Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-68ccn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-11T15:26:35.196Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Late Holocene Paleoclimatic Changes in Western Central Africa Inferred from Mineral Abundance in Dated Sediments from Lake Ossa (Southwest Cameroon)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Denis Wirrmann ,
Jacques Bertaux  and
Alice Kossoni
Denis Wirrmann
Affiliation:
IRD, UR 55 Paléotropique, 32 Avenue Henri Varagnat, Bondy cedex, 93143, France, E-mail: Denis.Wirrmann@bondy.ird.fr
Jacques Bertaux
Affiliation:
IRD, UR 55 Paléotropique, 32 Avenue Henri Varagnat, Bondy cedex, 93143, France, E-mail: Denis.Wirrmann@bondy.ird.fr
Alice Kossoni
Affiliation:
Université 1 de Yaoundé, Cameroon
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Minerals derived from catchment soils were determined using FTIR spectroscopy in the well-dated core OW4 from Lake Ossa, a lowland rainforest area in Cameroon. This quantification provides a hydrologic record indicating that the magnitude of runoff events, and by inference, rainfall pattern, has varied during the Late Holocene. The comparison between minerogenic inputs and vegetation changes improves the understanding of the inferred climate dynamics. Since at least 5400 cal yr B.P., the paleomonsoon rainfall intensity decreased, as shown by a general decrease in mineral fluxes. This observation is consistent with a gradual weakening of the boreal summer insolation in tropical latitudes. However, the major vegetational change lags behind the onset of the decrease in mineral fluxes. From 2800 to ca 1000 cal yr B.P., the forest receded: the amount of rainforest taxa decreased and is replaced by pioneer trees and Poaceae, when the mineral fluxes attained their lowest values. This episode of maximum dryness is attributed to an abrupt climatic event of global significance which is superimposed onto the paleomonsoon variability. It is related to a cold event, which in turn produced a change in the lower atmospheric circulation that was characterized by a strengthening of northern trade winds, probably correlated with sea-surface temperature variations in the eastern tropical Atlantic area.

Keywords

FTIR mineral quantificationdetrital fluxesLate Holocenepaleoclimatic changesCameroonWestern and Central Atlantic Africa
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 56 , Issue 2 , September 2001 , pp. 275 - 287
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anonymous, (1990). Note de présentation de la S.A.F.A.-CAMEROUN. Rapport multigraphié, Dizangué., 11, pp.Google Scholar
Baker, J.C, Kassan, J, and Hamilton, P.J Early diagenetic siderite as an indicator of depositional environment in the Triassic Rewan Group, southern Bowen Basin, eastern Australia. Sedimentology 43, (1995). 77 88.Google Scholar
Berger, A, and Loutre, M.F Insolation values for the climate of the last 10 millions years. Quaternary Science Reviews 10, (1991). 297 317.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berner, R.A Diagenetic redox reactions in the system C-N-S-H-O. Berner, R.A Principles of Chemical Sedimentology. (1971). Mc Graw-Hill, New York. 115 137.Google Scholar
Bertaux, J, Frölich, F, and Ildefonse, P Multicomponent analysis of FTIR spectra: Quantification of amorphous and crystallized mineral phases in synthetic and natural sediments. Journal of Sedimentary Research 68, (1998). 440 447.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bertaux, J, Schwartz, D, Vincens, A, Sifeddine, A, Elenga, H, Mansour, M, Mariotti, A, Fournier, M, Martin, L, Wirrmann, D, and Servant, M Enregistrement de la phase sèche d'Afrique Centrale vers 3000 ans BP par la spectrométrie IR dans les lacs Sinnda et Kitina (Sud-Congo). Servant, M, and Servant-Vildary, S Dynamique à long terme des écosystèmes forestiers intertropicaux. (2000). IRD/UNESCO/MAB/CNRS, Paris. 43 49.Google Scholar
Bigot, S, Maley, J, Laraque, A, Olivry, J.C, and Mélice, J.L Le domaine forestier africain et ses marges: Les transitions majeures climatiques à l'époque actuelle et au cours des derniers millénaires. Les Temps de l'Environnement, Journées Pirevs. (1997). CNRS, Toulouse. p. 255–262.Google Scholar
