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North African climate cycles

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367:. These layers occur on a 23,000-year cycle that lags the maximum in precession insolation by roughly 5000 to 6000 years. To explain these cyclic freshwater diatom deposits we have to look inland at the Sahara region of Africa. Around the time of the insolation maximum in the precession cycle the North African Monsoon is at its strongest and the Sahara region becomes dominated by large monsoonal lakes. Then as time progress toward the insolation minima, these lakes begin to dry out due to weakening North African Monsoon. As the lakes dry up thin sediment deposits containing freshwater diatoms are exposed. Finally, when the prevailing northeasterly winds arrive during winter, the freshwater diatom deposits in the dried lake beds are picked up as dust and carried thousands of kilometers out into the tropical Atlantic. From this series of events the reason for 5000 to 6000-year delay in the freshwater diatom deposits is evident, since the North African Monsoon must become sufficiently weak before the monsoonal lakes in the Sahara begin to dry up and expose potential freshwater diatom sources. One key factor that must be noted with freshwater diatom deposits is species identification. For instance some ocean cores directly off the western coast of Africa show a mix of freshwater lake and river diatom species. So for a core to accurately represent the diatom cycle of the Sahara it must be recovered from a region of the tropical Atlantic that has sufficient distance from the coast such that the impacts of river outflows are minimized. 196:. This evidence requires complex feedback mechanisms to explain since the strongest impact of obliquity on insolation is found in the high latitudes. Two possible mechanisms for the existence of an obliquity tracer found in the Eastern Mediterranean Aeolian dust deposits have been proposed. The first of which suggests that at times of higher obliquity the temperature gradient between the poles and the equator in the southern hemisphere is greater during boreal summer (summer in the northern hemisphere). As a result of this gradient the strength of the North African Monsoon increases. A second theory that may explain the existence of an obliquity signature in the North African climate record suggests that obliquity maybe related to changes in the latitude of the tropics. The latitudinal extent of the tropics is roughly defined by the maximum wandering path of the 254:
there is an instantaneous response by the climate system to changes in insolation from orbital forcing. However, there are a number of fixes for this problem. The most reasonable fix can be shown through a simple analog to today's climate. Currently the peak in solar radiation occurs on June 21, but the peak of the summer monsoon in North Africa occurs a month later in July. A one-month lag such as this should be represented by roughly a 1500 to 2000 year lag in the monsoonal circulation maximum, because a July insolation maximum in a 19,000 to 23,000-year precession cycle occurs roughly 1500 to 2000 years after the June insolation maximum. Two other possible explanations for the observed lag in the data have been put forward. The first suggest that the development of the monsoons in the
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400,000 years. Over the years the Earth's eccentricity has varied between 0.005 and 0.0607, today the eccentricity of Earth's orbit is approximately 0.0167. While the value of eccentricity does impact the distance of the Earth from the Sun, its primary impact on insolation comes from its modulating effect on the procession cycle. For example, when the orbit of the Earth is highly elliptical one hemisphere will have hot summers and cold winters, corresponding to a larger than average yearly insolation
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is a waxing and waning in the strength of the monsoonal climates across the globe. A wide range of geologic evidence has shown that the North African Monsoon is particularly susceptible to insolation cycles, and long term trends in monsoonal strength can be linked to slow variations in insolation. However, the abrupt shifts back and forth from the "green Sahara" to the "desert Sahara" are not entirely explained by long term changes in the insolation cycle.
