[HSPDP] HSPDP - The Hominin Sites and Paleolakes Drilling Project
The Hominin Sites and Paleolakes Drilling Project (HSPDP): Using Scientific Drilling to understand the Paleoclimate Context of Human Evolution
ICDP-Topics:
Climate & Ecosystems
Year of Application: 2013
Expedition ID: 5053
Current Status: completed
Master Data
Prof. Dr. Frank Schäbitz (PI)
Prof. Dr. Martin Trauth (PI)
Dr. Ulrich Harms (OSG)
Dr. Ralf Vogelsang (Scientific Participant)
Dr. Tina Lüdecke (Scientific Participant)
Prof. Dr. Michael Hofreiter (Scientific Participant)
Hauke Krämer (Scientific Participant)
Dr. Manfred Mudelsee (Scientific Participant)
Prof. Dr. Janet Rethemeyer (Scientific Participant)
Prof. Dr. Annett Junginger (Scientific Participant)
Dr. Pritam Yogeshaw (Scientific Participant)
Raphael Gromig (Scientific Participant)
Prof. Dr. Bülent Tezkan (Scientific Participant)
Dr. Norbert Marwan (Scientific Participant)
Johanna Krüger (Scientific Participant)
Prof. Dr. Ralph Tiedemann (Scientific Participant)
Dr. Volker Wennrich (Scientific Participant)
Dr. Verena Förster (Scientific Participant)
Walter Düsing (Scientific Participant)
Projektstart: 1 July, 2013
Projektdauer:
Geologisches
Alter: Pliocene/Pleistocene
Latitude: 1°52'50''S
Kontinente:
Regionen & Städte:
Longitude: 36°16'18''E
Länder:
Themen:
Related DFG-Projects
Description
Understanding the temporal and causal relationship between climate and human evolution is an enduring scientific challenge. Past attempts to understand this relationship have focused on outcrops containing hominin fossils and artifacts, or by using ocean and lake core records to help interpret the hominin fossil record. However, outcrop records are discontinuous and weathered, and deep sea cores integrate environmental histories over vast areas and are far from the hominin fossils. We propose a new approach, combining the advantages of obtaining drill core records of lake deposits close in age and location to hominin localities with the easier logistics of targeting shallow depth paleolake deposits on land, accessible by a truck-mounted drill rig. Drill cores from lakes have yielded exceptionally well-resolved records of climate change, and the approach we propose in HSPDP is strongly informed by the experience and results of deep lake drilling for collecting high-resolution paleoclimate records. Similar records can be collected from lake beds now on-land. Through an anthropology-geoscience community collaboration, the HSPDP Steering Committee has identified several high-priority basins in East Africa, where world-class paleoanthropological sites are situated near thick and highly resolved lacustrine deposits. Our goals are to: 1) collect continuous and long paleolake cores from basins spanning critical intervals in human evolutionary history, which are close to hominin fossil and archaeological sites of global significance. 2) assemble high-resolution (decadal to centennial scale) and readily datable paleoclimate/paleoenvironmental records from these cores covering much of the past ~4 Ma of East African environmental history. 3) evaluate models of climatic and tectonic forcing of environmental processes as they affect landscape resources, and 4) test hypotheses linking climate change and variability to physical and cultural evolutionary adaptations. Following extensive site and logistical surveys of potential drilling areas and broad scientific community input, the HSPDP Steering Committee has identified five high-priority drilling targets: 1. Northern Awash River Valley, Northern Ethiopia (Middle Pliocene) 2. Tugen Hills, Central Kenya (Late Pliocene) 3. West side of Lake Turkana, Northern Kenya (Latest Pliocene-Early Pleistocene) 4. Lake Magadi, Southern Kenya (Mid-Late Pleistocene), 5. Chew Bahir, Southern Ethiopia (Mid-Late Pleistocene. HSPDP is planned as an integrated, community effort with overarching scientific goals uniting these drilling sites. An extensive program of palaoeclimate and paleoecological reconstruction from the drill cores will broadly transform our understanding of the context of hominin evolution in Africa and will provide training and educational opporutnities in the host countries for years to come.
