HR: 14:25h
AN: U13A-03    [Abstracts]
TI: Wetlands as a Record of Climate Change and Hydrological Response in Arid Rift Settings
AU: * Ashley, G M
EM: gmashley@rci.rutgers.edu
AF: Rutgers University, Dept. of Geological Sciences, Piscataway, NJ 08854 United States
AB: Of all the terrestrial depositional settings, rift basins typically provide the greatest accommodation space, and consequently have some of the longest records of continental sedimentation. Lake deposits were the only rift component studied for records of long-term climatic change and for testing hypotheses of orbital forcing. Recently, the continuing quest for the paleontological and cultural records of human origins entombed in the sedimentary rocks of the East African Rift System raised questions concerning hydrologic and biologic response to climatic change. Additional issues are the impact of climate on paleolandscapes and the environmental stresses that might have affected human evolution. Other important indicators of rift hydrology, such as springs and wetlands are now emerging as viable records of climate change. Rift valley basins are shallow, hydrologically closed systems that are responsive to shifts in climate, and specifically sensitive to changes in the hydrologic budget (P-ET). Long term wet-dry cycles in the low latitudes are thought to be astronomically controlled, i.e. Milankovitch precession cycles (19-23 ka). In the tropics, precipitation (P) varies with changes in solar insolation which fluctuates <8-10 % over a cycle. Stronger insolation drives stronger summer monsoon maxima increasing P. Mean annual temperatures are high, but evapo-transpiration, ET (~ 2500 mm/yr) varies little. Consequently, during wetter periods regional groundwater reservoirs enlarge, the water table rises and springs and wetlands increase in number and in size compared to drier periods. Lake levels are known to fluctuate in response to change in hydrologic budget and wetlands appear to respond similarly. Springs and groundwater-fed wetlands are common, however the sources and sustainability of water or what geologic factors lead to the formation and longevity of wetlands is not well established. It appears that rainfall is trapped on topographic highs (rift fault blocks and volcanoes). This meteoric water infiltrates quickly through porous volcanic rocks and is stored in aquifers and released slowly. As a component of the rift hydrologic system, wetlands appear to be reliable indicators of rainfall fluctuations on both Milankovitch and sub-Milankovitch time scales. Wetland sediments are commoner in the geologic record during times of higher rainfall and are less common during drier periods. Modern arid rift wetland records are peats and organic-rich clay deposits that contain eolian-transported mineral matter, plant remains (e.g. roots, stems) pollen, phytoliths, diatoms, root casts, charcoal, carbonate and manganese-rich nodules, as well as copious evidence of bioturbation (plants and invertebrates to large vertebrate trampling). Older (Pleistocene) deposits that retain little original organic matter and plant remains are generally silicified, but otherwise the record is similar to modern wetlands. Records from Olduvai Gorge (1.85-1.75 Ma) contain springs and wetlands associated with stone tools. On shorter time-frames, a drought occurred during the Medieval Warm Period (MWP) and higher rainfall in East Africa during the Little Ice Age (700 BP) led to higher lake levels of Lake Naivasha and Lake Turkana (Mohamed et al. 1995; Verschuren et al. 2000) and the simultaneous initiation and expansion of Loboi Swamp in Baringo-Bogoria basin (Ashley et al. 2004). Therefore, a wetland as an indicator of climate change even on millennial-scale cycles is a viable option to lakes as paleoclimatic indicators in arid, low-latitude continental settings. Groundwater reservoirs provide a perennial water source for plants and animals (including hominins) in what might otherwise be a parched environment.
DE: 9305 Africa
DE: 3344 Paleoclimatology
DE: 4267 Paleoceanography
SC: Union [U]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting