Lower-Upper Cretaceous paleosols record cool greenhouse period in East Africa Paleoatmospheric CO2 oscillations through a cool middle/Late Cretaceous recorded from pedogenic carbonates in Africa

This study presents the first African pedogenic carbonate estimated atmospheric CO 2 concentrations for the Early to Late Cretaceous transition. Pedogenic carbonates have been used extensively as proxies to reconstruct past climates, yet few studies have focused on the climatic conditions of Africa during the Mesozoic. The paucity of paleoclimate data from the region represents a significant obstacle in interpreting past climate change, and thus our ability to predict future changes. Paleosol carbonate nodules were sampled from Bk horizons of seven particularly well-exposed and well-characterized paleosols through the Cretaceous Galula Formation, including four from the lower Mtuka Member (Aptian–Cenomanian) and three from the upper Namba Member (Campanian). The Cretaceous Galula Formation is a fossiliferous continental sedimentary succession of braided fluvial deposits that are well exposed in recently incised river drainages of the Rukwa Rift Basin, Tanzania. Oxygen isotope values averaged −5.6‰ and −7.2‰ VPDB for the Mtuka and Namba members, equating to mean annual temperatures of 14.5 °C and 11.2 °C, respectively. Using the stable isotope composition of pedogenic carbonates from the Mtuka Member, an average p CO 2 of 1860 ppmv was estimated for the Aptian–Cenomanian, before declining to an average of 520 ppmv in the Namba Member, during the Campanian. Atmospheric p CO 2 values fluctuated, but remained above 1000 ppmv through the middle Cretaceous, and correspond to the “cool” greenhouse period that spanned the Aptian–Albian. The gradual decline in p CO 2 (550–502 ppmv) recorded in the Namba Member paleosols occurred during Late Cretaceous cooling following the Cretaceous Thermal Maximum. • First paleosol-derived atmospheric p CO 2 values from Africa for the middle Cretaceous. • Atmospheric p CO 2 values were above 1000 ppmv during the Aptian–Albian. • Atmospheric CO 2 concentrations declined in the Campanian to an average of 520 ppmv. • Lower–Upper Cretaceous paleosols record cool greenhouse period in East Africa.