Chapter 6
Historic Climatic Variability
and Change: The Importance
of Managing Holocene and Late
Pleistocene Groundwater in the Limpopo
River Basin, Southern Africa
Tamiru A. Abiye and Khahliso C. Leketa
Abstract The isotopic signature in local precipitation is driven by factors that control
fractionation such as temperature and season, where stable isotopes in groundwater
retain the signature of the effects of physical changes at the time of recharge. High
ambient temperature and decrease in rainfalls are characteristic features of the El
Niño event in southern Africa that has resulted in tremendous pressure on water
resource management. Based on the environmental isotope records from the Limpopo
River Basin in South Africa and Botswana, this study determines ambient temperature during rainfall at the time of recharge and correlates it with the
14 C Mean
Residence Time to observe temperature variability in the Holocene and Late Pleistocene. Its implication for the need to manage such historic groundwater is discussed.
Temporal variation in stable isotopes and ambient temperature in relation to
14 C data
revealed the presence of evaporation and recharge at different times due to long-term
climatic variability in the areas located within the arid and semi- arid climatic settings
in the basin. Evidence of variability in ambient temperature was found in geological times, with increasing trends in the Holocene and Late Pleistocene. Therefore,
increasing water demand by various economic sectors requires planned intervention
in groundwater resource management to achieve sustainable development.
Keywords Groundwater management · Environmental isotopes · Ambient
temperature · Holocene-Late pleistocene · Impact on groundwater resources
T. A. Abiye (B) · K. C. Leketa
School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag X3, P.O. Box Wits 2050,
Johannesburg, South Africa
e-mail: tamiru.abiye@wits.ac.za
K. C. Leketa
e-mail: kleketa@gmail.com
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
S. Diop et al. (eds.), Climate Change and Water Resources in Africa,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61225-2_6
131
Historic Climatic Variability
and Change: The Importance
of Managing Holocene and Late
Pleistocene Groundwater in the Limpopo
River Basin, Southern Africa
Tamiru A. Abiye and Khahliso C. Leketa
Abstract The isotopic signature in local precipitation is driven by factors that control
fractionation such as temperature and season, where stable isotopes in groundwater
retain the signature of the effects of physical changes at the time of recharge. High
ambient temperature and decrease in rainfalls are characteristic features of the El
Niño event in southern Africa that has resulted in tremendous pressure on water
resource management. Based on the environmental isotope records from the Limpopo
River Basin in South Africa and Botswana, this study determines ambient temperature during rainfall at the time of recharge and correlates it with the
14 C Mean
Residence Time to observe temperature variability in the Holocene and Late Pleistocene. Its implication for the need to manage such historic groundwater is discussed.
Temporal variation in stable isotopes and ambient temperature in relation to
14 C data
revealed the presence of evaporation and recharge at different times due to long-term
climatic variability in the areas located within the arid and semi- arid climatic settings
in the basin. Evidence of variability in ambient temperature was found in geological times, with increasing trends in the Holocene and Late Pleistocene. Therefore,
increasing water demand by various economic sectors requires planned intervention
in groundwater resource management to achieve sustainable development.
Keywords Groundwater management · Environmental isotopes · Ambient
temperature · Holocene-Late pleistocene · Impact on groundwater resources
T. A. Abiye (B) · K. C. Leketa
School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag X3, P.O. Box Wits 2050,
Johannesburg, South Africa
e-mail: tamiru.abiye@wits.ac.za
K. C. Leketa
e-mail: kleketa@gmail.com
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
S. Diop et al. (eds.), Climate Change and Water Resources in Africa,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61225-2_6
131