A High-Resolution Record of Holocene Climate Variability from Lake Edward, Central Africa

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Tropical Africa is one of three major centers of deep atmospheric convection that energize the Earth's atmosphere through latent heating. There is much to be learned about how tropical Africa's climate contributes to global climate. Lake Edward is a 120-m deep rift lake situated on the eastern edge of the Congo basin, and is perfectly situated to record climate variability in one of the most immense monsoon systems on the planet. The research will generate a decade- to century-scale record of moisture balance based on Holocene sediments from Lake Edward. The main goal of this research is to understand the causes of multi-decade to millennial-scale Holocene climate events in Africa. The research is designed to build upon and refine previous studies by focusing high-resolution analyses on time intervals previously not analyzed in the Lake Edward region: the last 1,000 years and the early Holocene. Results from these analyses will complement ongoing high-resolution studies of the interval 1,000 to 5,000 yr BP in Lake Edward. The combined dataset will allow testing of linkages between continental Africa, the tropical oceans, high-latitudes, and external forcing (i.e. solar variability) at a variety of time-scales. The researcher will develop high-resolution geochemical and stable isotopic stratigraphies from sediment cores already taken from both Lake Edward and nearby crater lakes. Results of this research could significantly advance our understanding of tropical paleoclimate dynamics. This research relates to several areas of paleoclimate research priorities, including the need for analysis of the full range of climate variability over the past 11,000 years from an important monsoon system, and the testing of regional patterns and phasing of climate change within tropical Africa and the global climate system.