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Pollen and stable isotope of wax

Already during my PhD research I cooperated with organic geochemists and tried to compare palynological records with stable isotope measurements, which were very tedious and difficult around 1980. Later, the techniques to run compound specific isotopes allowed comparison of stable isotopes of plant wax with pollen data. These records are complementary having both their source in the vegetation, but showing different aspects of it. For instance, the stable carbon isotopes of plant wax relate to the ratio of C3 and C4 plants in the vegetation, while pollen analysis indicates which families of C3 and C4 plants are involved.

Modern distribution patterns

Holocene hydrologic and vegetation developments in the Orange River catchment (South Africa) and their controls

Burdanowitz N, Dupont L, Zabel M, Schefuß E
The Holocene 28 (2018) 1288-1300
10.1177/0959683618771484

A north to south transect of Holocene southeast Atlantic continental margin sediments: Relationship between aerosol transport and compound-specific δ13C land plant biomarker and pollen records

Rommerskirchen F, Eglinton G, Dupont L, Güntner U, Wenzel C, Rullkötter J.
Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 4 (2003) 1101
doi:10.1029/2003GC000541

Fig 9 Rommerskirchen et al 2003

Figure 9 from Rommerskirchen et al. 2003

Synoptic view of the N-S transect and terrestrial organic matter transport from the African continent. Displayed are:
Ocean:
Compound-specific δ13C isotope ratios for n-alkanes (weighted mean averages of odd-carbon-numbered C27 to C33 homologues at the coring sites; δ13CWMA-1). Clay provinces from North to South are delineated by diagonal dashed lines [Petschick et al., 1996] approximately as follows: 1. Kaolinite-rich. Eolian material from North Africa (Chad etc.) and West Africa; riverine material from the Congo. 2. Smectite-rich. Eolian material from Angola and North Namibia; riverine material from the Cunene. 3. Illite(and chlorite)-rich. Eolian material from Namib desert, Kalahari and South Africa; riverine material from the Orange. Also some current transport. Offshore aerosol plume areas were compiled by putting together Radiatively Equivalent Aerosol Optical Thickness (EAOT).
Rivers: The arrows indicate the inflow points of the major rivers draining into the Atlantic Ocean.
Continent:
The Sources of the Dust: These are based on the general view that the most prolific sources of dust fine enough to travel long distances (102-103 km) are the seasonally wet/dry regions, such as pans, salt pans and old lake beds, and disturbed agricultural soils and the soils exposed in burnt-over areas. Southern African dust source: TOMS AAI frequency of occurrence distributions (days per month when the AAI equals or exceeds 0.7) are plotted from Prospero et al. [2002].
Expected Weighted Mean Average δ13C Values of n-Alkanes calculated after assigned C4 plant coverage.
Biomass Burning Areas: Angola (west coast and hinterland, centred on 13°S; June to September with small peak in January transported south by Harmattan winds from 0- 10°N,15°W-20°E region), Central Africa (savannah and grassland, 0-10°S, mostly June) and Southern Africa (July to September) [information from Barbosa et al., 1999; Andreae et al., 1994; Herman et al., 1997]. Red areas: fires statistically every 1-1.6 years; orange areas: at least one fire over the 8-year period of observation.
Wind Directions: Simplified after seasonal (austral winter and fall) clusters which are back-calculated to five of the sites for the austral fall and winter quarters [Dupont and Wyputta, 2003].

 

Mapping of C4 plant input from North West Africa into North East Atlantic sediments

Huang Y, Dupont L, Sarnthein M, Hayes JM, Eglinton G
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 64 (2000) 3505-3513
doi:10.1016/S0016-7037(00)00445-2

 

Distribution of pollen in marine surface sediments compared to the stable carbon isotopes of n-alkanes. Prevailing wind systems and vegetation zones.
Distribution of pollen in marine surface sediments compared to the stable carbon isotopes of n-alkanes. Upper left, prevailing wind systems and vegetation zones. Upper right, distribution of Amaranthaceae pollen. Lower right, distribution of Poaceae (grass) pollen. Lower left, isotope composition of plant wax (n-alkanes) calculated as percent C4-plant wax assuming simple mixing of endmembers (after Huang et al. 2000).

