PALEOLIMNOLOGY OF LAKE BIWA AND THE JAPANESE … · preliminary reconstruction of" the late...
Transcript of PALEOLIMNOLOGY OF LAKE BIWA AND THE JAPANESE … · preliminary reconstruction of" the late...
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PALEOLIMNOLOGY OF LAKE BIWA AND
THE JAPANESE PLEISTOCENE
(VOLUME 11)
(Ediled by; SHOJI HORIE )
1983 Contrftmtion on the "Paleolimnology of Lake Biwa and the Japanese PleistocenenNo.530
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CONTENTS Preface
BASIC DATA ON 1,400-1,500 METERS DEEP DRILLING IN LAKE BIWA
1. Ön the Investigation of the Lake Bas in Structure by Air Gun Method (II)
Shoji HORIE and Shunji TANAKA— (5-10) Contribution on the Paleolimnology of Lake Biwa and the Japanese
Pleistocene No.531[530-1]
2. Technical Report on Deep Drilling of Lake Biwa Shoji HORIE-(ll-22)
No.532[530-2]
FURTHER ANALYSIS ON 200 METERS CORE OBTAINED IN LAKE BIWA IN 1971
3. Volcanic Ash-Horizons in the 200 M Core Samples from Lake Biwa
Shusaku YOSHIKAWA-(23-39) No.533[530-3]
PLEISTOCENE FEATURES ON T H E GLOBE OUTSIDE T H E JAPANESE ISLANDS
4. Preliminary Reconstruction of the Late Quaternary Climatic History of the Central Namib Desert, SW Africa, based on New 1 4 C Dates
Klaus HEINE-(41-54) No.534[530-4)
5. The Subsurface Late Cenozoic Palynostratigraphy in Israel
A. HOROWITS-»(SS-S6) . No.535[530-5]
MULTICHANNEL SEISMIC SECTIONS
B I B L I O G R A P H Y LIST OF CONTRIBUTION ON THE "PALEOLIMNOLOGY OF LAKE BIWA AND THE JAPANESE PLEISTOCENE"- • (57-99)
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J
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PRELIMINARY RECONSTRUCTION OF" THE LATE QUATERNARY CLIMATIC HISTORY OF THE
CENTRAL NAMIB DESERT, SW AFRICA, BASED ON NEW 1 4 C DATES.
Klaus Heine, Univers i ty of Regensburg
Department of Geography
P.O.Box 397, D - Regensburg, FRG
1. Introduction
The Narnib i s a long , narrow desert s i t u a t e d in southwestern A f r i c a between
the A t l a n t i c Ocean and the Great WesternEscarpment. In the cent ra l Narnib the
desert extends for approximately 140 km i n l a n d . The coastal a r i d i t y of the
Nam/ib desert r e s u l t s from s t rong , widespread subsidence in the high pressure
b e l t and may be enhanced by the advectional temperature invers ion maintained
by the onshore winds of the South A t l a n t i c ant icyc lone . "
The remarkable phenomenon of the occurrence of the coastal Narnib desert
has at t racted the a t ten t ion of s c i e n t i s t s f o r a long t ime; the age and the
o r i g i n as wel l as c l i m a t i c changes during the Quaternary have i n recent
years been the focus of much research (VAN ZINDEREN BAKKER 1983).
The question of the l a t e Quaternary c l i m a t i c evo lut ion in the centra l
Narnib has been discussed by several authors (see HEINE & GEYH 1984, VAN
ZINDEREN BAKKER 1983, LANCASTER 1983). In p a r t i c u l a r , the landforms and
Sediments of the Kuiseb v a l l e y have been used to reconstruct Late Quaternary
palaeoclimates of the Narnib d e s e r t . . Y e t , the Kuiseb has i t s headwater f a r
outside the Narnib deser t , so that much of the geomorphic and sedimentary
evidence of the Kuiseb v a l l e y may not provide the best information
f o r palaeocl imat ic reconstruct ions of the Narnib deser t . On the other hand,
the speleothems of a small cave near the Rössing Berge, about 100 km north
of the Kuiseb v a l l e y , give evidence f o r Late Quaternary v a r i a t i o n s i n
p r e c i p i t a t i o n . Both, the Kuiseb sedimentary sequence and the speleothems
formation, can be used fo r pa laeoc l imat ic recons t ruc t ions . The c o r r e l a t i o n
of both chronostrat igraphies provide a scheme of the Late Quaternary h is to ry
of the Narnib which can be t e s t e d , modi f ied , improved, or even refuted by
future workers.
