Complex Holocene lunette dune development, South Africa: Implications for paleoclimate and models of pan development in arid regions

Research Article| October 01, 2006 Complex Holocene lunette dune development, South Africa: Implications for paleoclimate and models of pan development in arid regions M.W. Telfer; M.W. Telfer 1Oxford University Centre for the Environment, School of Geography, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK, and Sheffield Centre for International Drylands Research, Department of Geography, University of Sheffield, Winter Street, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar D.S.G. Thomas D.S.G. Thomas 2Oxford University Centre for the Environment, School of Geography, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information M.W. Telfer 1Oxford University Centre for the Environment, School of Geography, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK, and Sheffield Centre for International Drylands Research, Department of Geography, University of Sheffield, Winter Street, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK D.S.G. Thomas 2Oxford University Centre for the Environment, School of Geography, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 07 Mar 2006 Revision Received: 14 May 2006 Accepted: 18 May 2006 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (2006) 34 (10): 853–856. https://doi.org/10.1130/G22791.1 Article history Received: 07 Mar 2006 Revision Received: 14 May 2006 Accepted: 18 May 2006 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation M.W. Telfer, D.S.G. Thomas; Complex Holocene lunette dune development, South Africa: Implications for paleoclimate and models of pan development in arid regions. Geology 2006;; 34 (10): 853–856. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G22791.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Closed depressions (pan or playa basins) are very common landscape features in arid or formerly arid regions. Many have associated downwind dune assemblages (lunettes) that have been explained in terms of deflation of sediments from the basin. These widespread features have also been used as proxies of late Quaternary rainfall and atmospheric circulation change. We use a detailed program of optically stimulated luminescence dating at Witpan, South Africa, to show that lunette construction may be rapid and spatially complex. This study presents 33 ages from 9 sample sites on the dune that show how accumulation of the present dune largely occurred over the past 2 k.y., but with marked sectoral variability in accumulation rates and timing. Variability is attributed largely to local sediment supply factors. Geochemical analysis shows that primary deflation from the pan has not contributed significantly to the construction of much of the current lunette; most sand is derived from recycling of older lunette sediments, preserved today at only a few locations, and from neighboring linear dunes. These findings, if representative of lunettes in other localities, have marked implications for the types of paleoclimatic information that these features may yield. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.