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Key words

  • Glaciers

  • Periglacial

  • Last Glacial Maximum

  • Africa

  • Geomorphology

  • Past climate reconstruction

Summary

Location

Fieldwork for this project took place in September 2011 and the research is ongoing. Landform mapping and sampling was undertaken in the Drakensberg Mountains in South Africa.

Overview

This research project looks at evidence for the presence of glaciers in the Drakensberg Mountains in the past; both to better understand the glacial history of the area and to infer the past climate conditions that must have existed to allow glaciers to form here. The research also compares the evidence from the Drakensberg Mountains with evidence for past changes in ocean currents and sea surface temperatures off the coast of South Africa to help better understand the links between changes in ocean circulation and the climate of southern Africa.

Research techniques

Prior to fieldwork, satellite images and aerial photos were examined to identify glacial and periglacial landforms. Landforms were then mapped in the field using a Global Positioning System (GPS) to ‘ground truth’ the inferences made from studying the ‘remotely sensed’ images. Sections through the landforms were logged and the sedimentary properties recorded (for example, clast size and orientation). Landforms were also sampled for surface exposure dating (to determine the age of certain glacial and periglacial landforms). Once glacial landforms have been identified and dated, another step involves inputting field mapping data into a Geographical Information System (GIS) in order to estimate the dimensions of a former glacier.

Aims

  • To improve knowledge of where glaciers formed in the Drakensberg, and when they existed; and to determine whether certain landforms are glacial or periglacial in origin

  • To use this knowledge to infer what the climate was like in the High Drakensberg in the past, and to investigate how past climate changes in this region related to past changes in the strength of the Agulhas Current off the coast of southern Africa

Key topics and themes

This resource will be of particular value to A-level students studying glaciation and cold environments. It provides:

  • A case study of a formerly glaciated area and the evidence used to both reconstruct the location and size of past glaciers and to determine when they existed

  • An overview of what the Drakensberg Mountains were like during the same time frame when the British Isles were covered by a great ice cap (the Last Glacial Maximum)

It is also relevant for A-level studies of climate - specifically the nature and causes of climatic variation over long timescales, as well as the methods by which past climates are reconstructed.

  • The presence of glaciers in places where they no longer exist today indicates that climate has changed - as such places must have been colder and/or have received more precipitation in the past to have had glaciers

  • Understanding of longer-term changes in climate is essential for putting human-caused climate change into perspective and for predicting how the climate is likely to change in the future

Documents to download

  • Teacher guidance notes

  • Links to exam specifications

  • References

Video clips

  • Lesson one – Introducing the High Drakensberg 

  • Lesson three – Sampling for surface exposure dating 

Additional links

For additional teaching resources on researching long term climate change:

For additional teaching resources on research in geomorphology:

About the author

Dr David Anderson is Head of Geography at Eton College. His doctoral research at the University of Oxford involved reconstructing past environmental and climatic changes from stratigraphic evidence. He is the author of the A-level text Glacial and Periglacial Environments (Hodder) and a co-author of Global Environments through the Quaternary: Exploring Environmental Change (OUP). He also co-authored the A-level section of the Discovering Antarctica website for the RGS-IBG.

The researchers

Stephanie Mills and Tim Barrows

Dr Stephanie Mills is a lecturer in Physical Geography at Kingston University London. Dr Timothy Barrows is a Senior lecturer in Physical Geography at the University of Exeter. They received the Peter Fleming Award in 2011 to support their work on the ice age climate of the Drakensberg Mountains, southern Africa.

Downloads

File nameFiles

File type

Size

Download

Glacial Landscapes Drakensburg References

.docx

12 KB

Glacial Landscapes Drakensburg References (1)

.pdf

264 KB

Glacial Landscapes Lesson 1 Introducing the High Drakensburg

.wmv

5 MB

Glacial Landscapes Lesson 3 Sampling for Surface Exposure Dating

.wmv

5 MB

Glacial Landscapes Links to Exam Board Specifications

.docx

12 KB

Glacial Landscapes Links to Exam Board Specifications (1)

.pdf

265 KB

Glacial Landscapes Teachers Guidance Notes

.docx

30 KB

Glacial Landscapes Teachers Guidance Notes (1)

.pdf

412 KB

Glacial Landscapes Lesson 1 LGM Presentation

.pptx

2 MB

Glacial Landscapes Lesson 1 Researcher Q&A

.doc

23 KB

Glacial Landscapes Lesson 1 Drakensberg Environment Slides

.pptx

6 MB

Glacial Landscapes Lesson 1 Drakensberg Clip

.mov

129 MB

Glacial Landscapes Lesson 1 Terms & Definitions

.pdf

320 KB

Glacial Landscapes Lesson 1 Terms & Definitions (1)

.docx

19 KB

Glacial Landscapes Lesson 1 Researcher Q&A (1)

.pdf

257 KB

Glacial Landscapes Lesson 2 Climate Data

.xls

32 KB

Glacial Landscapes Lesson 2 Starter Answers

.docx

14 KB

Glacial Landscapes Lesson 2 Starter Answers (1)

.pdf

275 KB

Glacial Landscapes Lesson 2 Starter

.ppt

5 MB

Glacial Landscapes Lesson 2 Analysis Task Sheet

.docx

18 KB

Glacial Landscapes Lesson 2 Analysis Task Sheet (1)

.pdf

277 KB

Glacial Landscapes Lesson 3 Starter noting sheet

.docx

12 KB

Glacial Landscapes Lesson 3 Starter Researcher Q and A

.docx

15 KB

Glacial Landscapes Lesson 3 surface exposure dating clip

.mov

136 MB

Glacial Landscapes Lesson 3 geological time lines worksheet

.pdf

375 KB

Glacial Landscapes Lesson 3 geological time lines worksheet (1)

.docx

36 KB

Glacial Landscapes Lesson 3 Starter noting sheet (1)

.pdf

186 KB

Glacial Landscapes Lesson 3 plenary slides

.pptx

539 KB

Glacial Landscapes Lesson 3 Starter Researcher Q and A (1)

.pdf

271 KB

Glacial Landscapes Lesson 3 Surface exposure dates

.xls

24 KB

Glacial Landscapes Follow Up Reference List

.doc

24 KB

Glacial Landscapes Follow Up Reference List (1)

.pdf

264 KB

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