“Dripstones, or speleothems, are unique natural archives - like Earth’s USB sticks.
“Dripstones, or speleothems, are unique natural archives - like Earth’s USB sticks. They store a wealth of information on past climate which helps us to better understand the environment in which early humans lived”, Jenny Maccali explains. She is a scientist at SapienCE Centre of Excellence, and has has lead the study, now published in Climate of the Past.
New perspective to ancient climate
South Africa has a highly dynamic climate resulting from its position at the convergence of two oceanic basins, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Indian Ocean to the east. The region is also located at the boundary of different climate zones (subtropical vs. temperate), and the proximity of the Antarctic ice sheet has a direct impact on its climate by influencing the easterlies and westerlies winds position, and hence rainfall pattern.
“All these factors mean that climate in the past could have been different from today and also possibly highly variable”, Jenny Maccali says.
Read More: University of Bergen
“Dripstones, or speleothems, are unique natural archives - like Earth’s USB sticks", says SapienCE scientist Jenny Maccali, who has led the study, now published in Climate of the past. (Photo Credit: Zarko Tankosic)
