An aeolian sediment reconstruction of regional wind intensity and links to larger scale climate variability since the last deglaciation from the east coast of southern Africa

Few long-term environmental records are available for southern Africa where shifts in atmospheric circulation and changes in sea surface temperatures interact to influence regional climate dynamics. We present downcore grain size and inorganic geochemistry data covering the last ~23,000years from a peatland on the east coast of South Africa and examine links between shifts in regional wind activity and palaeoclimatic variability. Our record documents substantial variations in aeolian flux associated with changes in regional climate and wind patterns that reflect larger scale atmospheric circulation patterns. Substantially higher fluxes observed during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) are linked to widespread aridification and an expansion in local source areas brought about by a clear shift to dry and cool conditions. Variations in grain size distribution reveal that the aeolian record from Mfabeni comprises two dominant end-members; locally-derived coarse-grained material and a more fine-grained dust component. Marked changes in composition and modal grain size suggest that hydrological shifts in the region during the LGM were accompanied by an increase in storm frequency and wind strength that we link to a northward displacement in the westerly wind belt and a strengthening in wind intensity. Coupling between a rapid increase in sea surface temperature (SST) and an approximate three-fold decrease in aeolian activity after 15kcalyrBP suggests that changes in SST and its effect on the position and intensity of the westerlies in the Southern Ocean was the dominant climatic driver in the region during deglaciation. Substantially lower aeolian activities through the early Holocene indicate a warming in regional climate and the establishment of more humid conditions under the influence of enhanced tropical easterly flow. Our record also documents more subtle changes in climate over the mid to late Holocene and provides support for an arid phase in southern African climate 6–4kcalyrBP, as well as an increase in climate variability associated with a strengthening in El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) activity ~2kcalyrBP. The study contributes to current knowledge of atmospheric circulation patterns in the Southern Hemisphere and provides new insight into links between aeolian activity, regional wind patterns and climatic variability over glacial-interglacial timescales for a region where existing palaeoclimate records are scarce.