Article
Geography, Physical
Martin H. Trauth, Asfawossen Asrat, Andrew S. Cohen, Walter Duesing, Verena Foerster, Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr, K. Hauke Kraemer, Henry F. Lamb, Norbert Marwan, Mark A. Maslin, Frank Schaebitz
Summary: The CBDP aims to explore the connection between climate and hominin evolution in Africa through the analysis of sediment cores from the Chew Bahir basin. Different types of variability and transitions identified in the aridity record of the Chew Bahir basin have significant implications for the shaping of habitat for H. sapiens and their ancestors.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Daniel Gebregiorgis, Daniel M. Deocampo, Verena Foerster, Fred J. Longstaffe, Jeremy S. Delaney, Frank Schaebitz, Annett Junginger, Monika Markowska, Stephan Opitz, Martin H. Trauth, Henry F. Lamb, Asfawossen Asrat
Summary: This study presents new mineralogical and geochemical data on modern sediments in the Chew Bahir basin and catchment in Ethiopia, aiming to understand the role of modern sedimentary processes in chemical proxy formation in the Chew Bahir paleolake for providing environmental context for human evolution and dispersal. The analysis shows that modern sediments from the dried out lake bed resemble paleosediments from dry periods, while sediments from detrital upstream sources are more similar to those from wetter periods.
FRONTIERS IN EARTH SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Walter Duesing, Nadine Berner, Alan L. Deino, Verena Foerster, K. Hauke Kraemer, Norbert Marwan, Martin H. Trauth
Summary: The study introduces a new multiband wavelet age modeling technique for reconstructing the timing of deposition of lacustrine deposits, which can significantly improve the accuracy of tuned age models, demonstrated using a core sample from the Chew Bahir basin in southern Ethiopia.
FRONTIERS IN EARTH SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Johanna Krueger, Verena Foerster, Martin H. Trauth, Michael Hofreiter, Ralph Tiedemann
Summary: Eastern Africa is rich in key paleoanthropological sites and paleolakes, making it a prime target for scientific drilling projects like the Hominin Sites and Paleolakes Drilling Project (HSPDP). Sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) analysis at the Chew Bahir drill site has revealed the effectiveness of cross-species hybridization capture in enriching eukaryotic remnants for paleoenvironmental analysis, enhancing information content in tropical conditions. This approach offers insights into past ecological and climatological conditions, showing potential for exploring biosphere changes associated with ancient environmental conditions.
FRONTIERS IN EARTH SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Helen M. Roberts, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, Melissa S. Chapot, Alan L. Deino, Christine S. Lane, Celine Vidal, Asfawossen Asrat, Andrew Cohen, Verena Foerster, Henry F. Lamb, Frank Schaebitz, Martin H. Trauth, Finn A. Viehberg
Summary: Dating a composite sediment core from Chew Bahir in south Ethiopia reveals a high-resolution lacustrine sediment record that spans the entire timescale of modern human evolution and dispersal, providing important insights into environmental change and hominin evolutionary adaptation.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
U. Kirscher, E. Dallanave, V. Weissbrodt, P. Stojakowits, M. Grau, V. Bachtadse, C. Mayr
Summary: The study presents paleo- and rock magnetic results from a well-dated Late Pleistocene continental sedimentary section in southern Germany, showing a complex magnetic mineralogy. The stable remanence is predominantly of normal polarity, but with deviations at certain depths.
GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL
(2021)
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Anna Kostka
Summary: Wigry Lake is one of the most beautiful and valuable postglacial lakes in northeastern Poland. Extensive research has been conducted on the sediments of the lake, resulting in the identification of five main sediment types. The lake has been able to maintain its natural character largely due to its favorable morphology and active and passive protection measures.
Article
Water Resources
Diress Yigezu Tenagashaw, Tesfa Gebrie Andualem, Workineh Tadesse Ayele, Amanuel Zewdu Belew
Summary: The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of climate change on the hydro-climatic characteristics of the Ribb watershed. Climate data from the CORDEX Africa database were used to compare the 2021-2060 time range with the 1985-2005 baseline. The results showed that meteorological conditions caused a decrease in flow over the season, indicating that climate change will impact the water resources of the Ribb watershed.
APPLIED WATER SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Shuang Liu, Kaiheng Hu, Weiming Liu, Paul A. Carling
Summary: This study examines hydro-climatic changes in the Yarlung Zangbo River Basin in Tibet since the Last Glacial Maximum by combining proxy records with climate simulations and glacier reconstructions. The results show that runoff was low during the Last Glacial Maximum and Heinrich Stadial 1, due to less precipitation contribution and larger glacier coverage. Rapid deglaciation and increasing runoff between Heinrich Stadial 1 and the Bolling-Allerod interval may have led to extreme outburst flood events.
ADVANCES IN ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Yuzhi Zhang, Jiawu Zhang, Suzanne McGowan, Sarah Metcalfe, Matthew Jones, Melanie J. Leng, Juzhi Hou
Summary: Understanding the Asian summer monsoon in the Tibetan Plateau region is crucial for predicting eco-environmental changes. A multi-proxy lake record from Aweng Co in western Tibet shows that the region was mainly controlled by the Indian summer monsoon during the Holocene, with climate shifting to drier conditions and vegetation cover declining. The lake level changes at Aweng Co align with paleo-shoreline records in the southern Tibetan Plateau, highlighting the importance of Indian summer monsoon evolution in lake hydrological processes.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Gabriele E. Arnold, Verena Foerster, Martin H. Trauth, Henry Lamb, Frank Schaebitz, Asfawossen Asrat, Claudia Szczech, Christina Gunter
Summary: The study discusses the challenges of establishing robust environmental proxies in newly investigated terrestrial sedimentary archives, and reports the results of climate proxy studies in the Chew Bahir Basin, southern Ethiopia. The research utilized hyperspectral analysis to identify proxies and complemented previous sedimentological and geochemical analyses to better understand environmental changes in the habitat of early humans.
FRONTIERS IN EARTH SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Takashi Taniwaki, Chris Elders, Michael Ernst Boettcher, Alex Holman, Kliti Grice
Summary: The study assesses the differences between photic zone euxinia (PZE) and microbialites in the Early Triassic of the northern Perth Basin. Biomarkers associated with green, purple, and green-brown sulfur bacteria were found in dark-colored mudstones, while they were absent in light-colored mudstones. The presence of microbialites suggests the sequestration of mercury (Hg) through sulfur compounds. Isotopic analysis reveals distinct carbon and sulfur cycling pathways between PZE and microbialites, possibly driven by differences in microbial community structure and the relative abundance of purple sulfur bacteria. The study highlights the development of multiple harsh environmental conditions in the northern Perth Basin.
GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Jaroslav Kadlec, Ivo Svetlik, Michal Rybnicek, Tomas Kolar, Filip Stehlik, Eduard Petrovsky, Hana Grison
Summary: This study investigates the Morava River catchment in the Czech Republic, reconstructing the palaeoenvironmental and anthropogenic processes affecting floodplain sediments over the past few centuries. The research reveals increased soil erosion due to incorrect land use and modern agriculture techniques in the catchment, as well as significant magnetic enhancement in the topmost layers of the floodplain sequences due to industrial pollution.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Xiaoxu Wang, Ping Yan, Xiao Zhang, Xiaokang Liu, Wenjie Yuan, Xiaomei Li, Miao Dong
Summary: This study used OSL dating to analyze the TLH profile in the Qaidam Basin, and combined it with grain size and chemical elements to investigate the sedimentary and environmental changes in the late glacial period. The results show that the QB experienced multiple alternations of drying and wetting during this period.
Article
Geography, Physical
Thomas Munier, Laurent Riquier, Sidonie Revillon, Hans-Jurgen Brumsack, Christian Hasler, Omar Boudouma, Francois Baudin
Summary: A detailed study was conducted on IODP Site U1512 sediments in the Bight Basin, Southern Australia, using a coupled mineralogical and geochemical approach. The study revealed that the clay size fraction consisted primarily of R0type illite/smectite mixed-layers, illites, and kaolinites associated with opal-CT and clinoptilolites. The clay assemblages were found to be dominantly primary in origin and indicated stable climatic conditions during the Turonian to Santonian interval.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Wenwei Zhao, Andrei A. Andreev, Volker Wennrich, Quan Li, Martin Melles
Summary: The sedimentary record of Lake El'gygytgyn provides important insights into the response of Arctic ecosystems to Quaternary climate variations. Through pollen analysis and biome reconstructions, this study reveals the dominance of herb tundra during glacials/stadials and the expansion of shrub communities during interglacials. Forest biomes in the region were influenced by changes in obliquity values and stepwise cooling and drying since the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT).
JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
B. Blanco-Arrue, P. Yogeshwar, B. Tezkan, W. Moerbe, D. Diaz, B. Farah, S. Buske, L. Ninneman, J. P. Domagala, J. L. Diederich-Leicher, A. C. Gebhardt, V. Wennrich
Summary: The research on sedimentary deposits of the Paranal clay pan in the Atacama Desert revealed a three-layered resistivity structure down to 250 m and colluvial and lacustrine sediments up to approximately 160 m thick. It was suggested that the lacustrine sediments may indicate the presence of an old paleochannel and a damaged zone of an inferred strike-slip fault system.
JOURNAL OF SOUTH AMERICAN EARTH SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Nadine Berner, Martin H. Trauth, Matthias Holschneider
Summary: Over the past 5 million years, the Earth's ocean-atmosphere system has gone through significant transitions, some of which are believed to be associated with human evolution. Using a kernel-based Bayesian inference approach, this study successfully identified the location and temporal scale of multiple transitions in Plio-Pleistocene African climate records. The findings reveal two distinct transitions in African climate around 2.35-2.10 million years ago and 1.70-1.50 million years ago.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2022)
Review
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Andrew S. Cohen, Christopher J. Campisano, J. Ramon Arrowsmith, Asfawossen Asrat, Catherine C. Beck, Anna K. Behrensmeyer, Alan L. Deino, Craig S. Feibel, Verena Foerster, John D. Kingston, Henry F. Lamb, Tim K. Lowenstein, Rachel L. Lupien, Veronica Muiruri, Daniel O. Olago, R. Bernhart Owen, Richard Potts, James M. Russell, Frank Schaebitz, Jeffery R. Stone, Martin H. Trauth, Chad L. Yost
Summary: This article reviews the valuable data obtained through drill-core studies of lacustrine sedimentary rocks in eastern Africa, highlighting the importance of understanding the role of environmental change in shaping human evolution. The proposed drilling of Africa's oldest lakes is crucial for gaining a comprehensive paleoenvironmental context for the entire late Neogene history of hominin evolution.
ANNUAL REVIEW OF EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Geography
Frederik von Reumont, Frank Schabitz, Asfawossen Asrat
Summary: This study introduces a new method using fuzzy logic to compute plant distribution in Ethiopia under paleoclimatic conditions. The model was able to simulate the vegetational response to different climate settings.
Article
Geography, Physical
M. Markowska, A. N. Martin, H. B. Vonhof, D. Guinoiseau, M. L. Fischer, B. Zinaye, S. J. G. Galer, A. Asrat, A. Junginger
Summary: During the African Humid Period, lakes in the East African Rift System underwent significant lake-level variations and formed a chain of lakes. A hydrological model was used to assess the impact of rainfall on the variability of δO-18 and Sr-87/Sr-86 in Lake Chew Bahir in Ethiopia. The study found that humid conditions led to higher lake δO-18 and lower Sr-87/Sr-86 ratios. Lake interconnectivity, evaporation, and water residence time played important roles in the variability of δO-18 and Sr-87/Sr-86 in the lakes.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Verena Foerster, Asfawossen Asrat, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, Erik T. Brown, Melissa S. Chapot, Alan Deino, Walter Duesing, Matthew Grove, Annette Hahn, Annett Junginger, Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr, Christine S. Lane, Stephan Opitz, Anders Noren, Helen M. Roberts, Mona Stockhecke, Ralph Tiedemann, Celine M. Vidal, Ralf Vogelsang, Andrew S. Cohen, Henry F. Lamb, Frank Schaebitz, Martin H. Trauth
Summary: This study presents an environmental record from Chew Bahir, southern Ethiopia, which sheds light on the potential influence of climatic variability on hominin biological and cultural transformation. The findings provide valuable insights into key periods of human evolution and cultural innovation.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Benedikt Ritter, Julia L. Diederich-Leicher, Steven A. Binnie, Finlay M. Stuart, Volker Wennrich, Andreas Bolten, Tibor J. Dunai
Summary: The Atacama Desert, the driest and oldest desert on Earth, shows signs of localized fluvial erosion and deposition despite its long-term landscape stability. The incision of ancient alluvial fan surfaces during intermittent fluvial periods and the presence of sinuous channels in unconsolidated alluvium suggest fluvial incision during predominantly hyperarid climate periods. The potential role of regionally ubiquitous CaSO4-rich surface cover in providing bank stability and strength is being investigated.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Water Resources
Birtukan Abebe Hirpa, Girma Berhe Adane, Asfawossen Asrat, Dessie Nedaw
Summary: The rise in global freshwater consumption, inefficient water use, and population growth are driving water scarcity and food insecurity. This study analyzed the water productivity and water scarcity of rainfed and irrigated crops in the Upper Awash Basin using water footprint approaches. The results show that teff has the lowest green water productivity and the highest water footprint among rainfed cereal crops. Maize has the highest green water scarcity, with varying levels in different regions. All rainfed crops have lower economic water productivity compared to irrigated sugarcane. This study highlights the importance of increasing water value and switching to low water footprint crops to address water scarcity.
JOURNAL OF WATER AND CLIMATE CHANGE
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Benedikt Ritter, Joel Mohren, Steven A. Binnie, Volker Wennrich, Istvan Dunkl, Richard Albert, Axel Gerdes, Sandro LoBue, Tibor J. Dunai
Summary: The Atacama Desert is a very dry and old desert with extremely low precipitation rates. Surface processes operate at very slow rates over long periods of time. Terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide derived erosion rate estimates can be used to understand the rate of surface processes and age of landscapes in desert environments. In the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert, basin-averaged bedrock erosion rates from channel sediments are extremely low, indicating slow or almost absent fluvial processes. However, erosion rates of channel knickpoints reveal higher rates. These low erosion rates are explained by the rare severe precipitation events that cause erosion in the desert, modulated by local intrinsic processes and conditions.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-EARTH SURFACE
(2023)
Article
Archaeology
Friederike Jesse, Rolf Hollerbach, Arne Schroeder, Volker Wennrich
Summary: The presence of prehistoric stone axes in the Sahara has been overlooked in recent research. Necked axes with a groove and a round or mushroom shaped neck are a unique type of axes found throughout the Sahara, linked to pastoral groups of different millennia BCE. The distribution of these axes raises questions about trade and transportation. Analysis of the raw material used for these axes, especially in northern Sudan, indicates a probable regional source.
JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE-REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Ayenachew Alemayhou Desta, Asfawossen Asrat, Minyahl Teferi Desta
Summary: This paper presents the results of integrated field, petrographic, and major and trace element geochemical studies of the Lake Tana area volcanic rocks, with particular emphasis on the Oligocene basalts and rhyolites. The studies reveal a clear petrogenetic link between the Oligocene basalts and rhyolites, indicating shallow-level fractional crystallization of enriched magma for the basalts and low-pressure fractional crystallization of mantle-derived basaltic magma in crustal magma chambers for the rhyolites. The co-genetic nature of the Oligocene basalts and rhyolites suggests they are related differentiates of the flood basalt volcanism in the northwestern Ethiopian plateau.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Mark Reyers, Stephanie Fiedler, Patrick Ludwig, Christoph Boehm, Volker Wennrich, Yaping Shao
Summary: Geomorphic and sedimentologic data suggest that the Atacama Desert in northern Chile was more humid during the mid to late Pliocene. However, the reasons behind the increased rainfall during that time are largely unknown. Through model experiments, this study found that the mid-Pliocene climate simulations using the CESM2 and WRF models show increased rainfall in the Atacama Desert, particularly during extreme winter rainfall events associated with moisture conveyor belts originating in the tropical eastern Pacific. It is concluded that these moisture conveyor belts are mainly responsible for the enhanced rainfall during the mid-Pliocene.
CLIMATE OF THE PAST
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Lucas Bittner, Cindy De Jonge, Graciela Gil-Romera, Henry F. F. Lamb, James M. M. Russell, Michael Zech
Summary: This study presents a new temperature calibration and a quantitative record of mean annual air temperature (MAT) in Eastern Africa over the past 12 ka cal BP. By modifying the calibration method and adding surface sediment data, the researchers reconstructed the temperature history and found significant warming shortly after the Holocene onset, followed by a decrease in temperature.