387:. On the other end of the spectrum when insolation in North Africa is at a minimum due to the precession cycle, the diversion of the easterly trade winds is relatively weak. Due to this the region of upwelling in the eastern equatorial Atlantic remains strong and the waters in the pelagic zone are cooler. The proof that this pattern of periodic weakening of the eastern equatorial Atlantic upwelling exists is found in deposits of surface dwelling 208:. However, as the obliquity changes, the overall wandering path of the thermal equator shifts between 22.2° and 24.5° north and south. This wandering may affect the positioning of the North African Summer Monsoon Front and thus impact the perceived strength of the North African Monsoon. Further confirmation of the impacts of obliquity on the North African Monsoonal have been provided through a global fully coupled atmosphere–ocean–sea ice 484:. Computer models looking at vegetation-atmosphere interactions and insolation across North Africa have shown the ability to simulate the rapid transitions between "green Sahara" and "desert Sahara" regimes. Thus the results from these models suggest the possible existence of a vegetation-insolation threshold, which if reached, allows the Sahara region to rapidly transition from "green Sahara" to "desert Sahara" and vice versa. 472:
occurred when the insolation cycle reached a value of roughly 4.2% higher than today. However, shifts in the insolation cycle are too gradual to cause abrupt climate transitions like those seen at the onset and termination of the African Humid Period all on their own. So to account for these rapid shifts in the climate of the Sahara, several
112:, continents heat up faster than surrounding oceans during summer months when insolation is at its strongest and cool off faster than the surrounding oceans during winter months when insolation is at its weakest. The wind pattern that results from the continent/ocean insolation temperature gradient is known as a 310:
in the Eastern Mediterranean quickly become depleted in oxygen and the large influx of pelagic organic matter from the nutrient rich surface waters is preserved as sapropel formations. One of the key pieces of evidence linking the formation of sapropels to enhance discharge from the Nile River is the
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The African Humid Period occurred between 14,800 and 5,500 years ago, and was the last occurrence of a "green Sahara". Conditions in the Sahara during the African Humid Period were dominated by a strong North African Monsoon, resulting in larger annual rainfall totals compared to today's conditions.
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of a monsoonal climate are determined by the amount of rain that falls during the summer phase of the monsoon. Over periods of tens to hundreds of thousands of years the amount of insolation changes in a highly complex cycle that is based on orbital parameters. The result of this cycle of insolation
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of the shorelines of ancient Lake Megachad reveal that the lake has existed under two distinctive wind regimes, one northeasterly and southwesterly. The northeasterly wind regime is consistent with today's wind patterns and is characteristic of weak monsoonal flow. Meanwhile, the southwesterly wind
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that contain greater than 2% organic carbon by weight. In the Eastern Mediterranean layers of sapropels can be found in marine sediment cores that align with periods of maximum insolation in the precession cycle over Northern Africa. Such an alignment can be explained by a link to the North African
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One key issue with the Orbital Monsoon Hypothesis is that a detailed inspection of climate record indicates that there is a 1000 to 2000 year lag in the observed North African Monsoon maximum compared to the predicted maximum. This issue occurs because the Orbital Monsoon Hypothesis assumes that
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in 1981. Kutzbach's ideas about the impacts of insolation on global monsoonal patterns have become widely accepted today as the underlying driver of long term monsoonal cycles. Kutzbach never formally named his hypothesis and as such it is referred to here as the "Orbital Monsoon Hypothesis" as
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is a measure of the deviation of the Earth's orbit from a perfect circle. If the Earth's orbit was a perfect circle then the eccentricity would have a value of 0, and eccentricity value of 1 would indicate a parabola. The Earth has two cycles of eccentricity that occur on cycles of 100,000 and
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Geologic evidence from the beginning and end of the African Humid Period suggests that both the onset and termination of the African Humid Period were abrupt. In fact both events likely occurred on a timescale of decades to centuries. The onset and termination of the African Humid Period both
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Variations in the strength of the North African Monsoon have been found to be strongly related to the stronger 23,000-year processional cycle. The relationship between the precession cycle and the strength of the North African Monsoon exists because procession affects the amount of insolation
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fluxes correspond to both the 100,000-year and 400,000-year eccentricity cycles. It is believed that this evidence for the eccentricity cycles in the dust record of the Eastern Mediterranean indicates a stronger northward progression of the North African Monsoonal Front during times when the
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of the insolation maxima and minima that occur due to the precession cycle. Strong support for the modulation of the precession cycle by eccentricity can be found in Aeolian dust deposits in the Eastern Mediterranean. Upon close examination it can be shown that periods of low and high
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Evidence for the existence of large lakes in the Sahara can be found and interpreted from the geologic record. These lakes fill as the precession cycle approaches the insolation maximum and are then depleted as the precession cycle nears the insolation minimum. The largest of these
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Modulation of the precession driven insolation cycle is the primary impact of obliquity on the North African Monsoon. Evidence for the impact of obliquity on the intensity of the North African Monsoon has been found in records of dust deposits from ocean cores in the Eastern
262:. Thus the full strength of the monsoonal pattern is not observed until the polar ice sheets have become so small that their impact on the development of yearly monsoons is minimal. The second alternative solution proposes that relatively cool tropical oceans left over from 30:
is characterized by significant shifts in the strength of the North African Monsoon. When the North African Monsoon is at its strongest, annual precipitation and consequently vegetation in the Sahara region increase, resulting in conditions commonly referred to as the
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parameters are a controlling factor for the long-term variations in the strength of monsoon patterns across the globe was first suggested by Rudolf Spitaler in the late nineteenth century, The hypothesis was later formally proposed and tested by the
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deMenocal, Peter; Ortiz, Joseph; Guilderson, Tom; Adkins, Jess; Sarnthein, Michael; Baker, Linda; Yarusinsky, Martha (January 2000). "Abrupt onset and termination of the African Humid Period: rapid climate responses to gradual insolation forcing".
153:. According to the Orbital Monsoon Hypothesis this maximum in insolation increases the strength of monsoon circulations in the northern hemisphere. On the opposite end of the spectrum, when the Northern Hemisphere is pointed toward the sun during 144:
or procession of the ellipse and is related to the slow rotation of the Earth's elliptical orbit around the Sun. When combined these two phases create a precession of the equinoxes that has a strong 23,000-year cycle and a weak 19,000-year cycle.
172:. The current tilt of Earth's axis is roughly 23.5°. However, over long periods of time the tilt of Earth's axis of rotation changes because of the uneven distribution of mass across the planet and gravitational interactions with the 245:
eccentricity and precession insolation maxima coincide. The modulating effect of eccentricity on the precession cycle has also been shown using a global fully coupled atmosphere–ocean–sea ice climate model.
35:". For a relatively weak North African Monsoon, the opposite is true, with decreased annual precipitation and less vegetation resulting in a phase of the Sahara climate cycle known as the "desert Sahara". 108:, which is simply a measure of the amount of solar radiation received on a given surface area in a given time period, is the fundamental factor behind the Orbital Monsoon Hypothesis. Due to variations in 1155:
Gasse, Françoise; Stabell, Bjørg; Fourtanier, Elizabeth; van Iperen, Yolanda (20 January 2017). "Freshwater Diatom Influx in Intertropical Atlantic: Relationships with Continental Records from Africa".
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Foley, Jonathan A.; Coe, Michael T.; Scheffer, Marten; Wang, Guiling (1 October 2003). "Regime Shifts in the Sahara and Sahel: Interactions between Ecological and Climatic Systems in Northern Africa".
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Monsoon. During periods of high insolation the increased strength and northward progression of the North African Monsoonal Front causes very heavy rain along the upper and middle reaches of the
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received in a given hemisphere. The amount of insolation is maximized for the northern hemisphere when the precession cycle is aligned such that the northern hemisphere points toward the sun at
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over the equatorial Atlantic are strongly diverted toward the Sahara. This diversion weakens the equatorial upwelling zone in the eastern equatorial Atlantic, resulting in warmer waters in the
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grasslands conditions. The African Humid Period was also characterized by a network of vast waterways in the Sahara, consisting of large lakes, rivers, and deltas. The four largest lakes were
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zone can also be used to support a cycle of the North African Monsoon that is regulated by the precession cycle. When insolation in North Africa is at its peak during the precession cycle the
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cores. Such cores show that the relative abundance of warm and cold water planktic species vary with a consistent beat of 23,000 years, matching the 23,000-year precession insolation cycle.
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With the increased rainfall, the vegetation patterns in North Africa were nothing like what we see today. The majority of the Sahara region for instance was characterized by expansive
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Rossignol-Strick, Martine; Nesteroff, Wladimir; Olive, Philippe; Vergnaud-Grazzini, Colette (14 January 1982). "After the deluge: Mediterranean stagnation and sapropel formation".
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Tuenter, E.; Weber, S.L.; Hilgen, F.J.; Lourens, L.J. (May 2003). "The response of the African summer monsoon to remote and local forcing due to precession and obliquity".
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Larrasoaña, J. C.; Roberts, A. P.; Rohling, E. J.; Winklhofer, M.; Wehausen, R. (1 December 2003). "Three million years of monsoon variability over the northern Sahara".
