WHEN ice ages held Europe in their grip, Africa also felt the pinch – though in a different way.
It has long been suspected that there is a connection between the west African monsoon and climate at higher latitudes – especially over geological timescales, says David Lea at the University of California, Santa Barbara. “But until now, there hasn’t been enough supporting evidence.” Now Lea, with team leader Syee Weldeab and colleagues, has reconstructed the most detailed history of the monsoon yet, spanning 155,000 years and two ice ages.
The team analysed the amount of barium in plankton shells found in…
