Timing and causes of North African wet phases during the last glacial period and implications for modern human migration
We present the first speleothem-derived central North Africa rainfall record for the last glacial period. The record reveals three main wet periods at 65-61 ka, 52.5-50.5 ka and 37.5-33 ka that lead obliquity maxima and precession minima. We find additional minor wet episodes that are synchronous wi...
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ftoceanrep:oai:oceanrep.geomar.de:34560 2023-05-15T16:29:29+02:00 Timing and causes of North African wet phases during the last glacial period and implications for modern human migration Hoffmann, Dirk L. Rogerson, Mike Spötl, Christoph Luetscher, Marc Vance, Derek Osborne, Anne Helen Fello, Nuri M. Moseley, Gina E. 2016-11-03 text https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/34560/ https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/34560/1/srep36367.pdf https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/34560/2/srep36367-s1.pdf https://doi.org/10.1038/srep36367 en eng Nature Research https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/34560/1/srep36367.pdf https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/34560/2/srep36367-s1.pdf Hoffmann, D. L., Rogerson, M., Spötl, C., Luetscher, M., Vance, D., Osborne, A. H. , Fello, N. M. and Moseley, G. E. (2016) Timing and causes of North African wet phases during the last glacial period and implications for modern human migration. Open Access Scientific Reports, 6 (36367). DOI 10.1038/srep36367 <https://doi.org/10.1038/srep36367>. doi:10.1038/srep36367 cc_by_4.0 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Article PeerReviewed 2016 ftoceanrep https://doi.org/10.1038/srep36367 2023-04-07T15:28:53Z We present the first speleothem-derived central North Africa rainfall record for the last glacial period. The record reveals three main wet periods at 65-61 ka, 52.5-50.5 ka and 37.5-33 ka that lead obliquity maxima and precession minima. We find additional minor wet episodes that are synchronous with Greenland interstadials. Our results demonstrate that sub-tropical hydrology is forced by both orbital cyclicity and North Atlantic moisture sources. The record shows that after the end of a Saharan wet phase around 70 ka ago, North Africa continued to intermittently receive substantially more rainfall than today, resulting in favourable environmental conditions for modern human expansion. The encounter and subsequent mixture of Neanderthals and modern humans – which, on genetic evidence, is considered to have occurred between 60 and 50 ka – occurred synchronously with the wet phase between 52.5 and 50.5 ka. Based on genetic evidence the dispersal of modern humans into Eurasia started less than 55 ka ago. This may have been initiated by dry conditions that prevailed in North Africa after 50.5 ka. The timing of a migration reversal of modern humans from Eurasia into North Africa is suggested to be coincident with the wet period between 37.5 and 33 ka. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland North Atlantic OceanRep (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre für Ocean Research Kiel) Greenland Scientific Reports 6 1 |
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OceanRep (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre für Ocean Research Kiel) |
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ftoceanrep |
language |
English |
description |
We present the first speleothem-derived central North Africa rainfall record for the last glacial period. The record reveals three main wet periods at 65-61 ka, 52.5-50.5 ka and 37.5-33 ka that lead obliquity maxima and precession minima. We find additional minor wet episodes that are synchronous with Greenland interstadials. Our results demonstrate that sub-tropical hydrology is forced by both orbital cyclicity and North Atlantic moisture sources. The record shows that after the end of a Saharan wet phase around 70 ka ago, North Africa continued to intermittently receive substantially more rainfall than today, resulting in favourable environmental conditions for modern human expansion. The encounter and subsequent mixture of Neanderthals and modern humans – which, on genetic evidence, is considered to have occurred between 60 and 50 ka – occurred synchronously with the wet phase between 52.5 and 50.5 ka. Based on genetic evidence the dispersal of modern humans into Eurasia started less than 55 ka ago. This may have been initiated by dry conditions that prevailed in North Africa after 50.5 ka. The timing of a migration reversal of modern humans from Eurasia into North Africa is suggested to be coincident with the wet period between 37.5 and 33 ka. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hoffmann, Dirk L. Rogerson, Mike Spötl, Christoph Luetscher, Marc Vance, Derek Osborne, Anne Helen Fello, Nuri M. Moseley, Gina E. |
spellingShingle |
Hoffmann, Dirk L. Rogerson, Mike Spötl, Christoph Luetscher, Marc Vance, Derek Osborne, Anne Helen Fello, Nuri M. Moseley, Gina E. Timing and causes of North African wet phases during the last glacial period and implications for modern human migration |
author_facet |
Hoffmann, Dirk L. Rogerson, Mike Spötl, Christoph Luetscher, Marc Vance, Derek Osborne, Anne Helen Fello, Nuri M. Moseley, Gina E. |
author_sort |
Hoffmann, Dirk L. |
title |
Timing and causes of North African wet phases during the last glacial period and implications for modern human migration |
title_short |
Timing and causes of North African wet phases during the last glacial period and implications for modern human migration |
title_full |
Timing and causes of North African wet phases during the last glacial period and implications for modern human migration |
title_fullStr |
Timing and causes of North African wet phases during the last glacial period and implications for modern human migration |
title_full_unstemmed |
Timing and causes of North African wet phases during the last glacial period and implications for modern human migration |
title_sort |
timing and causes of north african wet phases during the last glacial period and implications for modern human migration |
publisher |
Nature Research |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/34560/ https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/34560/1/srep36367.pdf https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/34560/2/srep36367-s1.pdf https://doi.org/10.1038/srep36367 |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Greenland North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Greenland North Atlantic |
op_relation |
https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/34560/1/srep36367.pdf https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/34560/2/srep36367-s1.pdf Hoffmann, D. L., Rogerson, M., Spötl, C., Luetscher, M., Vance, D., Osborne, A. H. , Fello, N. M. and Moseley, G. E. (2016) Timing and causes of North African wet phases during the last glacial period and implications for modern human migration. Open Access Scientific Reports, 6 (36367). DOI 10.1038/srep36367 <https://doi.org/10.1038/srep36367>. doi:10.1038/srep36367 |
op_rights |
cc_by_4.0 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/srep36367 |
container_title |
Scientific Reports |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1766019193747013632 |