Coupled thermal and hydrological evolution of tropical Africa over the last deglaciation.
We analyzed the distribution of branched tetraether membrane lipids derived from soil bacteria in a marine sediment record that was recovered close to the Congo River outflow, and the results enabled us to reconstruct large-scale continental temperature changes in tropical Africa that span the past 25,000 years. Tropical African temperatures gradually increased from approximately 21 degrees to 25 degrees C over the last deglaciation, which is a larger warming than estimated for the tropical Atlantic Ocean. A direct comparison with sea-surface temperature estimates from the same core revealed that the land-sea temperature difference was, through the thermal pressure gradient, an important control on central African precipitation patterns.
Weijers
Johan W H
JW
Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Marine Biogeochemistry and Toxicology, Post Office Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg-Texel, Netherlands. jweijers@nioz.nl
Schefuss
Enno
E
Schouten
Stefan
S
Sinninghe Damsté
Jaap S
JS