Correlation between vegetation in southwestern Africa and oceanic upwelling in the past 21,000 years

Dinoflagellate cyst and pollen records from marine sediments off the southw estern African coast reveal three major aridification periods since the las t glaciation and an environmental correlation between land and sea. Abundan t pollen of desert, semi-desert, and temperate plants 21,000-17,500 cal yr B.P. show arid and cold conditions in southwestern Africa that correspond t o low sea surface temperatures and enhanced upwelling shown by dinoflagella te cysts. Occurrence of Restionaceae in the pollen record suggests northwar d movement of the winter-rain regime that influenced the study area during the last glacial maximum. Decline of Asteroideae, Restionaceae, and Ericace ae in the pollen record shows that temperate vegetation migrated out of the study area about 17,500 cal yr B.P., probably because of warming during th e last deglaciation. The warming in southwestern Africa was associated with weakened upwelling and increased sea surface temperatures, 2000-2800 years earlier than in the Northern Hemisphere. Aridification 14,300-12,600 cal J r B.P. is characterized by a prominent increase of desert and semi-desert p ollen without the return of temperate vegetation. This aridification corres ponds to enhanced upwelling off Namibia and cooler temperatures in Antarcti ca, and it might have been influenced by oceanic thermohaline circulation. Aridification 11,000-8900 cal yr B.P, is out of phase with the northern Afr ican climate. Reduction of the water vapor supply in southwestern Africa at that time may be related to northward excursions of the Intertropical Conv ergence Zone. (C) 2000 University of Washington.