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  • Presentation | PP21A: Advanced Understanding of Tropical-Subtropical Hydroclimate Changes During the Pleistocene, Holocene, and Anthropocene I Oral
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  • PP21A-08: A LATE GLACIAL AND HOLOCENE MULTI-PROXY PALEOCLIMATE SEDIMENTARY RECORD FROM AFRICA’S LARGEST AFRO-ALPINE ECOSYSTEM, THE BALE MOUNTAINS IN SOUTHEASTERN ETHIOPIA
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Author(s):
Samuel Getachew Chernet, Dresden University of Technology (First Author, Presenting Author)
Cindy De Jonge, ETH Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich
Lucas Bittner, Dresden University of Technology
Marcel Bliedtner, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena
Graciela Gil-Romera, Pyrenean Institute of Ecology
Bruk Lemma, Freie Universität Berlin
Roland Zech, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena
Bruno Glaser, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg
Tobias Bromm, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg
Wolfgang Zech, University of Bayreuth
Michael Zech, Dresden University of Technology


The Bale Mountains in southeastern Ethiopia contain the largest and most continuous afro-alpine ecosystem in Africa. In 2017, we collected a 4.8-meter-long sediment core from Central Lake, which allowed us to create a detailed record of the area’s climate over the last 17,000 years using twelve radiocarbon dates.


In our study, we used various methods to reconstruct past climate conditions. We analyzed specific sugar molecules to understand changes in water sources, examined temperature indicators, and looked at the ratios of different elements to learn about past rainfall and lake behavior. Our findings reveal significant climate events, such as the start of African Humid Period around 15,500 years ago and a dry phase known as the Younger Dryas, which occurred between 12,900 and 10,700 years ago. Interestingly, during the Younger Dryas, we observed a dry conditions without the expected drop in temperature, indicating that temperature and water availability can behave independently during certain times. Additionally, our analysis showed that there was more dryness and increased dust during the Younger Dryas and later periods, suggesting that the lake experienced seasonal drying.


Overall, our research emphasizes the need to use various methods to fully understand the environmental changes in tropical alpine ecosystems.




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