North African dust deposition and hydroclimate over the last 60 ka: A combined view from the east and west of the continent

Abstract:

Past changes in atmospheric circulation and hydroclimate over North Africa can be explored by reconstructing eolian dust accumulation in both East and West African margin sediments. Recent high-resolution reconstructions of dust deposition from West Africa (1) indicate dramatic changes in North African dust emissions over the last 20 ka, with comparable results to those found in the terrigenous accumulation rates at nearby ODP Hole 658C (2). A high-resolution record of aridity from East Africa using δD_wax indicates dramatic changes in hydroclimate over the past 40 ka (3). The records show similar trends with arid conditions/high dust emissions seen during the Last Glacial Maximum, the Younger Dryas and Heinrich Event 1 (H1), and the wettest conditions of the past 40,000 years with accompanying low dust emissions during the African Humid Period. This study has two goals: 1) Extend the dust flux and terrigeneous accumulation records from West Africa back to 35 ka and 60 ka respectively, to provide quantitative estimates of the magnitude of eolian deposition changes associated with previous Heinrich Stadials (H2 to H6) and summer insolation minima/maxima; 2) Construct a high-resolution record of eolian dust accumulation rates off the East African margin over the past 20 ka using the same sample material as (3) allowing quantitative estimates of the magnitude of dust flux changes associated with abrupt changes in hydroclimate and provide a direct comparison of dust flux and δD_wax. The combination of these study areas from both sides of the African continent, and comparison of the dust and leaf wax proxies promises to provide a more complete picture of hydroclimate changes accompanying orbital- and millennial-scale climate changes in North Africa over the last 60,000 years. 1. EPSL 371-372, 163–176. 2. Paleoceanography 21, PA4203. 3. Science 342, 843–846.