Late Pleistocene and Holocene drought events at Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile

Marshall, Michael; Lamb, Henry F.; Huws, Dei; Davies, Sarah J.; Bates, Richard; Bloemendal, Jan; Boyle, John; Leng, Melanie J.; Umer, Mohammed; Bryant, Charlotte

doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2011.06.004

Cited by 213 publications

(170 citation statements)

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“…1(h)) in the northern Ethiopian Highlands, centered around 8,400 and 7,500 years BP with progressive weakening of monsoon rains after 6,800 years BP (Fig. 2(g-i); Marshall et al 2011). In another isotopic measure of moisture (δD wax ) from the same lake core, the Early Holocene pluvial period ended ca.…”

Section: Paleoclimate Of Adjacent Basinsmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Estimated northernmost positions of the ITCZ during the AHP and present day adapted from Junginger et al (2014). a Gulf of Aden sediment core (Tierney and deMenocal 2013), b Indian Ocean sediment core (Bard et al 1997), c Paleolake Suguta (Garcin et al 2009;Junginger et al 2014), d Lake Chew Bahir (Foerster et al 2012), e Lake Ashenge (Marshall et al 2009), f Lake Tilo (Lamb et al 2000), g Lakes Ziway and Shala (Gillespie et al 1983), h Lake Tana (Costa et al 2014;Marshall et al 2011), i Lake Abbe (Gasse and Van Campo 1994), j Blue Nile sediment sources (Krom et al 2002) and k Lake Hayq (Lamb et al 2007) (image in full color online) and a permanent lowstand at Lake Abbe (a.k.a. Abhé; Fig.…”

Section: Paleoclimate Of Adjacent Basinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…By 4,500 years BP, the final transition to more arid conditions was underway in the northern Rift (including the Turkana ; f lakes Ziway-Shala-Abyata reconstructed lake level relative to 1636 m.a.s.l. (Gillespie et al 1983); g Lake Tana titanium (Ti), modeled (mg/g) (solid line, Marshall et al 2011); h Lake Tana Χ ARM /Χ LF (dashed line, Marshall et al 2011); i Lake Tana seismic unconformities (Marshall et al 2011); j Lake Abbe reconstructed lake level relative to 240 m.a.s.l. (Gasse and Van Campo 1994); k Gulf of Aden δD wax mean vs. Vienna standard mean ocean water (solid line, Tierney and deMenocal 2013); and l MD85674 ocean sediment core reconstructed SSTs (dashed line, Bard et al 1997).…”

Section: Paleoclimate Of Adjacent Basinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Lakeside View: Sociocultural Responses to Changing Water Levels of Lake Turkana, Kenya

et al. 2015

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Throughout the Holocene, Lake Turkana has been subject to drastic changes in lake levels and the subsistence strategies people employ to survive in this hot and arid region. In this paper, we reconstruct the position of the lake during the Holocene within a paleoclimatic context. Atmospheric forcing mechanisms are discussed in order to contextualize the broader landscape changes occurring in eastern Africa over the last 12,000 years. The Holocene is divided into five primary phases according to changes in the strand-plain evolution, paleoclimate, and human subsistence strategies practiced within the basin. Early Holocene fishing settlements occurred adjacent to high and relatively stable lake levels. A period of high-magnitude oscillations in lake levels Afr Archaeol Rev (2015) ensued after 9,000 years BP and human settlements appear to have been located close to the margins of the lake. Aridification and a final regression in lake levels ensued after 5,000 years BP and human communities were generalized pastoralists-fishers-foragers. During the Late Holocene, lake levels may have dropped below their present position and subsistence strategies appear to have been flexible and occasionally specialized on animal pastoralism. Modern missionary and government outposts have encouraged the construction of permanent settlements in the region, which are heavily dependent on outside resources for their survival. Changes in the physical and cultural environments of the Lake Turkana region have been closely correlated, and understanding the relationship between the two variables remains a vital component of archaeological research.Résumé Tout l'Holocène, le lac Turkana a été soumis à des changements drastiques dans l'altitude des lacs et les stratégies de subsistance des gens utilisent pour survivre dans cette région chaude et aride. Dans cet article, nous reconstruisons la position du lac au cours de l'Holocène dans un contexte paléoclimatique. Mécanismes de forçage atmosphériques sont discutées afin de contextualiser les changements de paysage plus larges qui se produisent en Afrique orientale au cours des 12.000 dernières années. L'Holocène est divisé en cinq phases principales en fonction des changements dans l'évolution altitude du lac, paléoclimats et les stratégies de subsistance humains pratiqués dans le bassin. Premiers établissements de pêche de l'Holocène ont eu lieu à proximité d'altitude d'eau élevés et relativement stables. Une période d'oscillations de grande amplitude dans l'altitude du lac s'ensuit après 9000 années BP et les établissements humains semblent avoir été situé à proximité des marges sur le lac. Aridification et une régression finale du altitude des lacs s'ensuit après 5000 années BP et les communautés humaines sont généralisées éleveurs-pêcheurs-cueilleurs. Au cours de l'Holocène tardif, les altitudes des lacs pourraient avoir chuté en dessous de leur position actuelle et les stratégies de subsistance semblent avoir fait preuve de souplesse et de temps en temps spécialisé sur le pas...

