Holocene evolution of the Anichab Pan on the south-west coast of Namibia.

dc.contributor.authorCompton, John S
dc.date.accessioned2016-07-15T12:47:43Z
dc.date.available2016-07-15T12:47:43Z
dc.date.issued2007
dc.date.updated2016-07-15T12:45:15Z
dc.description.abstractCoastal sediment-filled depressions (pans) are one of the few areas that contain Quaternary records of sea-level and palaeoenvironmental change along the western margin of southern Africa. Anichab is a 128 km2 salt-encrusted pan on the hyper-arid southern coast of Namibia with an emergent, well-preserved and in-place mid-Holocene mollusc assemblage. The molluscs are typical of subtidal sands on the sheltered side of offshore islands but include several warm-water species no longer found living along this coast. The Holocene evolution of the pan was largely influenced by changes in sea level and supply of sand along the coast. Calibrated radiocarbon ages of mollusc shells indicate a maximum Holocene sea level of ca 2 m above mean sea level (msl) from 7Æ0 to 6Æ3 ka and a return to near present-day sea level by 5Æ3 ka. The pan surface is 2 m below msl and has been emergent since 4Æ9 ka from the build up of sandy beaches and coastal dunes. A thin (1–4 cm) halite crust occurs over much of the pan surface but a layer of halite-cemented sand up to 40 cm thick is restricted to the central pan. Gypsum occurs near the subsurface brine interface and is limited by calcium to the edges of the pan. Nodules of calcite-cemented sand are forming in brackish, relatively high alkalinity subsurface waters in the southeast corner of the pan and nodules of aragonite-cemented sand are forming in brines 1 m below the central pan surface. Although modern dolomite has been reported from coastal lagoons of Brazil and Australia, carbonate cements are a minor feature of Anichab Pan and dolomite was restricted to a single reworked nodule most likely of Late Pleistocene age. Therefore, Anichab Pan does not appear to be a modern analogue to extensive, mixed-water dolomite cements found in Upper Pleistocene sediment-filled depressions on the Namibian shelfen_ZA
dc.identifierhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3091.2006.00826.x
dc.identifier.apacitationCompton, J. S. (2007). Holocene evolution of the Anichab Pan on the south-west coast of Namibia. <i>Sedimentology</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20381en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationCompton, John S "Holocene evolution of the Anichab Pan on the south-west coast of Namibia." <i>Sedimentology</i> (2007) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20381en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationCompton, J. S. (2007). Holocene evolution of the Anichab Pan on the south‐west coast of Namibia. Sedimentology, 54(1), 55-70.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn0037-0746en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Compton, John S AB - Coastal sediment-filled depressions (pans) are one of the few areas that contain Quaternary records of sea-level and palaeoenvironmental change along the western margin of southern Africa. Anichab is a 128 km2 salt-encrusted pan on the hyper-arid southern coast of Namibia with an emergent, well-preserved and in-place mid-Holocene mollusc assemblage. The molluscs are typical of subtidal sands on the sheltered side of offshore islands but include several warm-water species no longer found living along this coast. The Holocene evolution of the pan was largely influenced by changes in sea level and supply of sand along the coast. Calibrated radiocarbon ages of mollusc shells indicate a maximum Holocene sea level of ca 2 m above mean sea level (msl) from 7Æ0 to 6Æ3 ka and a return to near present-day sea level by 5Æ3 ka. The pan surface is 2 m below msl and has been emergent since 4Æ9 ka from the build up of sandy beaches and coastal dunes. A thin (1–4 cm) halite crust occurs over much of the pan surface but a layer of halite-cemented sand up to 40 cm thick is restricted to the central pan. Gypsum occurs near the subsurface brine interface and is limited by calcium to the edges of the pan. Nodules of calcite-cemented sand are forming in brackish, relatively high alkalinity subsurface waters in the southeast corner of the pan and nodules of aragonite-cemented sand are forming in brines 1 m below the central pan surface. Although modern dolomite has been reported from coastal lagoons of Brazil and Australia, carbonate cements are a minor feature of Anichab Pan and dolomite was restricted to a single reworked nodule most likely of Late Pleistocene age. Therefore, Anichab Pan does not appear to be a modern analogue to extensive, mixed-water dolomite cements found in Upper Pleistocene sediment-filled depressions on the Namibian shelf DA - 2007 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town J1 - Sedimentology LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2007 SM - 0037-0746 T1 - Holocene evolution of the Anichab Pan on the south-west coast of Namibia TI - Holocene evolution of the Anichab Pan on the south-west coast of Namibia UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20381 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/20381
dc.identifier.urihttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-3091.2006.00826.x/full
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationCompton JS. Holocene evolution of the Anichab Pan on the south-west coast of Namibia. Sedimentology. 2007; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20381.en_ZA
dc.languageengen_ZA
dc.publisherWileyen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Geological Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.sourceSedimentologyen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-3091
dc.subject.otherBrine
dc.subject.othercalcite
dc.subject.othercalibrated radiocarbon ages
dc.subject.othercoastal pan
dc.subject.otherdolomite
dc.subject.otherHolocene
dc.subject.othermolluscs
dc.subject.othersea level
dc.titleHolocene evolution of the Anichab Pan on the south-west coast of Namibia.en_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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