Lake Tanganyika 1500 Year TEX86 LST, BSi, and Charcoal Data Tierney, J.E.; Mayes, M.T.; Meyer, N.; Johnson, C.; Swarzenski, P.W.; Cohen, A.S.; Russell, J.M. Tierney, J.E. Mayes, M.T. Meyer, N. Johnson, C. Swarzenski, P.W. Cohen, A.S. Russell, J.M. PAGES 2k Network PAGES Africa 2k earth science/paleoclimate/climate reconstructions|paleolimnology (lake surface temperature,glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether index,null,degree Celsius,annual,climate reconstructions|paleolimnology,null,null,N,TEX86) earth science/paleoclimate/climate reconstructions|paleolimnology (age,null,null,year Common Era,null,climate reconstructions|paleolimnology,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology (biogenic silica,sediment,null,dimensionless,null,paleolimnology,normalized,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology (tetraether index of 86 carbon atoms,sediment,null,dimensionless,null,paleolimnology,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/fire history|paleolimnology (charcoal,sediment,null,count per gram,null,fire history|paleolimnology,null,null,N,charred sediment count per gram of dry sediment) earth science/paleoclimate/climate reconstructions|paleolimnology (lake surface temperature,glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether index,95% confidence interval lower bound,degree Celsius,annual,climate reconstructions|paleolimnology,null,null,N,TEX86) earth science/paleoclimate/fire history|paleolimnology (charcoal,sediment,null,dimensionless,null,fire history|paleolimnology,normalized,null,N,charred sediment count per gram of dry sediment) earth science/paleoclimate/climate reconstructions|paleolimnology (lake surface temperature,glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether index,95% confidence interval upper bound,degree Celsius,annual,climate reconstructions|paleolimnology,null,null,N,TEX86) earth science/paleoclimate/climate reconstructions|paleolimnology (depth,null,null,centimeter,null,climate reconstructions|paleolimnology,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology (biogenic silica,sediment,null,weight percent,null,paleolimnology,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology (Lake Tanganyika>LATITUDE -6.03>LONGITUDE 28.53) Instrumental observations suggest that Lake Tanganyika, the largest rift lake in East Africa, has become warmer, increasingly stratified and less productive over the past 90 years. These trends have been attributed to anthropogenic climate change. However, it remains unclear whether the decrease in productivity is linked to the temperature rise, and whether the twentieth-century trends are anomalous within the context of longer-term variability. Here, we use the TEX86 temperature proxy, the weight per cent of biogenic silica and charcoal abundance from Lake Tanganyika sediment cores to reconstruct lake-surface temperature, productivity and regional wildfire frequency, respectively, for the past 1,500 years. We detect a negative correlation between lake-surface temperature and primary productivity, and our estimates of fire frequency, and hence humidity, preclude decreased nutrient input through runoff as a cause for observed periods of low productivity. We suggest that, throughout the past 1,500 years, rising lake-surface temperatures increased the stratification of the lake water column, preventing nutrient recharge from below and limiting primary productivity. Our records indicate that changes in the temperature of Lake Tanganyika in the past few decades exceed previous natural variability. We conclude that these unprecedented temperatures and a corresponding decrease in productivity can be attributed to anthropogenic global warming, with potentially important implications for the Lake Tanganyika fishery. STUDY NOTES: High resolution multiproxy data from Lake Tanganyika for the past 1500 years. Data include the TEX86 lake surface temperature proxy, weight per cent of biogenic silica as a productivity proxy, and charcoal abundance as an indicator of regional wildfire frequency. Data from piston Core NP04-KH1 and multicore MC1, Kalya Platform area, Lake Tanganyika NCDC-Paleoclimatology https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/paleoclimatology-data - Bauer Bruce Investigator : Tierney, J.E. Investigator : Mayes, M.T. Investigator : Meyer, N. Investigator : Johnson, C. Investigator : Swarzenski, P.W. Investigator : Cohen, A.S. Investigator : Russell, J.M. 2010-05-17 ONLINE Files online, ASCII https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/10428 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/tanganyika2010.xls https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/tanganyika2010.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/tanganyika2010.xls https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/tanganyika2010.txt English https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/10428 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/tanganyika2010.xls https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/tanganyika2010.txt Tierney, J.E., M.T. Mayes, N. Meyer, C. Johnson, P.W. Swarzenski, A.S. Cohen, and J.M. Russell. 2010. Late-twentieth-century warming in Lake Tanganyika unprecedented since AD 500. Nature GeoScience, Published online 16 May 2010. DOI: 10.1038/NGEO865 START YEAR: 504 AD * END YEAR: 1956 AD 28.53 -6.03 28.53 -6.03