2. The Kuiseb va l ley
The Kuiseb drainage System, a component of South West A f r i c a n A t l a n t i c
drainage, r i ses in the Khomas Highlands to cross the cent ra l Narnib desert
and reach the coast near Walvis Bay. In the course of a pro ject to date
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s
17° £
Fig. 1: The central Narnib-desert. Reference map.
f
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geomorphic features i n the Narnib desert and by so doing to gradual ly r e -
construct the Late Quaternary c l i m a t i c h i s t o r y , i s o t o p i c and radiometr ic
analyses have been undertaken by VOGEL (1982) on the s i l t Sediments and
re la ted deposits i n the Kuiseb r i v e r canyon at Homeb. These l a c u s t r i n e s i l t
deposits or v i e r Sediments have been re fe r red to and discussed by various
authors (SCHOLZ 1972, GOUDIE 1972, RUST & WIENECKE 1974, MARKER 1977, OLLIER
1977, MARKER & MÜLLER 1978, HÖVERMANN 1978, RUST & WIENECKE 1980, RUST &
WIENECKE 1981, VOGEL 1982, WARD 1982) (F ig .2 ) .
Radiocarbon dates , presented by VOGEL (1982), i n d i c a t e that carbonate
cementation of pebble conglomerate (40 m te r race ) and pedogenic c a l c r e t e
formatiön took place between 33 000 and 28 000 BP. According to the r e l a t i v e -
l y cons is tent set of radiocarbon dates the Homeb s i l t beds were accumulated
between c a . 23 000 and 19 000 BP (VOGEL 1982). A f t e r the carbonate cementation
of the Homeb s i l t s the removal of the 40 m ter race conglomerate must have
taken place at or a f t e r 28 000 BP (VOGEL 1982). Subsequent to 19 000 BP the
s i l t i n f i l l i n g of the va l l ey was more or less completely removed; i n the
course of t h i s degradation some of the s i l t was poss ib l y redeoosited as the
12 m terrace (VOGEL 1982). A f t e r 19 000 B P - and before the erosion of the
Homeb s i l t s - g l a c i s II developed. A f te r the depos i t ion of the 12 m ter race
(ca. 9 600 BP ?) g l a c i s I was formed. Düring the Holocene four small Kuiseb
terraces accumulated or were developed-as rock terraces r e s p e c t i v e l y . In
ter race II a horizon of wood fragments and seeds were dated: 1520+240 BP
(Hv 9882).
Aseherne of the Late Quaternary Sediments, geomorphic processes, and
pa laeoc l imat ic eva luat ion fo r the Kuiseb v a l l e y near Homeb i s shown i n F i g . 3 .
Absolute dates e x i s t s fo r the fo l lowing phases: The c a l c r e t e development
represents a phase of r e l a t i v e l y humid and windy c o n d i t i o n s . Observations
i n the eastern Narnib ind icate that in s i l i e e o u s Substrates ca lc re tes can
be formed only by a l l o t h i c (eo l ian) increment (BLOMEL 1982); i t can be
supposed that more humid condit ions (up to c a . 600 mm r a i n f a l l ? ) cause the
o r i g i n of the ca -hor i zon by descending i n f i l t r a t i o n s ; more a r i d phases
(up to <100 mm) cause diagenesis and macro-st rueture (BLOMEL 1982). Thus
the c a l c r e t e formatiön phase between 33 000 and 28 000 BP may document
a l t e r n a t i n g "humid" and a r i d cond i t ions . Düring the accumulation of the
Homeb s i l t s the c l imate must have been a r i d , because the Sedimentation
took place without p a r t i e i p a t i o n of l oca l processes exoect fo r e o l i a n
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NAMIB UNCONFORMITY SURFACE
A t e ^BASEMENTW/TH r ^VELRAVEMENT 'LOCAL METAMORPHICS)
BASEMENT (METAMORPHC ROCKS)
AEOLiANSAND BASAL SCHST CONGUDMERATE (~Q2m THICK)
'000BP) FLUVIAL SEDIMENTS (LOCAL
CALCRETE-*, (33-28000BPI
KUISEB GRAVELS 1 1 '-H AT SURFACE. /GRAVEL TPSSL^" /(^TERRACE) TERRACES, J ! FmTLYGRWELl^m
r^Zj7EMENTAWN *2WQFJ CA33-28000BP
iKUJSEB FLCQDPLAINh
RMER BED O Ä e . n j ^ „ \HOMEBSILT BASEMENT BENEATHGLAOS SEDIMENTS Um TERRACE (9600BP?)
