Eastern Mediterranean (ODP967) Aeolian Hematite Data Larrasoaña, J.C.; Roberts, A.P.; Rohling, E.J.; Winklhofer, M.; Wehausen, R. Larrasoaña, J.C. Roberts, A.P. Rohling, E.J. Winklhofer, M. Wehausen, R. earth science/paleoclimate/paleoceanography (depth,null,null,centimeter,null,paleoceanography,corrected,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleoceanography (age,null,null,radiocarbon year before present,null,paleoceanography,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleoceanography (isothermal remanent magnetization,sediment,null,dimensionless,null,paleoceanography,null,null,N,imparted w/induction of 0.9T) earth science/paleoclimate/paleoceanography (depth,null,null,centimeter,null,paleoceanography,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleocean earth science/paleoclimate/paleocean (ODP 967>LATITUDE 34.07>LONGITUDE 32.72) We present a 3 million year record of aeolian dust supply into the eastern Mediterranean Sea, based on hematite contents derived from magnetic properties of sediments from Ocean Drilling Program Site 967. Our record has an average temporal resolution of ~400 years. Geochemical data validate this record of hematite content as a proxy for the supply of aeolian dust from the Sahara. We deduce that the aeolian hematite in eastern Mediterranean sediments derives from the eastern Algerian, Libyan, and western Egyptian lowlands located north of the central Saharan watershed (~21°N). In corroboration of earlier work, we relate dust flux minima to penetration of the African summer monsoon front to the north of the central Saharan watershed. This would have enhanced soil humidity and vegetation cover in the source regions, in agreement with results from ""green Sahara"" climate models. Our results indicate that this northward monsoon penetration recurred during insolation maxima throughout the last 3 million years. As would be expected, this orbital precession-scale mechanism is modulated on both short (~100-kyr) and long (~400-kyr) eccentricity time scales. We also observe a strong expression of the ~41-kyr (obliquity) cycle, which we discuss in terms of high- and low-latitude mechanisms that involve Southern Hemisphere meridional temperature contrasts and shifts in the latitudes of the tropics, respectively. We also observe a marked increase in sub-Milankovitch variability around the mid-Pleistocene transition (~0.95 Ma), which suggests a link between millennial-scale climate variability, including monsoon dynamics, and the size of northern hemisphere ice sheets. NCDC-Paleoclimatology https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/paleoclimatology-data - Bauer Bruce Investigator : Larrasoaña, J.C. Investigator : Roberts, A.P. Investigator : Rohling, E.J. Investigator : Winklhofer, M. Investigator : Wehausen, R. 2003-07-01 ONLINE Files online, ASCII https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/6412 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleocean/sediment_files/complete/odp967-tab.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/contributions_by_author/larrasoana2003 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleocean/sediment_files/complete/odp967-tab.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/contributions_by_author/larrasoana2003 English https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/6412 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleocean/sediment_files/complete/odp967-tab.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/contributions_by_author/larrasoana2003 Larrasoaņa, J.C., A.P. Roberts, E.J. Rohling, M. Winklhofer, and R. Wehausen. 2003. Three million years of monsoon variability over the northern Sahara. Climate Dynamics, 21, 689-698. START YEAR: 3029653 14C yr BP * END YEAR: 0 14C yr BP 32.72 34.07 32.72 34.07