Gulf of Aden 40,000 Year Leaf Wax Deuterium Data Tierney, J.E.; deMenocal, P.B. Tierney, J.E. deMenocal, P.B. hydrology earth science/paleoclimate/paleoceanography (delta 2H,C30 n-alkanoic acid,null,per mil,null,paleoceanography,null,null,N,terrestrial leaf wax interpretation) earth science/paleoclimate/paleoceanography (age,null,95% confidence interval lower bound,calendar year before present,null,paleoceanography,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleoceanography (delta 2H,C30 n-alkanoic acid,null,per mil,null,paleoceanography,corrected,null,N,ice-volume corrected; terrestrial leaf wax interpretation) earth science/paleoclimate/paleoceanography (depth,null,null,centimeter,null,paleoceanography,null,null,N,Last Glacial Maximum normalized to long-term mean) earth science/paleoclimate/paleoceanography (age,null,null,calendar year before present,null,paleoceanography,null,null,N,median) earth science/paleoclimate/paleoceanography (age,null,95% confidence interval upper bound,calendar year before present,null,paleoceanography,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleocean (P178-15P>LATITUDE 11.955>LONGITUDE 44.3) The timing and abruptness of the initiation and termination of the Early Holocene African Humid Period are subjects of ongoing debate, with direct consequences for our understanding of abrupt climate change, paleoenvironments, and early human cultural development. Here, we provide proxy evidence from the Horn of Africa region that documents abrupt transitions into and out of the African Humid Period in northeast Africa. Similar and generally synchronous abrupt transitions at other East African sites suggest that rapid shifts in hydroclimate are a regionally coherent feature. Our analysis suggests that the termination of the African Humid Period in the Horn of Africa occurred within centuries, underscoring the nonlinearity of the region's hydroclimate. STUDY NOTES: Hydrogen isotopic composition of leaf waxes (dDwax) from a sediment core in the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, for the last 40,000 years, used as a proxy for hydroclimatic conditions in East Africa. NCDC-Paleoclimatology https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/paleoclimatology-data - Bauer Bruce Investigator : Tierney, J.E. Investigator : deMenocal, P.B. 2013-11-22 ONLINE Files online, ASCII https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/15537 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/contributions_by_author/tierney2013/tierney2013.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/contributions_by_author/tierney2013/tierney2013.txt English https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/15537 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/contributions_by_author/tierney2013/tierney2013.txt Jessica E. Tierney and Peter B. deMenocal2013Abrupt Shifts in Horn of Africa Hydroclimate Since the Last Glacial MaximumScience3426160843-84610.1126/science.1240411http://www.sciencemag.org/content/342/6160/843.abstract START YEAR: 40066 cal yr BP * END YEAR: 0 cal yr BP 44.3 11.955 44.3 11.955