530m HEIGHT
505
480
455
430
Fig* 2: Schematic cross-section of the Kuiseb river valley.
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deposi t ion (HÖVERMANN 1978). The accumulation of the gravels of te r race
II occurred about 1500 BP; the gravels derived from the gramadullas document
in tens iv slope processes (debris fo rmat iön , see HÖVERMANN 1978). The phase
of the ter race II formatiön was more humid than today.
A c o r r e l a t i o n of the radiocarbon dated Kuiseb Sediments and ca l c re tes with
the resu l t s obtained fo r environmental changes at the Mirabib H i l l She l te r
(SANDELOWSKY 1977)(Fig.3) shows a good agreement of the l a s t moist phase
about 1500 BP. The Mirabib dung f l o o r and the terrace II were accumulated
at the same time. I t was * short but r e l a t i v e l y moist phase i n the cent ra l
Narnib. Tentat ive ly we may c o r r e l a t e the terraces I I I and IV of the Kuiseb
with the both other moist phases of the Mirabib archaeologica l s i t e . In
doing so we can not ice at l e a s t three Holocene moist phases i n the cent ra l
Namib:̂ 1500 BP, 5000 - 5500 BP and 8200 - 8400 BP. I f the date of the
accumulation of the 12 m ter race of the Kuiseb i s cor rec t (see VOGEL 1982),
then the phase between around 10 000 and 8000 BP was character ised by
a l t e r n a t i n g more "humid" (moister) and a r i d condit ions according to the
s t r a t i f i c a t i o n of s i l t wi th l o c a l s c h i s t gravels i n the 12 m t e r r a c e .
The Kuiseb evidence f o r c l i m a t i c changes should not be regarded as i n d i -
cat ive of changes i n the cent ra l Narnib reg ion . The data from the Kuiseb
should be seen in r e l a t i o n to other pa laeoc l imat ic data of the cent ra l Narnib.
At the Tsondab VI e i (F ig .3 ) an increase in runoff occurred about 28 000 BP;
the waters could reach a v i e i about 10 km west of Tsondab that i s now blocked
by sand dunes from the Tsondab VI e i . I t i s not qu i te c l e a r , whether the
Late G l a c i a l around 14 000 BP was moister . An increase i n runoff i s postulated
by LANCASTER (1983). In the Tsondab and Tsauchab radiocarbon dates f o r v l e i
s i l t s of 8640 and 9500 BP suggest (LANCASTER 1983) an ea r l y Holocene per iod
of increased moisture.
The f i r s t resu l t s of pa lyno log ica l studies on the cent ra l Narnib desert
(Sossus V l e i ) are described by VAN ZINDEREN BAKKER (1983). The conclusions
are that the northern part of the Narnib erg d id not receive s i g n i f i c a n t l y
more r a i n f a l l over the l a s t c a . 18 000 years and that the Tsondab and Tsau
chab r i v e r s were blocked by dune invas ion p r i o r to 18 000 BP (VAN ZINDEREN
BAKKER 1983). According to VAN ZINDEREN BAKKER (1983) the f loods caused by
stronger (?) p r e c i p i t a t i o n on the escarpment from 19 000 BP onward, which
gradwally removed the Homeb s i l t s , were not strong enough to force t h e i r
way through the dune b a r r i e r .
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Fig. 3: Late Quaternary sequences of the central Narnib desert. (See VOGEL
1982 for the Kuiseb, SANDELOWSKY 1977 for Mirabib, BESLER 1980 for
the Kuiseb area calcretes, VAN ZINDEREN BAKKER 1983 for Sosstts VTef,
HEINE & SETH 1984 for the Rössing Cave).
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. I t should be r e a l i z e d that there i s no evidence during the Late G l a c i a l
and Post G l a c i a l by the complex pattern of the Kuiseb r i v e r inc is ion/aggrad -
ation c y c l e s , changes in Sediment load and changes in Channel morphology
for a major humid/moister phase i n the cent ra l Narnib deser t ; furthermore,
front the geomorphic features of the adjacent areas (Mi rab ib , Tsondab,
Tsauchab, Sossus V l e i ) i t can be in fe r red that s ince the Last G l a c i a l Maxi
mum (ca . 18 000 BP) at leas t t h i s part of the desert was not a f fec ted by
more than normal r a i h f a l l .
