B2: African response to global change: Past, present and future

(J.-B. Stuut, S. Mulitza & M. Prange; Bremen)
Session B 2 is related to workshop W 3

Recent studies suggest that the regional distribution of tropical sea-surface temperatures has a profound influence on precipitation patterns over Africa. Furthermore, changes in precipitation over the African continent have a major influence on the rate and composition of the vegetation cover, the rate of fluvial discharge, and on the production and distribution of dust. Sediments deposited in lakes on the continent as well as in the ocean off Africa continuously record the history of vegetation cover and terrigenous sediment input. In addition, marine sediments also register the hydrographical conditions of the overlying ocean. This session aims to explore the role of Africa in global climate change throughout the geological past, and its consequences for marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Contributors are encouraged to present recent results from both terrestrial or marine archives and palaeoclimate modelling.

On wednesday morning, prior to the G-V meeting we will organise a workshop on the subject, see the website of workshop W3, which will be updated regularly.

Somewhen in the autumn of 2007 (exact dates to be announced shortly) the convenors are planning a three-day workshop in which the topic shall be discussed on a broader scale and bringing together leading scientists from various disciplines.