_version_ 1867169505107509248
author Rommerskirchen, Florian
Eglinton, Geoffrey
Dupont, Lydie M
Güntner, Ute
Wenzel, Claudia
Rullkötter, Jürgen
author_facet Rommerskirchen, Florian
Eglinton, Geoffrey
Dupont, Lydie M
Güntner, Ute
Wenzel, Claudia
Rullkötter, Jürgen
collection Datos científicos de ciencias marinas y ambientales
contents We examined near-surface, late Holocene deep-sea sediments at nine sites on a north-south transect from the Congo Fan (4°S) to the Cape Basin (30°S) along the Southwest African continental margin. Contents, distribution patterns and molecular stable carbon isotope signatures of long-chain n-alkanes (C27-C33) and n-alkanols (C22-C32) are indicators of land plant vegetation of different biosynthetic types, which can be correlated with concentrations and distributions of pollen taxa in the same sediments. Calculated clusters of wind trajectories and satellite Aerosol Index imagery afford information on the source areas for the lipids and pollen on land and their transport pathways to the ocean sites. This multidisciplinary approach on an almost continental scale provides clear evidence of latitudinal differences in lipid and pollen composition paralleling the major phytogeographic zonations on the adjacent continent. Dust and smoke aerosols are mainly derived from the western and central South African hinterland dominated by deserts, semi-deserts and savannah regions rich in C4 and CAM plants. The northern sites (Congo Fan area and northern Angola Basin), which get most of their terrestrial material from the Congo Basin and the Angolan highlands, may also receive some material from the Chad region. Very little aerosol from the African continent is transported to the most southerly sites in the Cape Basin. As can be expected from the present position of the phytogeographic zones, the carbon isotopic signatures of the n-alkanes and n-alkanols both become isotopically more enriched in 13C from north to south. The results of the study suggest that this combination of pollen data and compound-specific isotope geochemical proxies can be effectively applied in the reconstruction of past continental phytogeographic developments.
format Dataset Open Access
id pangaea_https___doi_org_10_1594_PANGAEA_776480
institution PANGAEA
language en
publishDate 2003
publisher PANGAEA
record_format pangaea
spellingShingle A relationship between aerosol transport and compound-specific δ¹³C land plant biomarker and pollen records
Rommerskirchen, Florian
Eglinton, Geoffrey
Dupont, Lydie M
Güntner, Ute
Wenzel, Claudia
Rullkötter, Jürgen
175-1075A; 175-1079A; 175-1082A; 175-1084A; Angola Basin; Benguela Current, South Atlantic Ocean; DRILL; Drilling/drill rig; GeoB; GeoB1008-3; GeoB1016-3; GeoB1028-5; GeoB1710-3; GeoB1722-1; Geosciences, University of Bremen; Gravity corer (Kiel type); Joides Resolution; Leg175; M20/2; M6/6; Meteor (1986); Namibia continental slope; Ocean Drilling Program; ODP; SL; Walvis Ridge, Southeast Atlantic Ocean
We examined near-surface, late Holocene deep-sea sediments at nine sites on a north-south transect from the Congo Fan (4°S) to the Cape Basin (30°S) along the Southwest African continental margin. Contents, distribution patterns and molecular stable carbon isotope signatures of long-chain n-alkanes (C27-C33) and n-alkanols (C22-C32) are indicators of land plant vegetation of different biosynthetic types, which can be correlated with concentrations and distributions of pollen taxa in the same sediments. Calculated clusters of wind trajectories and satellite Aerosol Index imagery afford information on the source areas for the lipids and pollen on land and their transport pathways to the ocean sites. This multidisciplinary approach on an almost continental scale provides clear evidence of latitudinal differences in lipid and pollen composition paralleling the major phytogeographic zonations on the adjacent continent. Dust and smoke aerosols are mainly derived from the western and central South African hinterland dominated by deserts, semi-deserts and savannah regions rich in C4 and CAM plants. The northern sites (Congo Fan area and northern Angola Basin), which get most of their terrestrial material from the Congo Basin and the Angolan highlands, may also receive some material from the Chad region. Very little aerosol from the African continent is transported to the most southerly sites in the Cape Basin. As can be expected from the present position of the phytogeographic zones, the carbon isotopic signatures of the n-alkanes and n-alkanols both become isotopically more enriched in 13C from north to south. The results of the study suggest that this combination of pollen data and compound-specific isotope geochemical proxies can be effectively applied in the reconstruction of past continental phytogeographic developments.
title A relationship between aerosol transport and compound-specific δ¹³C land plant biomarker and pollen records
topic 175-1075A; 175-1079A; 175-1082A; 175-1084A; Angola Basin; Benguela Current, South Atlantic Ocean; DRILL; Drilling/drill rig; GeoB; GeoB1008-3; GeoB1016-3; GeoB1028-5; GeoB1710-3; GeoB1722-1; Geosciences, University of Bremen; Gravity corer (Kiel type); Joides Resolution; Leg175; M20/2; M6/6; Meteor (1986); Namibia continental slope; Ocean Drilling Program; ODP; SL; Walvis Ridge, Southeast Atlantic Ocean
url https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.776480