noaa-lake-6070 Rainfall and drought in equatorial east Africa during the past 1,100 years Verschuren, D.; Laird, K.R.; Cumming, B.F. Rainfall and drought in equatorial east Africa during the past 1,100 years 2000-01-01 NCDC-Paleoclimatology ONLINE Files Pending https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/6070 Investigator D. Verschuren Investigator K.R. Laird Investigator B.F. Cumming 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 reconstruction earth science paleoclimate paleolimnology lake level geoscientificInformation 1070 cal yr BP -44 cal yr BP Complete -.7635 -.7635 36.408 36.408 Continent Africa Eastern Africa Kenya Crescent Island Crater, Lake Naivasha>LATITUDE -.7635>LONGITUDE 36.408 None Please cite original publication, online resource, dataset and publication DOIs (where available), and date accessed when using downloaded data. If there is no publication information, please cite investigator, title, online resource, and date accessed. The appearance of external links associated with a dataset does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of external Web sites or the information, products or services contained therein. For other than authorized activities, the Department of Commerce/NOAA does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. These links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this Department of Commerce/NOAA Web site. English DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/paleoclimatology-data DATA Center Contact Bruce Bauer bruce.a.bauer@noaa.gov paleo@noaa.gov 303-497-6280 303-497-6513

325 Broadway, E/NE31

Boulder CO 80305-3328 USA online ASCII 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.

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.

GET DATA https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/naivasha_chironomidsalinity.xls GET DATA https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/naivasha_lakelevel.txt GET DATA https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/naivasha_diatomsalinity.xls GET DATA https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/naivasha_lakelevel.xls GET DATA https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/naivasha_chironomidsalinity.txt GET DATA https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/naivasha_diatomsalinity.txt GET DATA https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/eastafrica/readme_verschuren2000.txt USA/NOAA DIF Version 9.8.4 2018-12-11 2018-12-11