Related Publications
Förster, V., Asrat, A., Bronk Ramsey, C., Brown, E.T., Chapot, M.S., Deino, A., Duesing, W., Grove, M., Hahn, A., Junginger, A., Kaboth-Bahr, S., Lane, C.S., Opitz, S., Noren, A., Roberts, H.M., Stockhecke, M., Tiedemann, R., Vidal, C.M., Vogelsang, R., Cohen, A.S., Lamb, H.F., Schäbitz, F. (2022). "Pleistocene climate variability in eastern Africa influenced hominin evolution" Nature Geoscience p17
Schaebitz, Frank, Asrat, Asfawossen, Lamb, Henry, Cohen, Andrew, Foerster, Verena, Duesing, Walter, Kaboth-Bahr, Stefanie, Opitz, Stephan, Viehberg, Finn, Vogelsang, Ralf (2021). "Hydroclimate changes in eastern Africa over the past 200,000 years may have influenced early human dispersal" Communications Earth & Environment 2 p123
Kaboth-Bahr, Stefanie, Gosling, William D, Vogelsang, Ralf, Bahr, André, Scerri, Eleanor ML, Asrat, Asfawossen, Cohen, Andrew S, Düsing, Walter, Foerster, Verena, Lamb, Henry F (2021). "Paleo-ENSO influence on African environments and early modern humans" Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118 p1-6
Trauth, Martin H, Asrat, Asfawossen, Cohen, Andrew S, Duesing, Walter, Foerster, Verena, Kaboth-Bahr, Stefanie, Kraemer, K Hauke, Lamb, Henry F, Marwan, Norbert, Maslin, Mark A (2021). "Recurring types of variability and transitions in the ~620 kyr record of climate change from the Chew Bahir basin, southern Ethiopia" Quaternary Science Reviews p106777
Riedl, Simon, Melnick, Daniel, Mibei, Geoffrey K, Njue, Lucy, Strecker, Manfred R (2020). "Continental rifting at magmatic centres: structural implications from the Late Quaternary Menengai Caldera, central Kenya Rift" Journal of the Geological Society p153-169
Fischer, Markus, Markowska, Monika, Bachofer, Felix, Foerster, Verena, Asfawossen, Asrat, Zielhofer, Christoph, Trauth, Martin, Junginger, Annett (2020). "Determining the Pace and Magnitude of Lake Level Changes in Southern Ethiopia Over the Last 20,000 Years Using Lake Balance Modeling and SEBAL" Frontiers in Earth Science p1-21
Trauth, Martin H., Asrat, Asfawossen, Duesing, Walter, Foerster, Verena, Kraemer, K. Hauke, Marwan, Norbert, Maslin, Mark A., Schaebitz, Frank (2019). "Classifying past climate change in the Chew Bahir basin, southern Ethiopia, using recurrence quantification analysis" Climate Dynamics online p1-16
Trauth, Martin H., Förster, Verena, Junginger, Annett, Asrat, Asfawossen, Lamb, Henry F., Schäbitz, Frank (2018). "Abrupt or gradual? Change point analysis of the late Pleistocene– Holocene climate record from Chew Bahir, southern Ethiopia" Quaternary Research 90 p1-10
Lüdecke, Tina, Ottmar, Kullmer, Wacker, Ulrike, Sandrock, Oliver, Fiebig, Jens, Schrenk, Friedemann, Mulch, Andreas (2018). "Dietary versatility of Early Pleistocene hominins" PNAS 52 p13330-13335
Viehberg, Finn A., Just, Janna, Dean, Jonathan R., Wagner, Bernd, Franz, Sven Oliver, Klasen, Nicole, Kleinen, Thomas, Ludwig, Patrick, Asrat, Asfawossen, Lamb, Henry F., Leng, Melanie J., Rethemeyer, Janet, Milodowski, Antoni E., Claussen, Martin, Schäbitz, Frank (2018). "Environmental change during MIS4 and MIS 3 opened corridors in the Horn of Africa for Homo sapiens expansion" Quaternary Science Review 202 p139-153
Förster, Verena, Decampo, Daniel M., Asrat, Asfawossen, Günter, Christina, Junginger, Annett, Krämer, Kai Hauke, Stroncik, Nicole A., Trauth, Martin H. (2018). "Towards an understanding of climate proxy formation in the Chew Bahir basin, southern Ethiopian Rift" Paleogeography, Paleoclimatology, Paleoecology 501 p111-123
Garcin, Yannick, Schildgen, Taylor F, Acosta, Verónica Torres, Melnick, Daniel, Guillemoteau, Julien, Willenbring, Jane, Strecker, Manfred R (2017). "Short-lived increase in erosion during the African Humid Period: Evidence from the northern Kenya Rift" Earth and Planetary Science Letters p58-69
CAMPISANO, CHRISTOPHER J. , COHEN, ANDREW S. , ARROWSMITH, J. RAMON , ASRAT, ASFAWOSSEN , BEHRENSMEYER, ANNA K. , BROWN, ERIK T. , DEINO, ALAN L. , DEOCAMPO, DANIEL M. , FEIBEL, CRAIG S. , KINGSTON, JOHN D. , LAMB, HENRY F. , LOWENSTEIN, TIM K. , NOREN, ANDERS, OLAGO, DANIEL O. , OWEN, R. BERNHART, PELLETIER, JON D. , POTTS, RICHARD , REED, KAYE E. , RENAUT, ROBIN W. , RUSSELL, JAMES M. , RUSSELL, JOELLEN L. , SCHÄBITZ, FRANK , STONE, JEFFERY R. , TRAUTH, MARTIN H. , WYNN, JONATHAN G. (2017). "The Hominin Sites and Paleolakes Drilling Project: High-Resolution Paleoclimate Records from the East African Rift System and Their Implications for Understanding the Environmental Context of Hominin Evolution" PaleoAntropology 1 p1-43
Cohen, A., Campisano, C., Arrowsmith, R., Asrat, A., Behrensmeyer, A. K., Deino, A., Feibel, C., Hill, A., Johnson, R., Kingston, J., Lamb, H., Lowenstein, T., Noren, A., Olago, D., Owen, R. B., Potts, R., Reed, K., Renaut, R., Schäbitz, F., Tiercelin, J. J., Trauth, M. H., Wynn, J., Ivory, S., Brady, K., O'Grady, R., Rodysill, J., Githiri, J., Russell, J., Foerster, V., Dommain, R., Rucina, S., Deocampo, D., Russell, J., Billingsley, A., Beck, C., Dorenbeck, G., Dullo, L., Feary, D., Garello, D., Gromig, R., Johnson, T., Junginger, A., Karanja, M., Kimburi, E., Mbuthia, A., McCartney, T., McNulty, E., Muiruri, V., Nambiro, E., Negash, E. W., Njagi, D., Wilson, J. N., Rabideaux, N., Raub, T., Sier, M. J., Smith, P., Urban, J., Warren, M., Yadeta, M., Yost, C., Zinaye, B. (2016). "The Hominin Sites and Paleolakes Drilling Project: inferring the environmental context of human evolution from eastern African rift lake deposits" Sci. Dril. 21 p1-16
Maslin, Mark A, Shultz, Susanne, Trauth, Martin H (2015). "A synthesis of the theories and concepts of early human evolution" Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B p20140064
Förster, Verena, Vogelsang, Ralf, Junginger, Annett, Asrat, Asfawossen, Lamb, Henry F., Schäbitz, Frank, Trauth, Martin H. (2015). "Environmental change and human occupation of southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya during the last 20,000 years" Quaternary Science Reviews 129 p333-340
Trauth, Martin H., Bergner, Andreas G. N., Foerster, Verena, Junginger, Annett, Maslin, Mark A., Schaebitz, Frank (2015). "Episodes of environmental stability versus instability in Late Cenozoic lake records of Eastern Africa" Journal of Human Evolution 87 p21-31
Foerster, V., Junginger, A., Asrat, A., Lamb, H. F., Weber, M., Rethemeyer, J., Frank, U., Brown, M. C., Trauth, M. H., Schaebitz, F. (2014). "46 000 years of alternating wet and dry phases on decadal to orbital timescales in the cradle of modern humans: the Chew Bahir project, southern Ethiopia" Clim. Past Discuss. p977-1023
Trauth, Martin H. (2014). "A new probabilistic technique to build an age model for complex stratigraphic sequences" Quaternary Geochronology 22 p65-71
Maslin, Mark A., Brierley, Chris M., Milner, Alice M., Shultz, Susanne, Trauth, Martin H., Wilson, Katy E. (2014). "East African climate pulses and early human evolution" Quaternary Science Reviews 101 p1-17
Förster, Verena Elisabeth (2014). "Late Quaternary climate variability in the source region of Homo sapiens. Dry-wet cycles in Chew Bahir, southern Ethiopia" Dissertation p139
Junginger, Annett, Roller, Sybille, Olaka, Lydia A., Trauth, Martin H. (2014). "The effects of solar irradiation changes on the migration of the Congo Air Boundary and water levels of paleo-Lake Suguta, Northern Kenya Rift, during the African Humid Period (15–5 ka BP)" Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology p1-16
Junginger, Annett, Trauth, Martin H. (2013). "Hydrological constraints of paleo-Lake Suguta in the Northern Kenya Rift during the African Humid Period (15–5 ka BP)" Global and Planetary Change 111 p174-188
Foerster, Verena, Junginger, Annett, Langkamp, Oliver, Gebru, Tsige, Asrat, Asfawossen, Umer, Mohammed, Lamb, Henry F., Wennrich, Volker, Rethemeyer, Janet, Nowaczyk, Norbert, Trauth, Martin H., Schaebitz, Frank (2012). "Climatic change recorded in the sediments of the Chew Bahir basin, southern Ethiopia, during the last 45,000 years" Quaternary International p25-37
Richter, Jürgen, Melles, Martin, Schäbitz, Frank (2012). "Temporal and spatial corridors of Homo sapiens sapiens population dynamics during the Late Pleistocene and early Holocene" Quaternary International 274 p1-4
Donges, Jonathan F., Donner, Reik V., Trauth, Martin H., Marwan, Norbert, Schellnhuber, Hans-Joachim, Kurths, Jürgen (2011). "Nonlinear detection of paleoclimate-variability transitions possibly related to human evolution" Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108 p20422-20427
Trauth, Martin H., Maslin, Mark A., Deino, Alan L., Junginger, Annett, Lesoloyia, Moses, Odada, Eric O., Olago, Daniel O., Olaka, Lydia A., Strecker, Manfred R., Tiedemann, Ralph (2010). "Human evolution in a variable environment: the amplifier lakes of Eastern Africa" Quaternary Science Reviews 29 p2981-2988
Olaka, Lydia A., Odada, Eric O., Trauth, Martin H., Olago, Daniel O. (2010). "The sensitivity of East African rift lakes to climate fluctuations" Journal of Paleolimnology 44 p629-644
Trauth, Martin H., Larrasoana, Juan C., Mudelsee, M. (2009). "Trends, rhythms and events in Plio-Pleistocene African climate" Quaternary Science Review 28 p399-411