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Section: Paleoclimate Of Adjacent Basinsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Paleoclimate Of Adjacent Basinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Paleoclimate Of Adjacent Basinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Lakeside View: Sociocultural Responses to Changing Water Levels of Lake Turkana, Kenya

et al. 2015

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“…1) 62 remains a highly debated issue [e.g. Kuper and Kröpelin, 2006;Costa et al, 2014; 63 deMenocal et al, 2000; Kuhlmann et al, 2004; Tierney and 64 deMenocal, 2013;Tierney et al, 2008;Junginger et al, 2014; Weldeab 65 et al, 2014;Marshall et al, 2011;Kutzbach and Street-Perrott, 1985; Claussen et al, 66 1999]. In East Africa, the role of non-linear biogeophysical climate feedbacks is also 67 debated with recent studies concluding that non-linear biogeophysical climate feedbacks 68 4 between precipitation and vegetation are absent , that a nonlinear 69 convection feedback associated with Indian Ocean SST could be an important contributor 70 to rainfall variability [Tierney and deMenocal, 2013], or that a non-linear change in 71 vegetation and sediment erosion occurred in the Early Holocene without a significant 72 decrease in precipitation [Blanchet et al, 2014].…”

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confidence: 99%

Hydroclimate variability in the Nile River Basin during the past 28,000 years

Castañeda

Schouten

Pätzold

et al. 2016

Earth and Planetary Science Letters

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13It has long been known that extreme changes in North African hydroclimate occurred 14 during the late Pleistocene yet many discrepancies exist between sites regarding the timing, 15 duration and abruptness of events such as Heinrich Stadial (HS) 1 and the African Humid 16Period (AHP). The hydroclimate history of the Nile River is of particular interest due to its 17 lengthy human occupation history yet there are presently few continuous archives from the 18 Nile River corridor, and pre-Holocene studies are rare. Here we present new organic and 19 inorganic geochemical records of Nile Basin hydroclimate from an eastern Mediterranean 20 (EM) Sea sediment core spanning the past 28 ka BP. Our multi-proxy records reflect the 21 fluctuating inputs of Blue Nile versus White Nile material to the EM Sea in response to 22 2 gradual changes in local insolation and also capture abrupt hydroclimate events driven by 23 remote climate forcings, such as HS1. We find strong evidence for extreme aridity within 24 the Nile Basin evolving in two distinct phases during HS1, from 17.5 to 16 ka BP and from 25 16-14.5 ka BP, whereas peak wet conditions during the AHP are observed from 9-7 ka BP. 26We find that zonal movements of the Congo Air Boundary (CAB), and associated shifts in 27 the dominant moisture source (Atlantic versus Indian Ocean moisture) to the Nile Basin, 28 likely contributed to abrupt hydroclimate variability in northern East Africa during HS1 29 and the AHP as well as to non-linear behavior of hydroclimate proxies. We note that 30 different proxies show variable gradual and abrupt responses to individual hydroclimate 31 events, and thus might have different inherent sensitivities, which may be a factor partially 32 contributing to the controversy surrounding the abruptness of past events such as the AHP. Introduction 40The paleoclimate history of the Nile River valley in East Africa is of interest due to its 41 rich history of human occupation (Vermeersch and Van Neer, 2015). Relationships 42 between climate and the distribution of settlements on the Nile River corridor have long 43 been recognized and it is hypothesized that extreme changes in African hydroclimate 44 helped shape the growth and led to the decline of numerous complex societies [Kuper and 45 3 Kröpelin, 2006]. One of the most dramatic changes in North African hydroclimate, the so-46 called African Humid Period (AHP) [deMenocal et al., 2000], occurred during the early 47Holocene when increased rainfall allowed vegetation, lakes and human populations to 48 occupy a "green Sahara", a region that today is a hyperarid desert [Kuper and Kröpelin, 49 2006]. Variability in Nile River flow also played an important role in shaping Egypt's 50 civilizations with the collapse of the Old Kingdom at 4,160 years before present, attributed 51 to a 30 year absence of annual Nile flooding [Stanley et al., 2003]. Although lacking direct 52 evidence, it is hypothesized that HS1, which is recognized as an extreme and widespread 53 drought in North Afri...

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“…A global suite of proxy records shows widespread climate anomalies during this time (commonly referred as the '4.2 ka event') (e.g., Cullen et al, 2000;Staubwasser et al, 2003;Arz et al, 2006;Drysdale et al, 2006;Menounos et al, 2008;Liu and Feng, 2012;Berkelhammer et al, 2012;Dixit et al, 2014;Cheng et al 2015;Nakamura et al, 2016;Dixit et al, 2018;Railsback et al, 2018). Additionally, a number of archeological 45 studies also suggest that the '4.2 ka event' may have been associated with a series of cultural and societal changes in the Mediterranean, Middle East, Africa, South and East Asia (e.g., Weiss et al,1993;Enzel et al, 1999;Cullen et al, 2000;Staubwasser et al, 2003;Marshall et. al., 2011;Liu and Feng, 2012;Dixit et al, 2014;Weiss, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Timing and Structure of the 4.2 ka BP Event in the Indian Summer Monsoon Domain from an Annually-Resolved Speleothem Record from Northeast India

Kathayat

Cheng

Sinha

et al. 2018

Preprint

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Late Pleistocene and Holocene drought events at Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile

Cited by 213 publications

References 97 publications

Lakeside View: Sociocultural Responses to Changing Water Levels of Lake Turkana, Kenya

Lakeside View: Sociocultural Responses to Changing Water Levels of Lake Turkana, Kenya

Hydroclimate variability in the Nile River Basin during the past 28,000 years

Timing and Structure of the 4.2 ka BP Event in the Indian Summer Monsoon Domain from an Annually-Resolved Speleothem Record from Northeast India

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