Deglaciation & Holocene

Interaction of fire, vegetation, and climate in tropical ecosystems: A multiproxy study over the past 22,000 years

Ruan Y, Mohtadi M, Dupont LM, Hebbeln D, Van der Kaars S, Hopmans EC, Schouten S, Hyer EJ, Schefuß E
Global Biogeochemical Cycles 34 (2020) e2020GB006677
doi:10.1029/2020GB0066776 

The roles of fire in Holocene ecosystem changes of West Africa

Dupont LM, Schefuß E
Earth and Planetary Science Letters 481 (2018) 255-263
doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2017.10.049

see also 'Pollen and stable isotope of wax > Holocene'

Glacials & Interglacials

Middle to Late Pleistocene vegetation and climate change in subtropical southern East Africa

Castañeda IS, Caley T, Dupont L, Kim J-H, Malaizé B, Schouten S
Earth and Planetary Science Letters 450 (2016) 306-316
10.1016/j.epsl.2016.06.049

Influence of Late Pleistocene and Holocene climate on vegetation distributions in southwest Africa elucidated from sedimentary n-alkanes - Differences between 12°S and 20°S

Badewien T, Vogts A, Dupont L, Rullkötter J
Quaternary Science reviews 125 (2015) 160-171
doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.08.004

NW African hydrology and vegetation during the Last Glacial cycle reflected in plant-wax-specific hydrogen and carbon isotopes

Kuechler RR, Schefuß E, Beckmann B, Dupont L, Wefer G
Quaternary Science reviews 82 (2013) 56-67
doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.10.013

Glacial/interglacial changes in southern Africa: Compound-specific δ13C land plant biomarker and pollen records from southeast Atlantic continental margin sediments

Rommerskirchen F, Eglinton G, Dupont L., Rullkötter J.
Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 7 (2006) Q08010
doi:1029/2005GC001223

n-Alkane and pollen reconstruction of terrestrial climate and vegetation for N.W. Africa over the last 160 kyr

Zhao M, Dupont L, Eglinton G, Teece M.
Organic Geochemistry 34 (2003) 131-143
doi:10.1016/S0146-6380(02)00142-0

Miocene

We did studies comparing pollen and compound specific wax isotope records at two different sites (ODP Site 1081 offshore of Namibia and ODP Site 1085 off the Orange River mouth) covering the late Miocene and early Pliocene. These resulted in a better understanding of the history of the tropical savannah grasslands.

 

The role of fire in Miocene to Pliocene C4 grassland and ecosystem evolution

Hoetzel, S., Dupont, L., Schefuß, E., Rommerskirchen, F., Wefer, G.
Nature Geoscience 6 (2013) 1027-1030
doi:10.1038/NGEO1984

see also 'Fire palaeoecolgy > Miocene'

Miocene to Pliocene changes in South African hydrology and vegetation in relation to the expansion of C4 plants

Dupont LM, Rommerskirchen F, Mollenhauer G, Schefuss E.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters 375 (2013) 408-417
doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2013.06.005

 

δ13C and δD of plant wax and pollen of Poaceae, Asteraceae, Podocarpus from ODP1085 offshore the Orange River mouth (South Africa)

δ13C and δD of plant wax and pollen of Poaceae (South Africa) (after Dupont et al. 2013). NB: time scale runs from left (old) to right (young)

Early studies on peat bog

Palaeobotanic and isotopic analysis of late subboreal and early subatlantic peat from engbertsdijksveen VII, The Netherlands

Dupont LM, Brenninkmeyer CAM
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 41 (1984) 241-271
doi:10.1016/0034-6667(84)90048-4

Temperature and rainfall variation in the holocene based on comparative palaeoecology and isotope geology of a hummock and a hollow (Bourtangerveen, The Netherlands)

Lydie Dupont
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 48 (1986) 133-159
doi:10.1016/0034-6667(86)90056-4

Palaeoclimate analysis of D/H ratios in peat sequences with variable plant composition

Dupont LM, Mook WG
Chemical Geology: Isotope Geoscience section 66 (1987) 323-333
doi:10.1016/0168-9622(87)90052-2