3 . The speleothems of the Rössing Cave
S i g n i f i c a n t conclusions may be drawn from the above data only by comparison
with the dates from the Rössing Cave speleothems (HEINE & GEYH 1984). About
two ki lometers west of the Rössing Berge at about 340 m a . s . l . , a small cave
System with s t a l a c t i t e s , Stalagmites, f lowstone, popcorn, and other s i n t e r
formations r e f l e c t s the c l i m a t i c evo lut ion tn the v i c i n i t y of the Rössing 230 234
Berge. Two Th/ U data of speleothems exceeding 300 000 years support
the geomorphic evidence that the cave and the o ldest s i n t e r formatiön might
be of Ter t ia ry o r i g i n . Speleothems from a r i d regions can be considered as H c losed Systems" i n respect to carbon isotopes . Therefore, such samples are
14 most s u i t a b l e fo r C da t ing . The c a l i b r a t i o n uncertainty of the data i s
14
about + 1000 y r . Insp i te of t h i s , C ages seem to be more r e l i a b l e than
that of any other samples from the Narnib desert as ca lc re tes or f l u v i a t i l e
Sediments which are often d i a g e n e t i c a l l y changed (see HEINE & GEYH 1984).
The r e s u l t s of radiometr ic datings together with that of sedimentologic
observations at the sampling s i t e s y i e l d a rather d i f f e r e n t i a t e d Late Quater
nary evo lut ion of the c l imate in the centra l Narnib deser t . Various phases
can be d is t ingu ished f o r the Middle Weichsel ian p l u v i a l and the time u n t i l
now (HEINE & GEYH 1984). Phase 5 (> 40 500 - 34 000 BP, see F i g . 3 ) was a
"humid" phase with a c losed plant cover in the cent ra l Narnib deser t ; compact
s in te r formatiön as wel l as popcorn development ind icate moist cond i t ion in
the cave. Phase 4 (34 000 - 27 000 BP) was the beginning of the a r i d i f i c a t i o n
in the cent ra l Narnib. At l e a s t three not i ceab le c l i m a t i c f l u c t u a t i o n s occurred
with a l t e r n a t i n g a r i d and more humid cond i t ions . This i s ind ica ted by a
sequence of th in s i n t e r and sand l a y e r s . Phase 4 corresoonds with the phase
of ca lc rete formatiön and carbonate cementation i n the Kuiseb r i v e r v a l l e y .
During phase 3 (ca . 27 000 - 25 500 BP) again "humid" condi t ions dominated.
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LakeAbh* (GASSE & DELIBRIAS 1976)
Searles Lake
(SMITH m$)
Nrwou du Loc 3
10000
17000 21000
50-
Chaud Humid«
Grccntand ice cor« (DE Q.ROB1N 1983)
Grande Pite (WOILLARD & MOOK 1981)
Narnib Katahari (thispaper) (COOKE&
VERSTAPPEN 1984, HEINE 1982)
«» 912 920 945 O.S.I.
Lok« t«v«t
Fig. 4: Correlatton of phase 4 (34/33 000 BP - 27 000 BP) with selected
sequences from various regions.
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From phase 2 onwards (25 000 - 19 000 BP) , the centraVNamib desert p reva i led
dry. No f u r t h e r s i n t e r formatiön occurred i n the Rössing cave. In the Kuiseb
va l ley the Homeb s i l t s were accumulated. There i s no evidence according to -
the Rössing cave data that during phase 1 (a f te r 19 000 BP) the cent ra l Narnib
desert experienced other than a r i d c l i m a t e s . •
4. Discussion
A key feature of p a l a e o c l i m a t i c reconstruct ions derived by the Interpret
at ion of f l u v i a l s t r a t i g r a p h i c sequences i s to r e a l i z e the c l i m a t i c in f luence
on the geomorphic and sedimentologic phenomena of the area c lose to the sect ion
on one hand and of d i s tant regions on the other hand. The comparison of the
Kuiseb v a l l e y sequence with the chronostrat igraphies of adjacent areas may
help to solve this problem. Thecave speleothems r e f l e c t the l o c a l condit ions
in humidity of the centra l Narnib d e s e r t . . S o do the ca lc retes and carbonate
cementation processes in the Kuiseb v a l l e y .
