| PI: | Prof. Dr. Martin Trauth | Geologist, UP, trauthugeo.uni-potsdampde |
| Co-PI: | Prof. Dr. Frank Schäbitz | Geographer, U Köln, frank.schaebitzuuni-koelnpde |
| Members: | Dipl.-Geogr. Verena Förster | Geographer, Graduateschool GRK1364 and U Köln |
| | Dipl.-Geol. Annett Junginger | Geologist, Graduateschool GRK1364 and UP |
| | Dipl.-Geol. Sven Borchardt | Geologist, Graduateschool GRK1364 and UP |
| | Dipl.-Geol. Thomas Ebert | Geologist, Graduateschool GRK1364 and UP |
| Partners | Dr. Henry Lamb | Aberystwyth University, U.K. |
| | Dr. Mohammed Umer (deceased) | University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
| | Dr. Asfawossen Asrat | University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
| Funding: | Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft GRK 1364, TR419/8-1 and 2, 2010-2013 |
| Summary: | We propose to obtain up to ten replicate ca. 15-20 meter long continuous sediment cores along a north-south and an east-west transect through the Chew Bahir basin, Southern Ethiopian Rift These cores presumably include the deposits of the African Humid Period (~15 to 5 kyrs BP) providing us with information about the last dry-wet-dry cycle and associated environmental variations in East Africa. The analysis of these cores will provide the necessary information about sedimentary processes in the Chew Bahir as required for detailed planning of deeper drilling in the Southern Ethiopian Rift within the framework of the ICDP "Hominid Sites and Paleolakes Drilling Project" project. The first objective is to study the type and character of sediment in the basin, in particular with respect to the organic matter including pollen and biomarkers. The second objective is to determine the sedimentation rates and its variation in the Chew Bahir based on a high-resolution AMS 14C chronology on parallel carbonate and charcoal samples to estimate possible reservoir effects. The third objective is to test controversially-discussed hypotheses about the timing, magnitude and synchronicity of the African Humid Period across the continent including the possible abruptness and internal variability of this event and the influence of this important dry-wet-dry shift in the tropics on the biosphere. |
| Publications: | Trauth, M.H., Asrat, A., Duesing, W., Foerster, V., Kraemer, K.H., Marwan, N., Maslin, M.A., Schaebitz, F. (2019) Classifying past climate change in the Chew Bahir basin, southern Ethiopia, using recurrence quantification analysis. Climate Dynamics, 53(5), 2557-2572. |
| | Trauth, M.H., Foerster, V., Junginger, A., Asrat, A., Lamb, H., Schaebitz, F. (2018) Abrupt or Gradual? Change Point Analysis of the Late Pleistocene-Holocene Climate Record from Chew Bahir, Southern Ethiopia.[nbsp]Quaternary Research, 90, 321-330. |
| | Foerster, V., Deocampo, D., Asrat, A., Günter, C., Junginger, A., Krämer, H., Stroncik, N., Trauth, M.H. (2018) Towards an understanding of climate proxy formation in the Chew Bahir basin, southern Ethiopian Rift. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology,[nbsp]in press. |
| | Foerster, V., Vogelsang, R., Junginger, A., Asrat, A., Lamb, H.F., Schaebitz, F., Trauth, M.H. (2015) Environmental Change and Human Occupation of Southern Ethiopia and Northern Kenya during the last 20,000 years. Quaternary Science Reviews, 129, 333-340. |
| | Trauth, M.H., Bergner, A.G.N., Foerster, V., Junginger, A., Maslin, M.A., Schaebitz, F. (2015) Episodes of Environmental Stability and Instability in Late Cenozoic Lake Records of Eastern Africa. Journal of Human Evolution, 87, 21-31. |
| | Maslin, M.A., Shultz, S., Trauth, M.H. (2015) A synthesis of the theories and concepts of early human evolution. Philosophical Transactions B, 370, 20140064. |
| | Maslin, M.A., Brierley, C.M., Milner, A.M., Shultz, S., Trauth, M.H., Wilson, K.E. (2014) East African climate pulses and early human evolution, commissioned review paper. Quaternary Science Reviews, 101, 1-17. |
| | Förster, V., Junginger, A., Langkamp, O., Gebru, T., Asrat, A., Umer, M., Lamb, H., Wennrich, V., Rethemeyer, J., Nowaczyk, N., Trauth, M.H., Schäbitz, F. (2012) Climatic change recorded in the sediments of the Chew Bahir basin, southern Ethiopia, during the last 45,000 years, Quaternary International, 274, 25-37. |
| | Trauth, M.H., Maslin, M.A., Deino, A., Junginger, A., Lesoloyia, M., Odada, E., Olago, D.O., Olaka, L., Strecker, M.R., Tiedemann, R., 2010, Human Evolution and Migration in a Variable Environment: The Amplifier Lakes of East Africa. Quaternary Science Reviews, 29, 2981-2988. |
