Project

Discipline

Palaeoclimate; Arabia; Humid periods; Monsoon; Pleistocene; Holocene; Quaternary; human migration; dating

Lead
Lay summary
Climate of the Arabian Peninsula is intimately tied to the climate systems of the North Atlantic/Siberian pressure system and the African/Asian Monsoon. It is thus ideally situated to study how and to what extent both systems were dynamically linked in the past. The area is also of great value for understanding the migration of Homo sapiens "out of Africa". Regardless its key position, surprisingly few attempts have been made to reconstruct past environmental conditions in this region. There is clear geological and biological evidence that intervals of increased precipitation led to a profound change in the climatic and environmental conditions during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Until now, however, the exact timing and detailed environmental characteristics of these pluvial episodes, especially for pre-Holocene times, have remained poorly constrained.This research proposal aims to continue investigating ancient lake deposits on the Arabian Peninsula as archives of past environmental conditions. An important objective of this project regards the presently controversial ages of the lake deposits that will be investigated using a combination of different dating methods (optically stimulated luminescence, Uranium series, amino acid racemisation). Furthermore, we will provide a detailed reconstruction of environmental conditions during lake formation using various biological (ichnofossils, pollen, phytoliths, ostracods, charophytes, foraminifera, molluscs) and stable isotope climate proxies.

Direct link to Lay Summary

Last update: 21.02.2013

Self-organised

Number	Title	Start	Funding scheme

Climate of the Arabian Peninsula is intimately tied to the climate systems of the North Atlantic/Siberian pressure system and the African/Asian Monsoon. It is thus ideally situated to study how and to what extent both systems were dynamically linked in the past. The area is also of great value for understanding the migration of Homo sapiens “out of Africa”. Regardless its key position, surprisingly few attempts have been made to reconstruct past environmental conditions in this region. There is clear geological and biological evidence that intervals of increased precipitation led to a profound change in the climatic and environmental conditions during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Until now, however, the exact timing and detailed environmental characteristics of these pluvial episodes, especially for pre-Holocene times, have remained poorly constrained.This research proposal asks for a one year extension of SNF project 20021-12671 and aims to continue investigating ancient lake deposits on the Arabian Peninsula as archives of past environmental conditions. An important objective of this project regards the presently controversial ages of the lake deposits that will be investigated using a combination of different dating methods (optically stimulated luminescence, Uranium series, amino acid racemisation). Furthermore, we will provide a detailed reconstruction of environmental conditions during lake formation using various biological (ichnofossils, pollen, phytoliths, ostracods, charophytes, foraminifera, molluscs) and stable isotope climate proxies.The applicants have carried out one fieldtrip to the SW Rub’ al-Khali, one to central Oman, and fieldwork in northern Saudi Arabia is scheduled for March/April 2010. Logistical support was provided by the Saudi Geological Survey for the first and last field trip. Considering the limited accessibility of the region, the need for official permits and logistical support by SGS, this collaboration represents a unique opportunity to carry out palaeoclimate research in this key-area. The results anticipated for the project extension will complement the already achieved data and significantly improve the knowledge of the palaeo-environmental history of Arabia. The extension of this project will allow us to gather data to complete a N-S transect across Arabia in order to account for spatial differences in palaeoclimate conditions.