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basin. These rains then flow northward and are discharged into the Eastern Mediterranean, where the large influx of nutrient rich fresh water causes a steep vertical
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McIntyre, Andrew; Ruddiman, William F.; Karlin, Karen; Mix, Alan C. (February 1989). "Surface water response of the equatorial Atlantic Ocean to orbital forcing".
440: 1272:"Mid-Holocene land-surface conditions in northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula: A data set for the analysis of biogeophysical feedbacks in the climate system" 116:. Values of summer insolation are more important for a region's climate than winter values. This is because the winter phase of a monsoon is always dry. Thus the 359: 62: 380: 319:
periods. Therefore, the formation of sapropels must be linked to fresh water discharge from the Nile River and not melt water from dissipating ice sheets.
58:. The precession of the equinoxes is regarded as the most important orbital parameter in the formation of the "green Sahara" and "desert Sahara" cycle. 1017:
Rossignol-Strick, Martine (April 1985). "Mediterranean Quaternary sapropels, an immediate response of the African monsoon to variation of insolation".
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Like obliquity, eccentricity is not considered to be a primary driver of the strength of the North African Monsoon. Instead eccentricity modulates the
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Kutzbach, J.E. (2 October 1981). "Monsoon Climate of the Early Holocene: Climate Experiment with the Earth's Orbital Parameters for 9000 Years Ago".
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Drake, N.; Bristow, C. (1 September 2006). "Shorelines in the Sahara: geomorphological evidence for an enhanced monsoon from palaeolake Megachad".
1098: 307: 463:. These river and lake systems provided corridors that allowed many animal species, including humans, to expand their range across the Sahara. 456: 136:
on Earth can be divided up into two distinct phases. The first phase is created by a wobbling of the Earth's axis of rotation and is known as
460: 336:, which at its peak was 173 m deep and covered an area of roughly 400,000 km. Today the remnants of this once massive lake are known as 232:. At the same time the other hemisphere will have warm summers and cool winters due to a smaller than average yearly insolation gradient. 168:, otherwise known as (axial) tilt, refers to the angle that Earth's axis of rotation makes with a line that is perpendicular to Earth's 357:
in the tropical Atlantic. Ocean cores from the tropical Atlantic have been found to have distinct layers of the freshwater diatom
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Another key piece of evidence for a processional control on the North African Monsoon can be found in the deposits of freshwater
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Pokras, Edward M.; Mix, Alan C. (8 April 1987). "Earth's precession cycle and Quaternary climatic change in tropical Africa".
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region south of the Sahara was mostly savanna. Today the Sahara region is mostly desert and the Sahel is characterized by
212:, which confirmed that precession and obliquity can combine to increase precipitation in North Africa through insolation 184:. Due to these interactions the tilt of Earth's axis of rotation varies between 22.2° and 24.5° on a 41,000-year cycle. 1449: 754: 939:
Rohling, E.J.; Hilgen, F.J. (1991). "The Eastern Mediterranean Climate at times of Sapropel Formation: a Review".
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Rossignol-Strick, Martine (7 July 1983). "African monsoons, an immediate climate response to orbital insolation".
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may initially slow the development of monsoons globally, since colder oceans are less potent sources of moisture.
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Gasse, Françoise (January 2000). "Hydrological changes in the African tropics since the Last Glacial Maximum".
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Variations in the climate of the Sahara region can, at the simplest level, be attributed to the changes in
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Hoelzmann, P.; Jolly, D.; Harrison, S. P.; Laarif, F.; Bonnefille, R.; Pachur, H.-J. (March 1998).
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Drake, N. A.; Blench, R. M.; Armitage, S. J.; Bristow, C. S.; White, K. H. (27 December 2010).
548: 1459: 1375:"The Influence of Vegetation-Atmosphere-Ocean Interaction on Climate During the Mid-Holocene" 1092: 303: 1389: 1327: 1283: 1244: 1208: 1165: 1121: 1064: 1026: 983: 905: 870: 830: 779: 682: 602: 540: 404: 224: 51: 8: 201: 55: 1393: 1331: 1316:"Ancient watercourses and biogeography of the Sahara explain the peopling of the desert" 1287: 1248: 1212: 1169: 1125: 1068: 1030: 987: 909: 874: 834: 783: 686: 606: 544: 1350: 1315: 1181: 1137: 1080: 999: 921: 803: 703: 670: 618: 566: 503: 498: 141: 1256: 882: 842: 1405: 1374: 1355: 1185: 1177: 1084: 1038: 956: 795: 750: 708: 341: 292: 193: 807: 622: 570: 157:, there is a minimum in insolation and the North African Monsoon is at its weakest. 1397: 1345: 1335: 1291: 1252: 1216: 1173: 1141: 1129: 1072: 1034: 1003: 991: 948: 925: 913: 878: 838: 787: 698: 690: 610: 558: 493: 205: 137: 85: 67: 1401: 476:
feedback mechanisms have been proposed. One of the most common sets of nonlinear
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because of slow shifts in Earth's orbital parameters. The parameters include the
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have a unique history that can be traced back millions of years. The cyclic
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Observed variations in the strength of the eastern equatorial Atlantic
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is shut off and the water column becomes stably stratified. Once this
1133: 995: 917: 671:"Monsoon-driven Saharan dust variability over the past 240,000 years" 473: 376: 337: 329: 236: 165: 47: 428: 388: 279: 241: 229: 213: 154: 592: 384: 354: 316: 181: 113: 23: 1154: 71:
shows a cycle from wet to dry approximately every 20,000 years.
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The idea that changes in insolation caused by shifts in the
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regime is characteristic of a stronger monsoonal flow.
530: 509:Climate change in the Middle East and North Africa 1019:Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 1436: 1016: 895: 1320:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 938: 588: 586: 584: 582: 580: 74: 1366: 1054: 200:. An area that today is located between the 1263: 1227: 1097:: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of May 2024 ( 1010: 740: 738: 736: 734: 732: 730: 728: 726: 724: 722: 1372: 1309: 1307: 1050: 1048: 967: 856: 854: 852: 749:. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman and Company. 668: 635: 577: 447:. Large rivers in the region included the 1349: 1339: 1295: 1192: 1111: 889: 702: 552: 311:fact that they have occurred during both 258:is tempered by the slow melting of polar 1105: 932: 769: 763: 744: 719: 526: 524: 466: 1304: 1148: 1045: 849: 398: 1437: 650:from the original on December 27, 2021 269: 820: 814: 521: 371:Eastern equatorial Atlantic upwelling 348: 140:. While the second phase is known as 13: 1419:from the original on 27 March 2022 482:vegetation-atmosphere interactions 14: 1476: 669:Skonieczny, C. (2 January 2019). 747:Earth's Climate: Past and Future 1373:Ganopolski, A. (19 June 1998). 219: 97:suggested by Ruddiman in 2001. 662: 636:Bryan Lynn (January 6, 2019). 629: 409: 79: 1: 1402:10.1126/science.280.5371.1916 1257:10.1016/S0277-3791(99)00081-5 883:10.1016/S0921-8181(02)00196-0 843:10.1016/S0277-3791(99)00061-X 745:Ruddiman, William F. (2001). 514: 322: 128: 100: 1276:Global Biogeochemical Cycles 1178:10.1016/0033-5894(89)90079-3 1039:10.1016/0031-0182(85)90056-2 274: 160: 20:North African climate cycles 7: 863:Global and Planetary Change 792:10.1126/science.214.4516.59 487: 134:Precession of the equinoxes 44:precession of the equinoxes 10: 1481: 1237:Quaternary Science Reviews 1077:10.1191/0959683606hol981rr 823:Quaternary Science Reviews 402: 192:that occur as a result of 75:Orbital Monsoon Hypothesis 615:10.1007/s00382-003-0355-z 563:10.1007/s10021-002-0227-0 1450:Regional climate effects 1341:10.1073/pnas.1012231108 1221:10.1029/PA004i001p00019 1079:(inactive 2024-05-08). 695:10.1126/sciadv.aav1887 441:Ahnet-Mouydir Megalake 282:are dark organic rich 248: 16:Cyclic climate pattern 1455:History of the Sahara 467:Onset and termination 360:Aulacoseira granulata 304:stable stratification 1465:Climate oscillations 941:Geologie en Mijnbouw 405:African humid period 399:African Humid Period 381:easterly trade winds 225:Orbital eccentricity 54:as put forth by the 1394:1998Sci...280.1916G 1388:(5371): 1916–1919. 1332:2011PNAS..108..458D 1288:1998GBioC..12...35H 1249:2000QSRv...19..347D 1213:1989PalOc...4...19M 1170:1989QuRes..32..229G 1158:Quaternary Research 1126:1987Natur.326..486P 1069:2006Holoc..16..901D 1031:1985PPP....49..237R 988:1982Natur.295..105R 910:1983Natur.304...46R 875:2003GPC....36..219T 835:2000QSRv...19..189G 784:1981Sci...214...59K 687:2019SciA....5.1887S 607:2003ClDy...21..689L 545:2003Ecosy...6..524F 478:feedback mechanisms 270:Supporting evidence 202:Tropic of Capricorn 56:Milankovitch theory 504:Sahara pump theory 499:Mousterian Pluvial 389:planktic organisms 365:Melosira granulata 349:Freshwater diatoms 142:apsidal precession 1445:Climate of Africa 1297:10.1029/97GB02733 1120:(6112): 486–487. 982:(5845): 105–110. 423:. Meanwhile, the 342:Satellite imagery 293:salinity gradient 194:Aeolian processes 1472: 1429: 1428: 1426: 1424: 1418: 1379: 1370: 1364: 1363: 1353: 1343: 1311: 1302: 1301: 1299: 1267: 1261: 1260: 1243:(1–5): 347–361. 1231: 1225: 1224: 1201:Paleoceanography 1196: 1190: 1189: 1152: 1146: 1145: 1134:10.1038/326486a0 1109: 1103: 1102: 1096: 1088: 1052: 1043: 1042: 1025:(3–4): 237–263. 1014: 1008: 1007: 996:10.1038/295105a0 971: 965: 964: 936: 930: 929: 918:10.1038/304046a0 893: 887: 886: 858: 847: 846: 829:(1–5): 189–211. 818: 812: 811: 767: 761: 760: 742: 717: 716: 706: 675:Science Advances 666: 660: 659: 657: 655: 633: 627: 626: 601:(7–8): 689–698. 595:Climate Dynamics 590: 575: 574: 556: 528: 494:Abbassia Pluvial 480:considered, are 419:, also known as 363:, also known as 284:marine sediments 206:Tropic of Cancer 138:axial precession 68:Science Advances 1480: 1479: 1475: 1474: 1473: 1471: 1470: 1469: 1435: 1434: 1433: 1432: 1422: 1420: 1416: 1377: 1371: 1367: 1312: 1305: 1268: 1264: 1232: 1228: 1197: 1193: 1153: 1149: 1110: 1106: 1090: 1089: 1053: 1046: 1015: 1011: 972: 968: 937: 933: 904:(5921): 46–49. 894: 890: 859: 850: 819: 815: 778:(4516): 59–61. 768: 764: 757: 743: 720: 681:(1): eaav1887. 667: 663: 653: 651: 634: 630: 591: 578: 554:10.1.1.533.5471 529: 522: 517: 490: 469: 445:Chotts Megalake 437:Lake Megafezzan 412: 407: 401: 373: 351: 325: 295:. As a result, 277: 272: 251: 222: 198:thermal equator 163: 131: 103: 86:Earth's orbital 82: 77: 61:A January 2019 26:pattern of the 17: 12: 11: 5: 1478: 1468: 1467: 1462: 1457: 1452: 1447: 1431: 1430: 1365: 1326:(2): 458–462. 1303: 1262: 1226: 1191: 1164:(2): 229–243. 1147: 1104: 1063:(6): 901–911. 1044: 1009: 966: 931: 888: 869:(4): 219–235. 848: 813: 762: 755: 718: 661: 628: 576: 539:(6): 524–539. 519: 518: 516: 513: 512: 511: 506: 501: 496: 489: 486: 468: 465: 411: 408: 403:Main article: 400: 397: 393:ocean sediment 372: 369: 350: 347: 324: 321: 276: 273: 271: 268: 250: 247: 221: 218: 162: 159: 130: 127: 102: 99: 81: 78: 76: 73: 15: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 1477: 1466: 1463: 1461: 1458: 1456: 1453: 1451: 1448: 1446: 1443: 1442: 1440: 1415: 1411: 1407: 1403: 1399: 1395: 1391: 1387: 1383: 1376: 1369: 1361: 1357: 1352: 1347: 1342: 1337: 1333: 1329: 1325: 1321: 1317: 1310: 1308: 1298: 1293: 1289: 1285: 1281: 1277: 1273: 1266: 1258: 1254: 1250: 1246: 1242: 1238: 1230: 1222: 1218: 1214: 1210: 1206: 1202: 1195: 1187: 1183: 1179: 1175: 1171: 1167: 1163: 1159: 1151: 1143: 1139: 1135: 1131: 1127: 1123: 1119: 1115: 1108: 1100: 1094: 1086: 1082: 1078: 1074: 1070: 1066: 1062: 1058: 1051: 1049: 1040: 1036: 1032: 1028: 1024: 1020: 1013: 1005: 1001: 997: 993: 989: 985: 981: 977: 970: 962: 958: 954: 950: 946: 942: 935: 927: 923: 919: 915: 911: 907: 903: 899: 892: 884: 880: 876: 872: 868: 864: 857: 855: 853: 844: 840: 836: 832: 828: 824: 817: 809: 805: 801: 797: 793: 789: 785: 781: 777: 773: 766: 758: 756:9780716737414 752: 748: 741: 739: 737: 735: 733: 731: 729: 727: 725: 723: 714: 710: 705: 700: 696: 692: 688: 684: 680: 676: 672: 665: 649: 645: 644: 639: 632: 624: 620: 616: 612: 608: 604: 600: 596: 589: 587: 585: 583: 581: 572: 568: 564: 560: 555: 550: 546: 542: 538: 534: 527: 525: 520: 510: 507: 505: 502: 500: 497: 495: 492: 491: 485: 483: 479: 475: 464: 462: 458: 454: 450: 449:Senegal River 446: 442: 438: 434: 433:Lake Megachad 430: 426: 422: 418: 406: 396: 394: 390: 386: 382: 378: 368: 366: 362: 361: 356: 346: 343: 339: 335: 334:Lake Megachad 331: 320: 318: 314: 309: 308:bottom waters 305: 301: 298: 294: 290: 285: 281: 267: 265: 261: 257: 246: 243: 238: 233: 231: 226: 217: 215: 211: 210:climate model 207: 203: 199: 195: 191: 190:Mediterranean 185: 183: 179: 175: 171: 170:orbital plane 167: 158: 156: 152: 146: 143: 139: 135: 126: 123: 119: 115: 111: 110:heat capacity 107: 98: 95: 94:John Kutzbach 92: 91:meteorologist 87: 72: 70: 69: 64: 59: 57: 53: 49: 45: 41: 36: 34: 29: 25: 21: 1460:North Africa 1421:. Retrieved 1385: 1381: 1368: 1323: 1319: 1282:(1): 35–51. 1279: 1275: 1265: 1240: 1236: 1229: 1207:(1): 19–55. 1204: 1200: 1194: 1161: 1157: 1150: 1117: 1113: 1107: 1093:cite journal 1060: 1057:The Holocene 1056: 1022: 1018: 1012: 979: 975: 969: 944: 940: 934: 901: 897: 891: 866: 862: 826: 822: 816: 775: 771: 765: 746: 678: 674: 664: 652:. Retrieved 641: 631: 598: 594: 536: 532: 470: 457:Sahabi River 413: 374: 364: 358: 352: 326: 313:interglacial 297:thermohaline 278: 252: 234: 223: 220:Eccentricity 186: 164: 147: 132: 104: 83: 66: 60: 52:eccentricity 37: 33:green Sahara 19: 18: 947:: 253–264. 