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Briatico G, Bocherens H, Geraads D, Melis RT, Mussi M. The Pleistocene high-elevation environments between 2.02 and 0.6 Ma at Melka Kunture (Upper Awash Valley, Ethiopia) based upon stable isotope analysis. Sci Rep 2024; 14:6619. [PMID: 38503829 PMCID: PMC10950861 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-56768-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Pleistocene environments are among the most studied issues in paleoecology and human evolution research in eastern Africa. Many data have been recorded from archaeological sites located at low and medium elevations (≤ 1500 m), whereas few contexts are known at 2000 m and above. Here, we present a substantial isotopic study from Melka Kunture, a complex of prehistoric sites located at 2000-2200 m above sea level in the central Ethiopian highlands. We analyzed the stable carbon and oxygen isotopic composition of 308 faunal tooth enamel samples from sites dated between 2.02 and 0.6 Ma to investigate the animal diets and habitats. The carbon isotopic results indicate that the analyzed taxa had C4-dominated and mixed C3-C4 diets with no significant diachronic changes in feeding behavior with time. This is consistent with faunal and phytolith analyses, which suggested environments characterized by open grasslands (with both C3 and C4 grasses), patches of bushes and thickets, and aquatic vegetation. However, palynological data previously documented mountain forests, woodlands, and high-elevation grasslands. Additionally, the carbon isotopic comparison with other eastern African localities shows that differences in elevation did not influence animal feeding strategies and habitat partitioning, even though plant species vary according to altitudinal gradients. In contrast, the oxygen isotopic comparison suggests significant differences consistent with the altitude effect. Our approach allows us to detect diverse aspects of animal behavior, habitat, and vegetation that should be considered when reconstructing past environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Briatico
- Dipartimento Di Scienze Dell'Antichità, Sapienza Università Di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy.
- Department of Geosciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Hölderlinstrasse 12, 72074, Tübingen, Germany.
- Italo-Spanish Archaeological Mission at Melka Kunture and Balchit, Melka Kunture, Ethiopia.
| | - Hervé Bocherens
- Department of Geosciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Hölderlinstrasse 12, 72074, Tübingen, Germany
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, Sigwartstrasse 10, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Denis Geraads
- CR2P, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, CP 38, 8 Rue Buffon, 75231, Paris cedex 05, France
| | - Rita T Melis
- Italo-Spanish Archaeological Mission at Melka Kunture and Balchit, Melka Kunture, Ethiopia
- Dipartimento Di Scienze Chimiche E Geologiche, Università Di Cagliari, 09042, Cittadella Di Monserrato, Italy
- CNR-IGAG, Piazzale Aldo Moro 7, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Margherita Mussi
- Dipartimento Di Scienze Dell'Antichità, Sapienza Università Di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy
- Italo-Spanish Archaeological Mission at Melka Kunture and Balchit, Melka Kunture, Ethiopia
- ISMEO, Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 244, 00186, Rome, Italy
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Matandirotya NR, Anoruo CM. An assessment of aerosol optical depth over three AERONET sites in South Africa during the year 2020. SCIENTIFIC AFRICAN 2023; 19:e01446. [PMID: 36448048 PMCID: PMC9683855 DOI: 10.1016/j.sciaf.2022.e01446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Revised: 10/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
It is important to notice that the world health organization (WHO) on the 11th of March 2020, declared COVID-19 a global pandemic and in response governments around the world introduced lockdowns that restricted human and traffic movements including South Africa. This pandemic resulted in a total lockdown from 26 March until 16 April 2020 in South Africa with expected decrease in atmospheric aerosols. In this present study, the aerosol optical depth (AOD) over Southern Africa based on ground-based remotely sensed data derived from three AERONET sites (Durban, Skukuza and Upington) during 2020 were used to detrermine the restriction resopnse on atmospheric aerosol pollution The study used data from 2019, 2018 and 2017 as base years. The AERONET derived data was complemented with the HYSPLIT Model and NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis data. The study findings show that peak increase of AOD corresponds to Angstrom exponent (AE) enhancement for two sites Durban and Skukuza during winter (JJA) while the Upington site showed a different trend where peak AOD were observed in spring (SON). The study also observed the influence of long transport airmasses particularly those originating from the Atlantic and Indian ocean moreso for the Durban and Skukuza sites (summer and autumn) thus these sites received fresh marine aerosols however this was not the case for Upington which fell under the influence of short-range inland airmasses and was likely to receive anthropogenic and dust aerosols. The major results suggest that the lockdowns did not translate into a significant decrease in AOD levels compared to previous immediate years. The results has presented restriction response of AOD over South Africa but additional analysis is required using more locations to compare results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Newton R Matandirotya
- Derpatment of Geosciences, Faculty of Science, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, 6000, South Africa
- Centre for Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience, Kgotso Development Trust,P.O.Box 5, Beitbridge, Zimbabwe
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Groos AR, Akçar N, Yesilyurt S, Miehe G, Vockenhuber C, Veit H. Nonuniform Late Pleistocene glacier fluctuations in tropical Eastern Africa. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:7/11/eabb6826. [PMID: 33712457 PMCID: PMC7954451 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abb6826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2020] [Accepted: 01/26/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Today's ice caps and glaciers in Africa are restricted to the highest peaks, but during the Pleistocene, several mountains on the continent were extensively glaciated. However, little is known about regional differences in the timing and extent of past glaciations and the impact of paleoclimatic changes on the afro-alpine environment and settlement history. Here, we present a glacial chronology for the Ethiopian Highlands in comparison with other East African Mountains. In the Ethiopian Highlands, glaciers reached their maximum 42 to 28 thousand years ago before the global Last Glacial Maximum. The local maximum was accompanied by a temperature depression of 4.4° to 6.0°C and a ~700-m downward shift of the afro-alpine vegetation belt, reshaping the human and natural habitats. The chronological comparison reveals that glaciers in Eastern Africa responded in a nonuniform way to past climatic changes, indicating a regionally varying influence of precipitation, temperature, and orography on paleoglacier dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Naki Akçar
- Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Serdar Yesilyurt
- Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Department of Geography, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Georg Miehe
- Faculty of Geography, Philipps University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | | | - Heinz Veit
- Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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Chen K, Meng Y, Liu G, Xia C, Zhou J, Li H. Identifying hydrological conditions of the Pihe River catchment in the Chengdu Plain based on spatio-temporal distribution of 2H and 18O. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10967-020-07163-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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