April 13, 2013

Sahara 5000 years ago: from grassland to desert in no time

Saharan dust storm blowing into the Ocean (NASA)
Live science reports about a new study, to be published in the Earth and Planetary Science Letters journal, that concludes, based on the dust sediments in the Atlantic Ocean, that the change from grassland to desert of the Sahara some 5000 years ago was very quick. 

In the wet period, known as Neolithic Semi-Pluvial, the dust accumulated in oceanic sediments was only 20% of present day. But that changed very fast around 5000 BP. 

Not many details are provided however.

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