Recurrent humid phases in Arabia over the past 8 million years

Monika Markowska (), Hubert B. Vonhof (), Huw S. Groucutt (), Paul S. Breeze, Nick Drake, Mathew Stewart, Richard Albert, Eric Andrieux, James Blinkhorn, Nicole Boivin, Alexander Budsky, Richard Clark-Wilson, Dominik Fleitmann, Axel Gerdes, Ashley N. Martin, Alfredo Martínez-García, Samuel L. Nicholson, Gilbert J. Price, Eleanor M. L. Scerri, Denis Scholz, Nils Vanwezer, Michael Weber, Abdullah M. Alsharekh, Abdul Aziz Al Omari, Yahya S. A. Al-Mufarreh, Faisal Al-Jibreen, Mesfer Alqahtani, Mahmoud Al-Shanti, Iyad Zalmout, Michael D. Petraglia () and Gerald H. Haug
Additional contact information
Monika Markowska: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Hubert B. Vonhof: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Huw S. Groucutt: University of Malta
Paul S. Breeze: King’s College London
Nick Drake: King’s College London
Mathew Stewart: Griffith University
Richard Albert: Goethe University Frankfurt
Eric Andrieux: Durham University
James Blinkhorn: Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology
Nicole Boivin: Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology
Alexander Budsky: Landesmuseum für Kärnten
Richard Clark-Wilson: Royal Holloway, University of London
Dominik Fleitmann: University of Basel
Axel Gerdes: Goethe University Frankfurt
Ashley N. Martin: Northumbria University
Alfredo Martínez-García: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Samuel L. Nicholson: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Gilbert J. Price: The University of Queensland
Eleanor M. L. Scerri: University of Malta
Denis Scholz: Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
Nils Vanwezer: Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology
Michael Weber: Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
Abdullah M. Alsharekh: King Saud University
Abdul Aziz Al Omari: Ministry of Culture
Yahya S. A. Al-Mufarreh: Saudi Geological Survey
Faisal Al-Jibreen: Ministry of Culture
Mesfer Alqahtani: Ministry of Culture
Mahmoud Al-Shanti: Saudi Geological Survey
Iyad Zalmout: Saudi Geological Survey
Michael D. Petraglia: Griffith University
Gerald H. Haug: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry

Nature, 2025, vol. 640, issue 8060, 954-961

Abstract: Abstract The Saharo-Arabian Desert is one of the largest biogeographical barriers on Earth, impeding dispersals between Africa and Eurasia, including movements of past hominins. Recent research suggests that this barrier has been in place since at least 11 million years ago1. In contrast, fossil evidence from the late Miocene epoch and the Pleistocene epoch suggests the episodic presence within the Saharo-Arabian Desert interior of water-dependent fauna (for example, crocodiles, equids, hippopotamids and proboscideans)2–6, sustained by rivers and lakes7,8 that are largely absent from today’s arid landscape. Although numerous humid phases occurred in southern Arabia during the past 1.1 million years9, little is known about Arabia’s palaeoclimate before this time. Here, based on a climatic record from desert speleothems, we show recurrent humid intervals in the central Arabian interior over the past 8 million years. Precipitation during humid intervals decreased and became more variable over time, as the monsoon’s influence weakened, coinciding with enhanced Northern Hemisphere polar ice cover during the Pleistocene. Wetter conditions likely facilitated mammalian dispersals between Africa and Eurasia, with Arabia acting as a key crossroads for continental-scale biogeographic exchanges.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08859-6

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