Climate models and paleoclimate proxy records indicate that the absence of preserved eastern Mediterranean organic-rich layers preceding mid-Pliocene glaciation is linked to a pan-North African humid period caused by a more northerly African monsoon front relative to subsequent glacials. The vegetation expansion caused by this humid phase might have influenced early hominin dispersal.
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This is a summary of: Amarathunga, U. et al. Mid-Pliocene glaciation preceded by a 0.5-million-year North African humid period. Nat. Geosci. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-024-01472-8 (2024).
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An extended pan-North African humid period within the warm Pliocene. Nat. Geosci. 17, 596–597 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-024-01481-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-024-01481-7
