Muhs et al_QSR_accepted.pdf (19.28 MB)
Long-term African dust delivery to the eastern Atlantic Ocean from the Sahara and Sahel regions: Evidence from Quaternary paleosols on the Canary Islands, Spain
journal contribution
posted on 2021-06-10, 09:17 authored by Daniel R Muhs, Joaquín Meco, James R Budahn, Gary L Skipp, Kathleen R Simmons, Matthew BaddockMatthew Baddock, Juan F Betancort, Alejandro LomoschitzAfrica is the most important source of dust in the world today and dust storms from that continent frequently deposit sediment on the nearby Canary Islands. Many investigators have inferred African dust inputs to Canary Islands paleosols based only on the presence of quartz. However, some local rocks do contain this mineral, so quartz alone is insufficient proof of dust deposition. Further, it is not known whether the Sahara Desert or the Sahel region is more important as a dust source. We address these issues by study of sequences of Pleistocene aeolian sands on the islands of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. Aeolian sands are composed mostly of marine carbonate minerals and locally derived volcanic minerals. They date from the early-middle Pleistocene to the Holocene. Trace element geochemistry shows that the soils formed from both locally derived basalt and African dust. Major element geochemistry and clay mineralogy indicate that dust additions to the Canary Islands likely come from both the Sahara and Sahel.Dust delivered from the Sahel indicates that droughts in that region have had a history extending through much of the Quaternary. Accretionary-inflationary profile development, from dust accretion, is evident in the upward growth of Canary Islands paleosols.
History
School
- Social Sciences and Humanities
Department
- Geography and Environment
Published in
Quaternary Science ReviewsVolume
265Publisher
ElsevierVersion
- AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Publisher statement
This paper was accepted for publication in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews and the definitive published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.107024.Acceptance date
2021-06-05Publication date
2021-06-25Copyright date
2021ISSN
0277-3791Publisher version
Language
- en