eroded. The researchers developed an entirely new proxy for the annual mean air temperature on land, based on molecules from the cell membrane of soil inhabiting bacteria. They analysed eroded soil material in a sediment core in the outflow area of the river Congo in the South Atlantic Ocean at a depth of almost 1000m. Since the Congo River drains a large part of tropical central Africa, the land derived material gives an integrated signal for a very large area.

Cool tropical Africa

The new proxy was used in this sediment core to obtain both a continental and a sea surface temperature record. A comparison of both records shows that ocean surface and land temperatures behaved differently during the past 25,000 years. During the last ice age, temperatures over tropical Africa were 21C, about 4C lower than today, whereas the tropical Atlantic Ocean was only about 2.5C colder. By comparing this temperature difference with existing records of continental rainfall variability, lead author Johan Weijers and his colleagues concluded that the land-sea temperature difference has by far the largest influence on continental rainfall. This can be explained by the strong relationship of air pressure to temperature. When the temperature of the sea surface is higher than that of the continent, stronger offshore winds reduce the flow of moist sea air onto the African continent. This occurred during the last ice age and, as a consequence, the land climate in tropical Africa was drier than it is in today's world, where it favours the growth of a lush rainforest. These results provide further insight into the natural variation of climate and the possible consequences of a warming earth on precipitation in central Africa.

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Contact: Dr. Jan Boon
jan.boon@nioz.nl
31-022-236-9466
Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research
23-Mar-2007

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