Continental interior parabolic dunes as a potential proxy for past climates

Lucas Vimpere,Stephen E Watkins,Sébastien Castelltort

doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2021.103622

Lucas Vimpere, Stephen E Watkins + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2021.103622

Copy DOI

Abstract

The global occurrence of parabolic dunes and their reactivation potential make them significant features in the present global landscape. Several studies have assessed the distribution and structure of parabolic dunes and their relationship to local climate factors with the aim to constrain the processes influencing their activation and potential reactivation. However, none of them have addressed the connection between recently active inland parabolic dunes and climatic conditions at a global scale, nor their potential as proxy for past climates. Here we report that the activity of 106 continental interior parabolic dunes from the last millennium is largely controlled by few quantifiable climate variables that are mutually influenced: aridity, type of vegetation, and wind speed. We then compare the mid-Holocene activity of 67 continental dunes with the palaeolevel of 394 lakes to confirm their relationship to past aridification, itself triggered by a northward displacement of the Intertropical Converge Zone. This study provides a quantitative tool to constrain past climates in regions where inland parabolic dunes have shown to be active, especially where other proxies are not available; along with linking continental parabolic dune activity with atmospheric circulation.

Highlights

Future climate change will likely result in an increase in average global temperature as well as drought frequency and severity (Coumou and Rahmstorf, 2012; IPCC, 2013)
We report that the activity of 106 continental interior parabolic dunes from the last millennium is largely controlled by few quantifiable climate variables that are mutually influenced: aridity, type of vegetation, and wind speed
This study provides a quantitative tool to constrain past climates in regions where inland parabolic dunes have shown to be active, especially where other proxies are not available; along with linking continental parabolic dune activity with atmospheric circulation

Summary

Introduction

Future climate change will likely result in an increase in average global temperature as well as drought frequency and severity (Coumou and Rahmstorf, 2012; IPCC, 2013). The induced vegetation loss and its impact on aeolian activity are expected to cause an intensification of desertification and land degradation (Asadi Zarch et al, 2017; Ashke nazy et al, 2012; Collins et al, 2013; Greve et al, 2019; Lancaster, 1997; Mirzabaev et al, 2019; Thomas et al, 2005; Thomas and Leason, 2005) Possible consequences of these changes include forced human migration (IPCC, 2014), decreased atmospheric carbon absorption (Lal, 2001), reduced food production (Sherr and Yadav, 1996), increased water scarcity (IPCC, 2013; Maestre et al, 2012), and conflicts (Raleigh and Urdal, 2007). Constraining the present eco-geomorphic systems in which parabolic dunes are currently active may yield detailed insights into how the climate varied in the past

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion