Abrupt Shifts in Horn of Africa Hydroclimate Since the Last Glacial Maximum

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 342; no. 6160; pp. 843 - 846
• Main Authors: Tierney, Jessica E., deMenocal, Peter B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Association for the Advancement of Science 15.11.2013; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Africa, Eastern; Arid zones; Climate Change; Convection; Deserts; Drying; Earth; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Eastern Africa; Exact sciences and technology; Grasslands; Holocene; Horns; Humidity; Hydroclimate; Hydrology; Ice Cover; Intervals; Marine and continental quaternary; Munchausen syndrome by proxy; Oceans; Online; Paleoclimate science; Paleontology; Preliminary proxy material; Proxy reporting; Proxy statements; Rain; Sahara Desert; savannas; Surficial geology; Terminator regions; Tropical Climate; Tropical forests; Vegetation; Gulf of Aden; Arabian Sea; Indian Ocean; East Africa; Africa; Africa, Eastern; Africa, Sahara Desert; Eastern Africa; Sahara Desert; stable isotopes; Quaternary; upper Quaternary; lower Holocene; paleoclimate; duration; insolation; paleoenvironment; deuterium; humidity; Cenozoic; Phanerozoic; D/H; Holocene; climate change
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1240411

The timing and abruptness of the initiation and termination of the Early Holocene African Humid Period are subjects of ongoing debate, with direct consequences for our understanding of abrupt climate change, paleoenvironments, and early human cultural development. Here, we provide proxy evidence from the Horn of Africa region that documents abrupt transitions into and out of the African Humid Period in northeast Africa. Similar and generally synchronous abrupt transitions at other East African sites suggest that rapid shifts in hydroclimate are a regionally coherent feature. Our analysis suggests that the termination of the African Humid Period in the Horn of Africa occurred within centuries, underscoring the nonlinearity of the region's hydroclimate.