Synthetic reconstructions of southern African environments during the Last Glacial Maximum (21-18 kyr) and the Holocene Altithermal (8-6 kyr)

The PASH database has been assembling palaeoclimatic data from the southern hemisphere for a number of years. The southern African sector now contains more than 100 records spanning the last 200,000 years. A number of these relate to the Last Glacial Maximum and Holocene Altithermal, which represent the two most recent extremes in global temperatures. Syntheses of these records have permitted the preparation of preliminary palaeoenvironmental maps for the two intervals. The results provide insights into probable changes in atmospheric circulation as temperatures across the subcontinent rose by 6-7 degrees C. These changes are in agreement with a present-day model which has been developed to explain short-term variations in southern African climate. The results presented here should assist in calibrating models developed to predict future climate change. (C) 1999 INQUA/Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.