Brown, S, Bierman, P, Lini, A, and Southon, J 10 000 yr record of extreme hydrologic events. Geology 28, (2000). 335 338.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cook, P.J, Hatton, T.J, Pidsley, D, Herczeg, A.L, Held, A, O'Grady, A, and Eamus, C Water balance of a tropical woodland ecosystem, Northern Australia: A combination of micro-meteorological, soil physical and groundwater chemical approaches. Journal of Hydrology 210, (1998). 161 177.Google Scholar
D'Almeida, A A model for Saharan dust transport. Journal of Climate and Applied Meteorology 24, (1986). 903 916.Google Scholar
DeMenocal, P.B, and Rind, D Sensitivity of Asian and African climate to variations in seasonal insolation, glacial ice cover, sea surface temperature and Asian topography. Journal of Geophysical Research 98, (1993). 7265 7287.Google Scholar
DeMenocal, P.B, Ortiz, J, Guilderson, T, Adkins, J, Sarntheim, M, Baker, L, and Yarusinsky, M Abrupt onset and termination of the African Humid Period: Rapid climate response to gradual insolation forcing. Quaternary Science Reviews 19, (2000). 347 361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dupont, L.M, Marret, F, and Winn, K Land–sea correlation by means of terrestrial and marine palynomorphs from the equatorial East Atlantic: Phasing of SE trade winds and the oceanic productivity. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 142, (1998). 51 84.Google Scholar
Edwards, K, and Whittington, G Lake sediments, erosion and landscape change during the Holocene in Britain and Ireland. Catena 42, (2001). 143 173.Google Scholar
Elf-Serepca, 1987, Conclusions et recommandations du Groupe d'Interprétation Bassin de Douala. Rapport multigraphié 341-DE N°6/160, Douala., 30, pp.Google Scholar
Elenga, H, Schwartz, D, Vincens, A, Bertaux, J, de Namur, C, Martin, L, Wirrmann, D, and Servant, M Diagramme pollinique Holocène du lac Kitina (Congo): mise en évidence de changements paléobotaniques et paléoclimatiques dans le massif forestier du Mayombe. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences, Paris, Série Ila 323, (1996). 403 410.Google Scholar
Fontaine, B, Janicot, S, and Roucou, P Coupled ocean–atmosphere surface variability and its climate impacts in the tropical Atlantic region. Climate Dynamics 15, (1999). 451 473.Google Scholar
Giresse, P, and Barusseau, J.P Quaternary accumulation rates by hemipelagic and gravity current sedimentation on the Atlantic margin of Africa: Control factors of advective and vertical flows. Marine Geology 89, (1989). 279 297.Google Scholar
Giresse, P, Maley, J, and Brenac, P Late Quaternary palaeoenvironments in the Lake Barombi Mbo (West Cameroon) deduced from pollen and carbon isotopes of organic matter. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 107, (1994). 65 78.Google Scholar
Jankowiack, I, and Tanré, D Les aérosols désertiques: Sources, transports, impacts déterminés par télédétection. Les climats subtropicaux et leur évolution: de l'observation spatiale à la modélisation. (1992). École d' Été de La Londe Les Maures CNES, Toulouse. p. 495–523.Google Scholar
Janicot, S, and Fontaine, B Évolution saisonniére des corrélations entre précipitations en Afrique guinéenne et températures de surface de la mer. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences, Paris, Série lla 324, (1997). 785 792.Google Scholar
Jansen, J.H.F, Ufkes, E, and Schneider, R.R Late Quaternary movements of the Angola-Benguela front, SE Atlantic, and implications for advections in the Equatorial ocean. Wefer, G The South Atlantic: Present and Past Circulation. (1996). Springer-Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg. 553 575.Google Scholar
Kalu, A.E The African dust plume: Its characteristics and propagation across West Africa in winter. Morales, C Saharan Dust: Mobilization, Transport, Deposition. (1979). Wiley, Chichester. 95 118.Google Scholar
Kutzbach, J.E, and Liu, Z Response of the African monsoon to orbital forcing paramaters and feedbacks in the middle Holocene. Science 278, (1997). 440 443.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kutzbach, J.E, and Street-Perrot, F.A Milankovitch forcing of fluctuations in the level of tropical lakes from 18 to 0 kyrs. Nature 317, (1985). 130 134.Google Scholar
