Rainfall and drought in equatorial east Africa during the past 1,100 years Verschuren, D.; Laird, K.R.; Cumming, B.F. Verschuren, D. Laird, K.R. Cumming, B.F. earth science/paleoclimate/lake levels|paleolimnology (age,null,null,year Common Era,null,lake levels|paleolimnology,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/lake levels|paleolimnology (notes,null,null,null,null,lake levels|paleolimnology,null,null,C,null) earth science/paleoclimate/climate reconstructions|insect|paleolimnology (electrical conductivity,lake water|midge assemblage,null,millisiemens per centimeter,null,climate reconstructions|insect|paleolimnology,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/climate reconstructions|paleolimnology (electrical conductivity,diatom assemblage|lake water,null,millisiemens per centimeter,null,climate reconstructions|paleolimnology,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/climate reconstructions|paleolimnology (age,null,null,year Common Era,null,climate reconstructions|paleolimnology,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/lake levels|paleolimnology (depth,null,null,centimeter,null,lake levels|paleolimnology,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/lake levels|paleolimnology (lake level,null,null,meter,null,lake levels|paleolimnology,null,null,N,water depth) earth science/paleoclimate/climate reconstructions|paleolimnology (depth,null,null,centimeter,null,climate reconstructions|paleolimnology,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology (Crescent Island Crater, Lake Naivasha>LATITUDE -.7635>LONGITUDE 36.408) Knowledge of natural long-term rainfall variability is essential for water-resource and land-use management in sub-humid regions of the world. In tropical Africa, data relevant to determining this variability are scarce because of the lack of long instrumental climate records and the limited potential of standard high-resolution proxy records such as tree rings and ice cores. Here we present a decade-scale reconstruction of rainfall and drought in equatorial east Africa over the past 1,100 years, based on lake-level and salinity fluctuations of Lake Naivasha (Kenya) inferred from three different palaeolimnological proxies: sediment stratigraphy and the species compositions of fossil diatom and midge assemblages. Our data indicate that, over the past millennium, equatorial east Africa has alternated between contrasting climate conditions, with significantly drier climate than today during the 'Medieval Warm Period' (~AD 1000-1270) and a relatively wet climate during the 'Little Ice Age' (~AD 1270-1850) which was interrupted by three prolonged dry episodes. We also find strong chronological links between the reconstructed history of natural long-term rainfall variation and the pre-colonial cultural history of east Africa, highlighting the importance of a detailed knowledge of natural long-term rainfall fluctuations for sustainable socio-economic development. NCDC-Paleoclimatology https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/paleoclimatology-data - Bauer Bruce Investigator : Verschuren, D. Investigator : Laird, K.R. Investigator : Cumming, B.F. 2000-01-01 ONLINE Files online, ASCII https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/6070 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/naivasha_chironomidsalinity.xls https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/naivasha_lakelevel.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/naivasha_diatomsalinity.xls https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/naivasha_lakelevel.xls https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/naivasha_chironomidsalinity.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/naivasha_diatomsalinity.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/readme_verschuren2000.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/naivasha_chironomidsalinity.xls https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/naivasha_lakelevel.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/naivasha_diatomsalinity.xls https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/naivasha_lakelevel.xls https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/naivasha_chironomidsalinity.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/naivasha_diatomsalinity.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/readme_verschuren2000.txt English https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/6070 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/naivasha_chironomidsalinity.xls https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/naivasha_lakelevel.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/naivasha_diatomsalinity.xls https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/naivasha_lakelevel.xls https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/naivasha_chironomidsalinity.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/naivasha_diatomsalinity.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/readme_verschuren2000.txt Verschuren, D., K.R. Laird, and B.F. Cumming. 2000. Rainfall and drought in equatorial east Africa during the past 1,100 years. Nature, 403, 410-414. doi:10.1038/35000179. START YEAR: 1070 cal yr BP * END YEAR: -44 cal yr BP 36.408 -.7635 36.408 -.7635