Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - A 14,000-year oxygen isotope record from diatom silica in two alpine lakes on Mt. Kenya.
AU - Barker, Philip
AU - Street-Perrott, F. A.
AU - Leng, M. J.
AU - Greenwood, P. B.
AU - Swain, D. L.
AU - Perrott, R. A.
AU - Telford, R. J.
AU - Ficken, K. J.
PY - 2001
Y1 - 2001
N2 - Oxygen isotopes are sensitive tracers of climate change in tropical regions. Abrupt shifts of up to 18 per mil in the oxygen isotope ratio of diatom silica have been found in a 14,000-year record from two alpine Lakes on Mt. Kenya. Interpretation of tropical-montane isotope records is controversial, especially concerning the relative roles of precipitation and temperature. Here, we argue that Holocene variations in delta O-18 are better explained by Lake moisture balance than by temperature-induced fractionation. Episodes of heavy convective precipitation dated similar to 11,100 to 8600, 6700 to 5600, 2900 to 1900, and <1300 years before the present were linked to enhanced soil erosion, neoglacial ice advances, and forest expansion on Mt. Kenya.
AB - Oxygen isotopes are sensitive tracers of climate change in tropical regions. Abrupt shifts of up to 18 per mil in the oxygen isotope ratio of diatom silica have been found in a 14,000-year record from two alpine Lakes on Mt. Kenya. Interpretation of tropical-montane isotope records is controversial, especially concerning the relative roles of precipitation and temperature. Here, we argue that Holocene variations in delta O-18 are better explained by Lake moisture balance than by temperature-induced fractionation. Episodes of heavy convective precipitation dated similar to 11,100 to 8600, 6700 to 5600, 2900 to 1900, and <1300 years before the present were linked to enhanced soil erosion, neoglacial ice advances, and forest expansion on Mt. Kenya.
U2 - 10.1126/science.1059612
DO - 10.1126/science.1059612
M3 - Journal article
VL - 292
SP - 2307
EP - 2310
JO - Science
JF - Science
SN - 0036-8075
IS - 5525
ER -