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Abrupt onset and termination of the African Humid Period: rapid climate responses to gradual insolation forcing
Peter deMenocal, Joseph Ortiz, Tom Guilderson et al., 2000. Quaternary Science Reviews 19(1-5): 347-361.
A dust record from ODP Site 658C off Cap Blanc, Mauritania, dated by 18 AMS radiocarbon dates back to 23,000 years ago. Dust was low between about 14,800 and 5,500 calendar years ago, when the Sahara was "nearly completely vegetated" with "numerous perennial lakes"; an arid spell matching the Younger Dryas interrupts it. Both onset and end took decades to centuries, a sharp response to summer sunshine crossing a threshold about 4.2% above today's.
What it's used for here
Cited for the timing of the African Humid Period off Mauritania (14.8 to 5.5 cal ka BP), its Younger Dryas interruption, and its abrupt onset and end.
Our copy
Research copy, for editors and curators. The work is the publisher's, so readers are sent to it. We keep this copy so the citation can be checked if the page changes or goes.
authors.library.caltech.edu · fetched 28 Oct 2026
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Cite it
deMenocal, P., Ortiz, J., Guilderson, T., Adkins, J., Sarnthein, M., Baker, L., & Yarusinsky, M. (2000). Abrupt onset and termination of the African Humid Period: rapid climate responses to gradual insolation forcing. Quaternary Science Reviews, 19(1-5), 347-361. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-3791(99)00081-5
@article{demenocal2000abrupt,
author = {deMenocal, Peter and Ortiz, Joseph and Guilderson, Tom and Adkins, Jess and Sarnthein, Michael and Baker, Linda and Yarusinsky, Martha},
title = {Abrupt onset and termination of the African Humid Period: rapid climate responses to gradual insolation forcing},
journal = {Quaternary Science Reviews},
year = {2000},
volume = {19},
number = {1-5},
pages = {347-361},
doi = {10.1016/S0277-3791(99)00081-5},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-3791(99)00081-5}
}TY - JOUR TI - Abrupt onset and termination of the African Humid Period: rapid climate responses to gradual insolation forcing AU - deMenocal, Peter AU - Ortiz, Joseph AU - Guilderson, Tom AU - Adkins, Jess AU - Sarnthein, Michael AU - Baker, Linda AU - Yarusinsky, Martha PY - 2000 JO - Quaternary Science Reviews VL - 19 IS - 1-5 DO - 10.1016/S0277-3791(99)00081-5 UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-3791(99)00081-5 ER -
deMenocal, Peter et al.. “Abrupt onset and termination of the African Humid Period: rapid climate responses to gradual insolation forcing.” Quaternary Science Reviews 19, no. 1-5 (2000): 347-361. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-3791(99)00081-5.