Vegetation and environmental changes in tropical South America from the last glacial to the Holocene documented by multiple cave sediment proxies

Author(s):Show less -

Novello, Valdir F. ^{[1, 2]} ; Cruz, Francisco W. ^[1] ; McGlue, Michael M. ^[3] ; Wong, Corinne I. ^[4] ; Ward, Brittany M. ^[5] ; Vuille, Mathias ^[6] ; Santos, Rudney A. ^[1] ; Jaqueto, Plinio ^[7] ; Pessenda, Luiz C. R. ^[8] ; Atorre, Tiago ^[9] ; Ribeiro, Ligia M. A. L. ^[1] ; Karmann, Ivo ^[1] ; Barreto, Eline S. ^[1] ; Cheng, Hai ^[10] ; Edwards, R. Lawrence ^[11] ; Paula, Marcos S. ^[1] ; Scholz, Denis ^[2]

Affiliation:Show less -

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Geociencias, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Johannes Gutenberg Univ Mainz, Inst Geowissensch, Mainz - Germany

^[3] Univ Kentucky, Earth & Environm Sci, Lexington, KY 40506 - USA

^[4] Univ Texas Austin, Austin, TX 78712 - USA

^[5] Boston Coll, Chestnut Hill, MA 02167 - USA

^[6] SUNY Albany, Dept Atmospher & Environm Sci, Albany, NY 12222 - USA

^[7] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Astron Geofis & Ciancias Atmosfer, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[8] Univ Sao Paulo, Ctr Nucl Energy Agr CENA, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[9] Flinders Univ S Australia, Adelaide, SA - Australia

^[10] Xi An Jiao Tong Univ, Inst Global Environm Change, Xian, Shaanxi - Peoples R China

^[11] Univ Minnesota, Dept Earth Sci, Minneapolis, MN - USA

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Earth and Planetary Science Letters; v. 524, OCT 15 2019.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

delta O-18 values in speleothems have been utilized to document past changes in South American monsoon intensity. However, changes in regional vegetation and ecosystems have not been part of this discussion, and other cave proxies such as speleothem delta C-13 values, a useful proxy for vegetation reconstruction, have been neglected due to interpretive complexities. Here we report delta C-13 values and Sr-87/Sr-86 ratios in stalagmites, together with XRF-derived elemental chemistry, delta C-13(org) values and carbon content from a sedimentary profile from the same cave where the stalagmites were collected. In combination with a previously published delta O-18 record, this enables us to clarify climate and environmental shifts that occurred between the Last Glacial Maximum and the Holocene in central South America. We show that vegetation was sparse during the last glacial period in spite of a previously inferred strong monsoon, and that changes in atmospheric pCO(2) combined with local hydrological and temperature feedbacks may have determined vegetation development during this time. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/24870-2 - Environmental significance of speleothem magnetism
• Grantee: Plinio Francisco Jaqueto
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 15/08351-2 - South America monsoon system activity in mid-west Brazil based in speleothems records associated with climate models
• Grantee: Valdir Felipe Novello
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 17/50085-3 - PIRE: climate research education in the Americas using tree-ring speleothem examples (PIRE-CREATE)
• Grantee: Francisco William da Cruz Junior
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 12/03942-4 - South America Monsoon System activity in certer-west of Brazil based in spelothem records associated with other paleoclimate records from South America
• Grantee: Valdir Felipe Novello
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 18/12285-3 - Modelling karst system and its relevance for paleoclimate reconstruction of Brazil
• Grantee: Valdir Felipe Novello
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• FAPESP's process: 16/00299-4 - Geochemistry of vadose percolation in karst systems: implications for paleoclimatic interpretations os speleothem records
• Grantee: Ivo Karmann
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 16/15807-5 - Paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental reconstructions over the last glacial period in the mid-west Brazil
• Grantee: Valdir Felipe Novello
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 14/10095-1 - South America monsoon system activity in certer-west of Brazil based in spelothem records associated with other paleoclimate records from South America
• Grantee: Valdir Felipe Novello
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 17/23687-2 - Expansion of the paleoclimate records of speleothems collected in the mid-west of Brazil
• Grantee: Valdir Felipe Novello
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• FAPESP's process: 12/50260-6 - Structure and evolution of the Amazonian biota and its environment: an integrative approach
• Grantee: Lúcia Garcez Lohmann
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants