High Resolution Paleoclimatic Studies of Samples from Lake Turkana, Kenya

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The history of paleoclimate in East Africa is poorly known. Continental rifting in this region has produced a series of large lakes that span many climate regimes. If these lakes are shown to contain useful paleoclimate records, then much important information about the history of earth's climate could be obtained. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the potential of Lake Turkana, Kenya, for paleoclimate reconstructions. Sediments in this lake are accumulating at high rates, often in laminations that reflect the annual cycle of productivity and sedimentation. Thus the lake has the potential of allowing reconstruction of the history of climate in this region on annual to century time scales for the last 5000 years. This research is important because it will provide a high resolution climate record from which to study climate processes and change.