Precipitation Over Southern Africa: Moisture Sources and Isotopic Composition

Southern Africa, with its vast arid to semiarid areas, is considered vulnerable precipitation changes and amplifying weather extremes. However, during the last 100 ka, huge lakes existed in currently dry central Kalahari. It has been suggested that these could have due altered atmospheric circulation pattern, leading an increase or annual distribution. Past climate are recorded paleo-archives, yet, for a proper interpretation of paleo-records, example, from sedimentological archives fossils, it essential put them context recent observations. This study’s objective is, therefore, analyze spatially differing distributions at multiple locations southern Africa respect their stable water isotope composition, moisture transport pathways, sources. Five different identified by end-member modeling respective rainfall zones inferred, which differ significantly isotopic compositions. By calculating backward trajectories, source regions linked typical patterns. Our results furthermore show importance seasonality, amount effect, traveled distance general composition over entire Africa. The pattern relationships can be useful evaluation isotope-enabled models region potentially major paleo-records future research.