Hydroclimatic variability in the West Sahara and West Mediterranean during the last 150,000 years

 The continental and marine pollen-based quantitative reconstructions and the West Saharan dust records of the last 150,000 years are excellent paleoclimate proxies to observe variations in humidity and aridity as well as to evaluate similarities and differences in the climate history of the West Mediterranean and West African regions. The quantitative mean annual precipitation reconstruction from the western Mediterranean (southern Iberia and Alboran Sea) shows that during the Last Interglacial and the Early Holocene, the mean annual precipitation in this region was around 600-650 mm/yr, 200 mm/yr higher than the recent values (ca. 450 mm/yr). With respect to the cold Heinrich Stadials (from HS1 to HS6), the West Mediterranean and West Sahara show similar climatic trends and are characterized by strong and synchronous droughts. In particular, during these periods the West Mediterranean stack suggests mean annual precipitation values of 200-350 mm/yr. Here, we aim to elucidate the climate mechanisms affecting both regions during the most arid events of the last glacial period (i.e., Heinrich Stadials) as well as the similarities/differences between the African Humid Periods and the West Mediterranean Humid Periods for the last interglacial-glacial cycle.