Lahuec, J.P “Climatological” references: Interannual monthly averages. Lahuec, J.P, and Guillot, B Satellite Monitoring of the Climate. Climatic-Monitoring Atlas: 1986–1994 (Africa and the Intertropical Atlantic). (1994). MÉTÉO-FRANCE-ORSTOM, Paris. 31 35.Google Scholar
Leroux, M Dynamic Analysis of Weather and Climate. (1998). Wiley, London. p. 365 Google Scholar
Letouzey, R Institut de la Carte Internationale de la Végétation, Toulouse and IRA Yaoundé. Notice de la carte phytogéographique du Cameroun au 1/500 000. (1985). p. 240 Google Scholar
Lucas, Y, Luizão, F.J, Chauvel, A, Rouiller, J, and Nahon, D The relation between biological activity of the rain forest and mineralogical composition of soils. Science 260, (1993). 521 523.Google Scholar
Maley, J The African rain forest vegetation and palaeoenvironments during Late Quaternary. Climatic Changes 19, (1991). 79 98.Google Scholar
Maley, J The African rain forest—Main characteristics of changes in vegetation and climate from the Upper Cretaceous to the Quaternary. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 104, (1996). 31 73.Google Scholar
Moeyersons, J Geomorphological processes and their palaeoenvironmental significance at the Shum Laka cave (Bamenda, western Cameroon). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 133, (1997). 103 116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nguetsop, V.F Évolution des environnements de l'Ouest Cameroun depuis 6000 ans, d'aprés l'étude des diatomées actuelles et fossiles dans le lac Ossa. Implications paléoclimatiques. (1997). Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle de Paris, p. 278 Google Scholar
Nguetsop, V.F, Servant, M, and Servant-Vildary, S Paléolimnologie et paléoclimatologie de l'Ouest Cameroun au cours des 5000 derniéres années, à partir de l'étude des diatomées du lac Ossa. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences, Paris, Série Ila 327, (1998). 39 45.Google Scholar
Nicholson, S.E, and Entekhabi, D Rainfall variability in equatorial and southern Africa: Relationship with sea surface temperatures along the southwestern coast of Africa. Journal of Climate and Applied Meteorology 26, (1987). 567 578.Google Scholar
Njiké Ngaha, P.R Contribution à l'étude géologique, stratigraphique et structurale de la bordure du bassin atlantique au Cameroun. (1984). Université de Yaoundé, p. 131 Google Scholar
O'Brien, S.R, Mayewski, P.A, Meeker, L.D, Meese, D.A, Twickler, M.S, and Whitlow, S.I Complexity of Holocene climate as reconstructed from a Greenland ice core. Science 270, (1995). 1962 1964.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Orange, D, Olivry, J.C, and Censier, C Variations et bilans des flux de matiéres particulaires et dissoutes de l'Oubangui à Bangui (1987>–1992). Olivry, J.C, and Boulégue, J Grands bassins fluviaux périatlantiques: Congo, Niger, Amazone. (1995). ORSTOM, Paris. 147 158.–1992)' href=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Variations+et+bilans+des+flux+de+mati%C3%A9res+particulaires+et+dissoutes+de+l'Oubangui+%C3%A0+Bangui+(1987%3E%E2%80%931992)&author=Orange+D&author=Olivry+J.C&author=Censier+C&author=Olivry+J.C&author=Boul%C3%A9gue+J&publication+year=1995&pages=147-158>Google Scholar
Pokras, E.W, and Mix, A.C Eolian evidence for spatial variability of Late Quaternary climates in tropical Africa. Quaternary Research 24, (1985). 137 149.Google Scholar
Reynaud-Farrera, I, Maley, J, and Wirrmann, D Végétation et climat dans les forêts du Sud-ouest Cameroun depuis 4770 ans BP: analyse pollinique des sédiments du lac Ossa. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences, Paris, Série Ila 323, (1996). 749 755.Google Scholar
Richards, K Preliminary results of pollen analysis of a 6,000 year core from Mboandong, a crater Lake in Cameroon. Baker, R.G.E The Hull University Cameroon Expedition 1981–1982. Final Report. (1986). Hull University Geography Department, 14 28.Google Scholar
Richtie, J.C, Eyles, C.H, and Haynes, C.V Sediment and pollen evidence for an early to mid-Holocene humid period in the eastern Sahara. Nature 330, (1985). 645 647.Google Scholar
