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Mid-holocene climate change in Lake Bosumtwi, Ghana

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

James Russell ,
Michael R. Talbot  and
Brian J. Haskell
James Russell*
Affiliation:
Large Lakes Observatory, University of Minnesota, 10 University Drive, Duluth, MN 55812, USA Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 1987 Upper Buford Circle, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
Michael R. Talbot
Affiliation:
Geological Institute, University of Bergen, Allégt. 41, 5007 Bergen, Norway
Brian J. Haskell
Affiliation:
Limnological Research Center, University of Minnesota, 310 Pillsbury Dr. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Fax: +1-218-726-6979.Email Address:russ0154@umn.edu (J. Russell)
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Abstract

Lake Bosumtwi is one of the most widely studied palaeoclimate archives in West Africa. Results from numerous AMS 14C dates of samples from four piston cores from Lake Bosumtwi show that an abrupt sedimentary transition from a mid-Holocene sapropel to calcareous laminated muds occurred at about 3200 cal yr B.P. High-resolution analyses of the nitrogen isotopic composition of organic matter across this transition confirm its abrupt nature, and suggest that the change may signal a step toward increased aridity and intensified surface winds that affected western equatorial Africa from Ghana to the Congo basin. Northern and Eastern Africa experienced a similar abrupt shift toward aridity during the late Holocene, but at about 5000 cal yr B.P., a difference in timing that illustrates the regional nature of climate changes during the Holocene and the importance of feedback mechanisms in regulating Holocene climate variability. Furthermore, an abrupt change at about 3000 cal yr B.P. occurs at several sites adjacent to the tropical and subtropical Atlantic, which may hint at major changes in the surface temperatures of the tropical Atlantic and/or Pacific at this time.

Keywords

West AfricaLake BosumtwiTropical palaeoclimatePalaeolimnologyNitrogen isotopesRadiocarbon
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 60 , Issue 2 , September 2003 , pp. 133 - 141
Copyright
University of Washington

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