Bonnefille, R.; Potts, R.; Chalie, F.; Jolly, D.; Peyron, O. (2004): High-resolution vegetation and climate change associated with Pliocene Australopithecus afarensis. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC, United States, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 101 (33), 12125-12129, georefid:2007-109680

Abstract:
Plio-Pleistocene global climate change is believed to have had an important influence on local habitats and early human evolution in Africa. Responses of hominin lineages to climate change have been difficult to test, however, because this procedure requires well documented evidence for connections between global climate and hominin environment. Through high-resolution pollen data from Hadar, Ethiopia, we show that the hominin Australopithecus afarensis accommodated to substantial environmental variability between 3.4 and 2.9 million years ago. A large biome shift, up to 5 degrees C cooling, and a 200- to 300-mm/yr rainfall increase occurred just before 3.3 million years ago, which is consistent with a global marine delta (super 18) O isotopic shift.
Coverage:
West: 40.3500 East: 40.3900 North: 11.0900 South: 11.0600
Relations:
Expedition: 117
Site: 117-721
Site: 117-722
Data access:
Provider: SEDIS Publication Catalogue
Data set link: http://sedis.iodp.org/pub-catalogue/index.php?id=10.1073/pnas.0401709101 (c.f. for more detailed metadata)
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