Schneider, R.R, Price, B, Müller, P.J, Ktoon, D, and Alexander, I Monsoon related variations in Zaire (Congo) sediment load and influence of fluvial silicate supply on marine productivity in the East equatorial Atlantic during the last 200,000 years. Paleoceanography 12, (1997). 463 481.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwartz, D, Vincens, A, Elenga, H, Alexandre, A, Bertaux, J, Servant, M, Servant, S, Nguetsop, F, Bonvallot, J, Guillet, B, Mariotti, A, de Namur, C, Reynaud-Farrera, I, Youta Happi, J, Delégue, M.-A, and Fuhr, M Réponse des végétations d'Afrique centrale atlantique (Congo, Cameroun) aux changements climatiques depuis l'Holocéne moyen: pas de temps, variabilité spatiale. Les Temps de l'Environnement. (2000). Université de Toulouse-Le Mirail, Toulouse. p. 461–471.Google Scholar
Ségalen, P Les sols ferralitiques et leur répartion géographique. Collection Études et Théses. (1994). ORSTOM, Paris. p. 40–89.Google Scholar
Servain, J, Wainer, I, and Dessier, A Évidence d'une liaison entre les deux principaux modes de variabilité climatique interannuelle de l'Atlantique tropical. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences, Paris, Série Ila 327, (1998). 1 8.Google Scholar
Stager, J.C, and Anfang-Sutter, R Preliminary evidence of environmental changes at Lake Bambili (Cameroon, West Africa) since 24,0000 BP. Journal of Paleolimnology 22, (1999). 319 330.Google Scholar
Street-Perrott, F. A., and Perrott, R. A. (1993). Holocene vegetation, lake levels and climate of Africa. In Global Climates since the Last Glacial Maximum Wright, H. E. Jr. et al. ., Eds., pp. 318–356. Univ. of Minneapolis Press, Minneapolis.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M, and Pearson, G.W High precision bidecadal calibration of the radiocarbon time scale, AD 1950–500 BC and 2500–6000 BC. Radiocarbon 35, (1993). 18 31.Google Scholar
Suchel, J.F Les climats du Cameroun. (1988). Université de Bourgogne, p. 1177 Google Scholar
Van Geel, B, Buurman, J, and Waterbolk, H.T Archaeological and palaeoecological indications of an abrupt climate change in the Netherlands, and evidence for climatological teleconnections around 2650 BP. Journal of Quaternary Science 11, (1996). 451 460.Google Scholar
Van Geel, B, Raspopov, O.M, Renssen, H, van der Plicht, J, Dergachev, V.A, and Meijer, H.A.J The role of solar forcing upon climate change. Quaternary Science Reviews 18, (1999). 331 338.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vincens, A, Schwartz, D, Bertaux, J, Elenga, H, and de Namur, C Late Holocene climatic changes in western equatorial Africa inferred from pollen from Lake Sinnda, Southern Congo. Quaternary Research 50, (1998). 34 45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vincens, A, Schwartz, D, Elenga, H, Reynaud-Farrera, I, Alexandre, A, Bertaux, J, Mariotti, A, Martin, L, Meunier, J.-D, Nguetsop, F, Servant, M, Servant-Vildary, S, and Wirrmann, D Forest response to climatic changes in Atlantic equatorial Africa during the last 4000 years BP and inheritance on the modern landscapes. Journal of Biogeography 26, (1999). 879 885.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wauthy, B Introduction à la climatologie du Golfe de Guinée. Océanographie Tropicale 18, (1983). 103 138.Google Scholar
White, F Recherches sur les ressources naturelles. La végétation de l'Afrique. Mémoire accompagnant la carte de végétation de l'Afrique UNESCO/AETFAT/UNSO. (1986). ORSTOM and UNESCO, Paris. p. 384 Google Scholar
Wirrmann, D Le lac Ossa: une monographie préliminaire. Revue de Géographie du Cameroun XI, (1992). 26 38.Google Scholar
Wirrmann, D, and Élouga, M Discovery of an Iron Age site in Lake Ossa, Cameroonian Littoral Province. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences, Paris, Série Ila 323, (1998). 139 146.Google Scholar
Zhang, X, Wang, Y, and Lei, H Authigenic mineralogy, depositionnal environments and evolution of fault-bounded Lakes of the Yunnan plateau, south-western China. Sedimentology 43, (1996). 367 380.Google Scholar
Zogning, A, Giresse, P, Maley, J, and Gadel, F The Late Holocene palaeoenvironment in the Lake Njupi area, west Cameroon: Implications regarding the history of Lake Nyos. Journal of African Earth Sciences 24, (1997). 285 300.Google Scholar