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Evaporite Minerals and Organic Horizons in Sedimentary Sequences in the Libyan Fezzan: Implications for Palaeoenvironmental Reconstruction

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Linking Climate Change to Land Surface Change

Part of the book series: Advances in Global Change Research ((AGLO,volume 6))

Abstract

Compared to other parts of the Sahara, there is a paucity of reliable palaeoenvironmental information for the Libyan Fezzan. Ongoing archaeological work in the area provides an opportunity to link palaeoenvironmental and archaeological data to improve our understanding of human adaptations to dryland environmental change. A combination of stable isotope analysis, mineral magnetic analysis, an investigation of the particle size distributions and uranium-thorium dating, together with supporting image processing of remotely sensed data, indicates a trend of falling groundwater level since the late Pleistocene, manifested by former lakes, swamps and springlines. Archaeological evidence shows how human activity has adapted to these environmental changes.

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© 2000 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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White, K., McLaren, S., Black, S., Parker, A. (2000). Evaporite Minerals and Organic Horizons in Sedimentary Sequences in the Libyan Fezzan: Implications for Palaeoenvironmental Reconstruction. In: McLaren, S.J., Kniveton, D.R. (eds) Linking Climate Change to Land Surface Change. Advances in Global Change Research, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-48086-7_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-48086-7_10

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-5589-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-306-48086-7

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