Abstract
The Makgadikgadi Basin in the Middle Kalahari Desert of Botswana exhibits a complex of salt pans which may partly be filled to shallow water depths during the rainy season. There is good evidence that during the Pleistocene and early Holocene a large lake existed in the Makgadikgadi Basin which, however, became increasingly smaller during the Holocene. For the late Holocene when the regional human population began to grow, no data (except for the last two centuries) about lake levels and thus surface water availability have been published. Age estimates of selected Baobab trees of two size-classes growing on " Kubu Island" , a granite outcrop which is located in a " coastal" position at the south-western edge of Sua Pan, are used to infer that at least during the early centuries of the last millennium a maximum lake level of 908 m a.s.l. was reached. During this lake phase Sua Pan and Ntwetwe Pan were interconnected and large wetlands were created. Large numbers of game and livestock could be sustained. These data are in line with palaeoclimate data, but cannot be used to differentiate the " Medieval Warm Period" , which was supposedly relatively wet, from the subsequent " Little Ice Age" , which likely was comparatively dry.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 67-73 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Quaternary International |
| Volume | 253 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 6 2012 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Earth-Surface Processes
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Evidence for a permanent lake in Sua Pan (Kalahari, Botswana) during the early centuries of the last millennium indicated by distribution of Baobab trees (Adansonia digitata) on "Kubu Island". / Riedel, Frank; Erhardt, Sebastian; Chauke, Chrispen; Kossler, Annette; Shemang, Elisha; Tarasov, Pavel.
In: Quaternary International, Vol. 253, 06.03.2012, p. 67-73.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Evidence for a permanent lake in Sua Pan (Kalahari, Botswana) during the early centuries of the last millennium indicated by distribution of Baobab trees (Adansonia digitata) on "Kubu Island"
AU - Riedel, Frank
AU - Erhardt, Sebastian
AU - Chauke, Chrispen
AU - Kossler, Annette
AU - Shemang, Elisha
AU - Tarasov, Pavel
PY - 2012/3/6
Y1 - 2012/3/6
N2 - The Makgadikgadi Basin in the Middle Kalahari Desert of Botswana exhibits a complex of salt pans which may partly be filled to shallow water depths during the rainy season. There is good evidence that during the Pleistocene and early Holocene a large lake existed in the Makgadikgadi Basin which, however, became increasingly smaller during the Holocene. For the late Holocene when the regional human population began to grow, no data (except for the last two centuries) about lake levels and thus surface water availability have been published. Age estimates of selected Baobab trees of two size-classes growing on " Kubu Island" , a granite outcrop which is located in a " coastal" position at the south-western edge of Sua Pan, are used to infer that at least during the early centuries of the last millennium a maximum lake level of 908 m a.s.l. was reached. During this lake phase Sua Pan and Ntwetwe Pan were interconnected and large wetlands were created. Large numbers of game and livestock could be sustained. These data are in line with palaeoclimate data, but cannot be used to differentiate the " Medieval Warm Period" , which was supposedly relatively wet, from the subsequent " Little Ice Age" , which likely was comparatively dry.
AB - The Makgadikgadi Basin in the Middle Kalahari Desert of Botswana exhibits a complex of salt pans which may partly be filled to shallow water depths during the rainy season. There is good evidence that during the Pleistocene and early Holocene a large lake existed in the Makgadikgadi Basin which, however, became increasingly smaller during the Holocene. For the late Holocene when the regional human population began to grow, no data (except for the last two centuries) about lake levels and thus surface water availability have been published. Age estimates of selected Baobab trees of two size-classes growing on " Kubu Island" , a granite outcrop which is located in a " coastal" position at the south-western edge of Sua Pan, are used to infer that at least during the early centuries of the last millennium a maximum lake level of 908 m a.s.l. was reached. During this lake phase Sua Pan and Ntwetwe Pan were interconnected and large wetlands were created. Large numbers of game and livestock could be sustained. These data are in line with palaeoclimate data, but cannot be used to differentiate the " Medieval Warm Period" , which was supposedly relatively wet, from the subsequent " Little Ice Age" , which likely was comparatively dry.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84857111608&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84857111608&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.quaint.2011.02.040
DO - 10.1016/j.quaint.2011.02.040
M3 - Article
VL - 253
SP - 67
EP - 73
JO - Quaternary International
JF - Quaternary International
SN - 1040-6182
ER -