in the high Drakensberg. It is apparent that the strong seasonality from mild, wet summers to cold, dry winters has helped induce the annual cycle of dominating processes.

Annually re-forming miniature sorted patterned ground in the high Drakensberg, southern Africa

An analysis of miniature sorted circles and polygons provides the first detailed assessment of sorted patterned ground from a southern African alpine region. Pattern dimensions and particle sorting were determined from two sites in the high Drakensberg. Although the sorted patterns in the high Drakensberg are somewhat polygenetic in developmental origin, they are primarily frost-induced. Miniature sorted patterned ground below 3200 m a.s.l. on the Drakensberg plateau develops annually during the winter months and disintegrates towards summer. The development of miniature sorted patterns within five to six weeks demonstrates the effect of regular freeze–thaw cycles at higher altitudes in the Drakensberg.

TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED RESEARCH APPROACH FOR THE DRAKENSBERG AND LESOTHO MOUNTAIN ENVIRONMENTS: A CASE STUDY FROM THE SANI PLATEAU REGION

ABSTRACT The Drakensberg, adjoining the eastern Lesotho highlands, have recently been proclaimed as South Africas fourth World Heritage Site. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the potential value of intra-disciplinary and problem-orientated geographical research for this region. Such a methodological framework is demonstrated through raising questions, providing brief case-study examples and applying integrated approaches to human ecological dynamics identified from the Sani plateau region. It is found that the interactions between the natural and the social systems in eastern Lesotho are complex and offer substantial opportunities for integrated research. It is suggested that an improved understanding of the broader environmental dynamics may offer practical value in the management of natural resources in this mountain region.