Neolithic hyperarid period preceded the present climate of the Central Sahel
In: Nature: International Weekly Journal of Science. Nature Publishing Group: London. ISSN 0028-0836; e-ISSN 1476-4687, more
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| Abstract |
The chronology of Pleistocene climatic changes in the Sahara is well known, but that of the Sahel is little understood. Yet, in the Sahel, between the Ferlo Desert (Senegal) and the centre of the Republic of Sudan, there is a nearly continuous belt of fossil dunes. Although their age is unknown1, they reflect Pleistocene expansions of the Sahara, and thus alternations of wet and dry climates. I have analysed the relict aquatic fauna of the Sahara–Sahel belt, and report here evidence that the present climate of the Central Sahel between the Middle Niger river and the Chad depression was preceded by a hyperarid period. |
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