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Heaton, T. H. E. (1984). Sources of the nitrate in phreatic groundwater in the western Kalahari. Journal of Hydrology, 67(1), 249–259.
Abstract: Elevated levels of nitrate occur in phreatic groundwater in the western Kalahari, Namibia. Nitrate in water containing 0.4–3.1 meq NO−3l−1, of widespread occurrence, has δ15N values in the range +4.9 to +8.0‰, suggesting natural derivation from the soil. The sporadic occurrence of very high levels of nitrate (> 4 meq NO−3l−1), which has δ15N between +9.3 to +18.7‰, reflects pollution derived from animal waste. The importance of considering the possible isotopic effects of denitrification, and the significance of leaching in the nitrogen budget of the Kalahari soil, are also discussed.
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Vogel, J. C., Talma, A. S., & Heaton, T. H. E. (1981). Gaseous nitrogen as evidence for denitrification in groundwater. Journal of Hydrology, 50, 191–200.
Abstract: By investigating the nitrate, oxygen, nitrogen and argon concentrations and 15N14N ratios in artesian groundwater with radiocarbon ages ranging up to 27,000 yr. a process of very slow denitrification in a confined aquifer is demonstrated. The calculated nitrogenisotope fractionation factor associated with this reaction is comparable to that reported for bacterial cultures in vitro and in vivo.
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Heaton, T. H. E., Talma, A. S., & Vogel, J. C. (1983). Origin and history of nitrate in confined groundwater in the western Kalahari. Journal of Hydrology, 62(1), 243–262.
Abstract: Data are presented for nitrate, dinitrogen and argon concentrations and 15N14N ratios in groundwater, with radiocarbon ages up to 40,000 yr. for three confined sandstone aquifers in the western Kalahari of South West Africa/Namibia. The nitrate is probably generated within the soil of the recharge areas, and its production rate during the period 3000-40,000 B.P. has remained between 0.5 and 1.6 meq NO−3l−1 of recharge water, with ° 15N between + 4 and + 8‰. Variations in the amount of nitrate and of “excess air” in groundwater recharge are found, and can only reflect changes in the environmental conditions during recharge. They must therefore be caused by the climatic changes that have taken place during the past 25,000 yr.
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Belz, L., Schüller, I., Wehrmann, A., Köster, J., & Wilkes, H. (2020). The leaf wax biomarker record of a Namibian salt pan reveals enhanced summer rainfall during the Last Glacial-Interglacial Transition. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 543, 109561.
Abstract: Conventional continental geoarchives are rarely available in arid southern Africa. Therefore, palaeoclimate data in this area are still patchy and late Quaternary climate development is only poorly understood. In the western Kalahari, salt pans (playas, ephemeral lakes) are common and can feature quasi-continuous sedimentation. This study presents the first climate-related biomarker record using sediments from the Omongwa Pan, a Kalahari salt pan located in eastern Namibia. Our approach to reconstruct vegetation and hydrology focuses on biogeochemical bulk parameters and plant wax-derived lipid biomarkers (n-alkanes, n-alkanols, and fatty acids) and their compound-specific carbon and hydrogen isotopic compositions. The presented record reaches back to 27 ka. During the glacial, rather low δ2H values of n-alkanes and low sediment input exclude a strong influence of winter rainfall. n-Alkane and n-alkanol distributions and δ13C values of n-hentriacontane (n-C31) indicate a shift to a vegetation with a higher proportion of C4 plants at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum until the end of Heinrich Stadial I (ca. 18–14.8 ka), which we interpret to indicate an abrupt excursion to a short wetter period likely to be caused by a temporary southward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. Shifts in δ2H values of n-C31 and plant wax parameters give evidence for changes to drier conditions during early Holocene. Comparison of this dataset with representative continental records from the region points to a major influence of summer rainfall at Omongwa Pan during the regarded time span and demonstrates the potential of southern African salt pans as archives for biomarker-based climate proxies.
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Lim, S., Chase, B. M., Chevalier, M., & Reimer, P. J. (2016). 50,000years of vegetation and climate change in the southern Namib Desert, Pella, South Africa. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 451, 197–209.
Abstract: This paper presents the first continuous pollen record from the southern Namib Desert spanning the last 50,000years. Obtained from rock hyrax middens found near the town of Pella, South Africa, these data are used to reconstruct vegetation change and quantitative estimates of temperature and aridity. Results indicate that the last glacial period was characterised by increased water availability at the site relative to the Holocene. Changes in temperature and potential evapotranspiration appear to have played a significant role in determining the hydrologic balance. The record can be considered in two sections: 1) the last glacial period, when low temperatures favoured the development of more mesic Nama-Karoo vegetation at the site, with periods of increased humidity concurrent with increased coastal upwelling, both responding to lower global/regional temperatures; and 2) the Holocene, during which time high temperatures and potential evapotranspiration resulted in increased aridity and an expansion of the Desert Biome. During this latter period, increases in upwelling intensity created drier conditions at the site. Considered in the context of discussions of forcing mechanisms of regional climate change and environmental dynamics, the results from Pella stand in clear contrast with many inferences of terrestrial environmental change derived from regional marine records. Observations of a strong precessional signal and interpretations of increased humidity during phases of high local summer insolation in the marine records are not consistent with the data from Pella. Similarly, while high percentages of Restionaceae pollen has been observed in marine sediments during the last glacial period, they do not exceed 1% of the assemblage from Pella, indicating that no significant expansion of the Fynbos Biome has occurred during the last 50,000years. These findings pose interesting questions regarding the nature of environmental change in southwestern Africa, and the significance of the diverse records that have been obtained from the region.
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