Owing to the data ( F i g . 3 ) , r e l a t i v e l y humid c l i m a t i c condi t ions preva i led
between >40 500 BP and 34 000/33 000 BP not only in the centra l Narnib desert
but also i n the i n t e r i o r of southern A f r i c a (COOKE & VERSTAPPEN 1984).
The phase between 34 000/33 000 BP and ca* 27 000 BP must have had c l i m a t i c
condit ions c o n t r o l l e d by a l t e r n a t i n g a r i d and "humid" stages. This t i e s in
with observations about c a l c r e t e development in the eastern Narnib (BLOMEL
1982), the ages of the l a s t c a l c r e t e generation (BLOMEL 1982, VOGEL 1982),
and the a l t e r n a t i n g laminat ion of e o l i a n sand horizons and flowstone layers
(HEINE & GEYH 1984). The broad p ic tu re of phase 4 (F ig .4 ) with a l t e r n a t i n g
a r i d and "humid" condi t ions i n the cent ra l Narnib desert i s , however, amoly
confirmed by studies of lake l e v e l f l u c t u a t i o n s and c l i m a t i c ohases of the
western Makgadikgadi b a s i n , Kalahar i region (HEINE 1982, COOKE & VERSTAPPEN
1984), Lake Abhe, cent ra l Afar (GASSE & DELIBRIAS 1976), Searles Lake,
C a l i f o r n i a (SMITH 1976), of c l i m a t i c record from Greenland i ce cores (DE
Q.ROBIN 1983), and of the chronology f o r the continuous Continental po l len
record of Grande P i l e , France (WOILLARD & MOOK 1981). The three sand layers
of phase 4 of the Rössing s i n t e r sec t ion r e f l e c t three stages during which
eo l ian sand was accumulated i n the cave; at that time the c l imate o s c i l l a t i o n s
are well co r re la ted with the o s c i l l a t i o n s of the oxygen isotope p r o f i l e from
Camp Century between about 33 000 and 27 000 BP and of Grande P i l e Dollen
diagram between 34 000 and 28 000 BP. As a r e s u l t of t h i s worldwide c o r r e l a t i o n ,
the in te rva l between about 34 000 and 27 000 BP seems to be a unique Late
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Quaternary c l i m a t i c phase without any p a r a l l e l Situation s ince about 40 000 BP
u n t i l today. In Lake Abhe, the high leve l stages II and I I I are sep&r^ted by
Sediments that c l e a r l y d i f f e r by t h e i r physico-chemical and b i o l o g i e a l t r a i t s
from other Sediments (GASSE & DELIBRIAS 1976). The corresponding s$atigraphiG
un i t i n Searles Lake i s character i zed by a unique sequence of interbedded
s a l i n e s and mud (SMITH 1976). Furthermore, the ca lc re tes and the carbonate
cementations o f ; t h e Kuiseb v a l l e y Sediments as wel l as the sandy U y e r s of
the Rössing cave sec t ion prove that only the in te rva l between 34 000 and
27 000 BP experienced a r i d and extremely windy c o n d i t i o n s ; during the Late
Quaternary period no other phase was character ized by a s i m i l a r e o l i a n sand
t ransport over the Narnib sur face . Wind eros ion forms (SWEETING & LANCASTER
1982, SELBY 1977) and data der ived from Landsat images i n d i c a t e high v e l o c i t y
palaeowinds from NNE during times of e o l i a n sand t ranspor t . Because a f t e r
27 000 BP wind-blown sand has no longer entered the Rössing cave and because
there i s no evidence that a f t e r 28 000 BP large quant i t ies of e o l i a n sand
were blown by nor theaster ly palaeowinds in to the Kuiseb v a l l e y ; we assume
that the l a s t phase with strong winds from NNE corresponds to the i n t e r v a l
between 34 000 and 27 000 BP. Observations o f f South West A f r i c a from the
Walvis Ridge can be a t t r i b u t e s to our conc lus ions : d e t a i l e d down^core analys is
and accumulation rates of quartz do not suggest any systematic d i f fe rence
between Holocene and Last G l a c i a l times (18 000 BP) (KOLLA, BISCAYE & HANLEY
1979, see a lso CARTINI & TISSOT 1982). We i n t e r p r e t t h i s wi th regard to the
a r i d c l i m a t i c condi t ions that can be deduced from the Kuiseb Sediments and
Rössing cave speleothems s ince about 25 000 BP, that the wind might have
been blowing onshore rather than offshore during Last G l a c i a l Maximum t imes,
Phase 3 (27 000 - 25 500 BP) can only be traced by the s i n t e r formatiön
i n the Rössing cave (HEINE & GEYH 1984). During t h i s phase, erosion took
place i n the Kuiseb v a l l e y . Ca lc retes of the youngest generation (BLOMEL
1982, NETTERBERG 1978) may date to t h i s phase.
Phase 2 (25 500 - 19 000 BP) and phase 1 (19 000 - Present) are not
character ized by v a r i a t i o n s in humidity i n the centra l Narnib desert . Neither
s i n t e r development occurred in the Rössing Cave (HEINE & GEYH 1984) nor d id
the cent ra l Narnib rece ive more r a i n f a l l according to the po l len studies of
Sossus V l e i (VAN ZINDEREN BAKKER 1983). The d i f f e r e n t i n c i s i o n and aggradation
cyc les of the Kuiseb r i v e r , the Tsondab, and Tsauchab were c o n t r o l l e d by the
c l i m a t i c or rather environmental Situation of the eastern Narnib, the escarp*
roent, and the Khomas Highland. At l e a s t three minor hygr ic va r ia t ions to
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Fig. 5: Time-transgressive diagram with periods of calcrete fo rmat iön , sinter
development, lake level fluctuations etc. for southern Africa about
20 - 25° S.
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moister condit ions in the cent ra l Narnib during the Holocene are documented
by the three radiocarbon dated organic horizons of the Mirabib H i l l She l ter
that may co r re la te wi th three ter races of the Kuiseb r i v e r , Since about
500 BP evidence f o r greater a r i d i t y i n the Narnib desert comes from a var ie ty
of sources, such as the Mirabib S i t e (SANDELOWSKY 1977, BRAIN & BRAIN 1977)
and Sossus V le i where about 600 - 550BP Acacia t rees died and d e f l a t i o n
of v l e i Sediments s t a r t e d ; archaeologica l mater ia l o lder than c a . 500 BP.
i s very frequent in the Narnib desert compared with archaeological s i t e s of
the l a s t 500 years .
A t ime- t ransgress ive diagram with the periods of c a l c r e t e fo rmat iön ,
s i n t e r development, lake leve l f l u c t u a t i o n s e t c . f o r southern A f r i c a about
20 - 25°S i s shown i n F i g . 5 .
5. Conclusions
1. During the Late P l e i s t o c e n e , the a v a i l a b l e dated evidence f o r the centra l
Narnib desert makes c e r t a i n that the phase from 40 500 BP and a l i t t l e e a r l i e r
to 34 000/33 000 BP was considerably wetter than today.
2. During the period 33 000 BP to 27 000 BP ca lc re te development and the
interbedding of eo l ian sand and flowstone i n cave Sediments prove a l t e r n a t i n g
arid/windy and moist periods. This phase i s character i zed by unique c l i m a t i c
condi t ions from a l l over the w o r l d .
3 . A f t e r a Short moist phase between 27 000 and 25 500 BP the centra l Narnib
desert remained a r i d u n t i l today.
4. Several Short periods with somewhat moister condit ions occurred during the
Holocene. The c l imate i n the cent ra l Narnib desert has f l u c t u a t e d s ince c a .
25 500 BP about a general ly a r i d mean,. becoming d r i e r i n the l a s t f i v e centur ies .
5. The Kuiseb r i v e r i n c i s i o n and aggradation cyc les ( t e r r a c e s , g l a c i s , Sed i
ments) are not s u i t a b l e fo r a reconst ruct ion of Late Quaternary palaeocl imates.
Only the ca lc re tes and carbonate cementations may be in terpre ted i n connection
with the speleothems.
6. The geomorphic and sedimentary evidence provide a d e t a i l e d record of Toca l ,
r e g i o n a l , and global c l i m a t i c f l u c t u a t i o n s . Tentat ive c o r r e l a t i o n s wi th chrono-
-s t rat igraphies from neighbouring areas only can imply the extent of c l i m a t i c
change.
7. The p l u v i a l record from the cent ra l Narnib desert provides data on time-trans
gressive va r ia t ions i n humidity . "
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The author is grateful to M. Ä. Geyh (Hannover) for radiocarbon age determinations
and the DEUTSCHE FORSCHUNGSGEMEINSCHAFT for financial support.