643:VOANews.com 461:Kufra River 410:Climatology 80:Development 1439:Categories 953:1874/28551 654:January 7, 533:Ecosystems 515:References 453:Nile River 417:grasslands 330:paleolakes 323:Paleolakes 300:convection 289:Nile River 264:glaciation 260:ice sheets 256:subtropics 151:perihelion 129:Precession 106:Insolation 101:Insolation 40:insolation 1186:129627113 1085:128565786 961:0016-7746 549:CiteSeerX 474:nonlinear 377:upwelling 338:Lake Chad 280:Sapropels 275:Sapropels 237:amplitude 214:feedbacks 166:Obliquity 161:Obliquity 65:paper in 48:obliquity 1414:Archived 1360:21187416 808:10388125 800:17802573 713:30613782 648:Archived 623:13570818 571:12698952 488:See also 429:savannah 306:occurs, 242:hematite 230:gradient 204:and the 155:aphelion 1423:30 July 1410:9632385 1390:Bibcode 1382:Science 1351:3021035 1328:Bibcode 1284:Bibcode 1245:Bibcode 1209:Bibcode 1166:Bibcode 1142:4256183 1122:Bibcode 1065:Bibcode 1027:Bibcode 1004:4237879 984:Bibcode 926:4310252 906:Bibcode 871:Bibcode 831:Bibcode 780:Bibcode 772:Science 704:6314818 683:Bibcode 603:Bibcode 541:Bibcode 385:pelagic 355:diatoms 317:glacial 182:planets 114:monsoon 24:climate 1408:  1358:  1348:  1184:  1140:  1114:Nature 1083:  1002:  976:Nature 959:  924:  898:Nature 806:  798:  753:  711:  701:  621:  569:  551:  459:, and 443:, and 421:steppe 180:, and 50:, and 28:Sahara 1417:(PDF) 1378:(PDF) 1182:S2CID 1138:S2CID 1081:S2CID 1000:S2CID 922:S2CID 804:S2CID 619:S2CID 567:S2CID 425:Sahel 122:fauna 118:flora 1425:2023 1406:PMID 1356:PMID 1099:link 957:ISSN 796:PMID 751:ISBN 709:PMID 656:2019 332:was 315:and 178:Moon 120:and 1398:doi 1386:280 1346:PMC 1336:doi 1324:108 1292:doi 1253:doi 1217:doi 1174:doi 1130:doi 1118:326 1073:doi 1035:doi 992:doi 980:295 949:hdl 914:doi 902:304 879:doi 839:doi 788:doi 776:214 699:PMC 691:doi 611:doi 559:doi 391:in 249:Lag 174:Sun 63:MIT 1441:: 1412:. 1404:. 1396:. 1384:. 1380:. 1354:. 1344:. 1334:. 1322:. 1318:. 1306:^ 1290:. 1280:12 1278:. 1274:. 1251:. 1241:19 1239:. 1215:. 1203:. 1180:. 1172:. 1162:32 1160:. 1136:. 1128:. 1116:. 1095:}} 1091:{{ 1071:. 1061:16 1059:. 1047:^ 1033:. 1023:49 1021:. 998:. 990:. 978:. 955:. 945:70 943:. 920:. 912:. 900:. 877:. 867:36 865:. 851:^ 837:. 827:19 825:. 802:. 794:. 786:. 774:. 721:^ 707:. 697:. 689:. 677:. 673:. 646:. 640:. 617:. 609:. 599:21 597:. 579:^ 565:. 557:. 547:. 535:. 523:^ 455:, 451:, 439:, 435:, 216:. 176:, 46:, 1427:. 1400:: 1392:: 1362:. 1338:: 1330:: 1300:. 1294:: 1286:: 1259:. 1255:: 1247:: 1223:. 1219:: 1211:: 1205:4 1188:. 1176:: 1168:: 1144:. 1132:: 1124:: 1101:) 1087:. 1075:: 1067:: 1041:. 1037:: 1029:: 1006:. 994:: 986:: 963:. 951:: 928:. 916:: 908:: 885:. 881:: 873:: 845:. 841:: 833:: 810:. 790:: 782:: 759:. 715:. 693:: 685:: 679:5 658:. 625:. 613:: 605:: 573:. 561:: 543:: 537:6 31:"

Index

climate
Sahara
green Sahara
insolation
precession of the equinoxes
obliquity
eccentricity
Milankovitch theory
MIT
Science Advances
Earth's orbital
meteorologist
John Kutzbach
Insolation
heat capacity
monsoon
flora
fauna
Precession of the equinoxes
axial precession
apsidal precession
perihelion
aphelion
Obliquity
orbital plane
Sun
Moon
planets
Mediterranean
Aeolian processes

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