Collaborative Research: Lake Bosumtwi, Ghana: High-Resolution Paleoclimatology and Seismic Reflection Site Survey

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Abstract ATM-9816830 Scholz, Christopher A. University of Miami Title: Lake Bosumtwi, Ghana: High-Resolution Paleoclimatology and Seismic Reflection Site Survey Lake Bosumtwi, Ghana, is an important and unique resource for paleoenvironmental research. The value of the Lake Bosumtwi sediments has been demonstrated for reconstructing centennial to millennial-scale variations of the West African monsoon. Lamination counts and radiometric data prove that the last 1000 years of the Bosumtwi sediment record is annually-laminated (varved), and thus ideal for reconstructing and understanding interannual to centennial-scale climate variability in a vast area of Africa continuing no other such record. This award supports a project to carry out the field and laboratory work needed to produce the first annually-laminated continuous record of the West African Monsoon and Sahel drought extending back centuries and perhaps millennia. This record will be used to test relationships between North Atlantic variability and West African rainfall that have been hypothesized using the short instrumental record alone. Because of its unique location, climate sensitivity and paleoenvironmental potential, Lake Bosumtwi has been identified by the international paleoenvironmental community (i.e., IGBP-PAGES Past Global Changes and ICDP International Continental Drilling Programme ) as a high priority for scientific drilling. This project will conduct the detailed high-resolution single-channel and intermediate-resolution seismic reflection survey needed to plan a scientifically-optimal and safe drilling program.