EXPLORING HUMAN IMPACTS ON DUST EMISSION IN WEST AFRICA DURING THE LATE HOLOCENE
Seminars
Semester 2
In West and West Central Africa, dust emissions have intensified since the late Holocene, with the primary cause—natural or human-induced—remaining a subject of debate. Our research introduces a novel approach to assess the human impact on dust emissions over the past 4,000 years by reconstructing spatiotemporal patterns of aeolian erosion potential (AEP) based on land use types. We further validate our reconstruction model by correlating AEP values with recalibrated dust deposition records across the region. The results offer compelling evidence linking the increase in dust fluxes to human activity, underlining the significant human-induced changes in land cover and resulting dust emissions. These insights contribute to ongoing discussions on the Anthropocene epoch and have broader implications for environmental policy and sustainable land management practices in the region.
Additional information: Mr. Chengcheng GAO, chengao@connect.hku.hk