NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service National Climatic Data Center, U.S. Department of Commerce
NOAA Paleoclimatology Program, NCDC Paleoclimatology Branch
 
Paleoclimatology Navigation Bar Bookmark and Share
NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA National Climatic Data Center U.S. Department of Commerce Paleo Home Data Paleo Perspectives Education and Outreach About Paleo Program Site Map
PALEOLIMNOLOGY

Little Ice Age drought in equatorial Africa: Intertropical Convergence Zone migrations and El Nino-Southern Oscillation variability

Map of data site

Russell, J.M., T.C. Johnson. 2007. Little Ice Age drought in equatorial Africa: Intertropical Convergence Zone migrations and El Nino-Southern Oscillation variability. Geology Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 21-24

Data Coverage North: -.4167 * South: -.4167
West: 29.75 * East: 29.75
Altitude: 917 m

Start Year: 1500 cal yr BP * End Year: 0 cal yr BP

Data:     Please Cite Data Contributors!
  Text: eastafrica/edward2007.txt
  Excel: eastafrica/edward2007.xls

Summary:

High-resolution analyses of the Mg concentration in authigenic calcite in five cores from Lake Edward provide a water balance history of central equatorial Africa spanning the past 1400 yr. A high ratio of Mg to Ca (%Mg) indicates strong droughts in central Africa during the Little Ice Age (A.D. 1400-1750), in contrast to records from Lake Naivasha, Kenya, which suggest a wet Little Ice Age. This spatial pattern in Africa likely arose due to coupled changes in the high latitudes, the position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone, and the El NiƱo-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) system. Our results further suggest that the patterns and variability of twentieth-century rainfall in central Africa have been unusually conducive to human welfare in the context of the past 1400 yr.
More Info on Paleolimnology

Complete XML Record:

noaa-lake-5452  (Last Revised: 2009-02-11 )

NOAA logo DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCDC (National Climatic Data Center, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce )
325 Broadway, E/CC23
Boulder, CO 80305
USA
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/
E-mail: bruce.a.bauer@noaa.gov
E-mail: paleo@noaa.gov
Phone: 303-497-6280
Fax: 303-497-6513