Increase in African dust flux at the onset of commercial agriculture in the Sahel region

Stefan Mulitza (), David Heslop, Daniela Pittauerova, Helmut W. Fischer, Inka Meyer, Jan-Berend Stuut, Matthias Zabel, Gesine Mollenhauer, James A. Collins, Henning Kuhnert and Michael Schulz
Additional contact information
Stefan Mulitza: MARUM—Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Strasse, D-28359 Bremen, Germany
David Heslop: MARUM—Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Strasse, D-28359 Bremen, Germany
Daniela Pittauerova: Institute of Environmental Physics, University of Bremen, Otto-Hahn-Allee 1, D-28359 Bremen, Germany
Helmut W. Fischer: Institute of Environmental Physics, University of Bremen, Otto-Hahn-Allee 1, D-28359 Bremen, Germany
Inka Meyer: MARUM—Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Strasse, D-28359 Bremen, Germany
Jan-Berend Stuut: MARUM—Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Strasse, D-28359 Bremen, Germany
Matthias Zabel: MARUM—Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Strasse, D-28359 Bremen, Germany
Gesine Mollenhauer: MARUM—Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Strasse, D-28359 Bremen, Germany
James A. Collins: MARUM—Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Strasse, D-28359 Bremen, Germany
Henning Kuhnert: MARUM—Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Strasse, D-28359 Bremen, Germany
Michael Schulz: MARUM—Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Strasse, D-28359 Bremen, Germany

Nature, 2010, vol. 466, issue 7303, 226-228

Abstract: Farmers raise the dust Dust emissions from the Sahara/Sahel region of Africa are an important factor in the climate system, but the long-term history of African dust generation remains largely unknown; in particular, the contribution of humans to African dust emissions is a matter of controversy. Now, by investigating the chemistry and grain-size distribution of sediments deposited at a marine site located under the West African dust plume, Mulitza et al. have constructed a 3,200-year record of dust deposition off northwest Africa. Their findings reveal that human-induced dust emissions started to contribute significantly to the overall dust budget during the onset of commercial agriculture about 200 years ago, and have continued to increase ever since.

Date: 2010
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DOI: 10.1038/nature09213

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