South Africa is very sensitive to climate change, because it is located between two atmospheric systems (subtropical and warm-temperate systems) and two oceanic systems (Benguela Current and Agulhas Current). Presently, the seasonal changes of atmospheric and oceanic systems induce a pronounced rainfall seasonality comprised of three different rainfall zones (summer rainfall zone, SRZ; year-round rainfall zone, YRZ and winter rainfall zone, WRZ) over South Africa. However, the seasonality development during the Holocene in South Africa is poorly understood and the driving forces of the climate change are debated. Therefore, this study aims to provide a detailed reconstruction of Holocene climate and vegetation variability of South Africa,... |