Seasonal variations in hydrology and Si cycling in the Nile Basin were investigated using stable-isotope (H, O, and Si) compositions and dissolved Si (DSi) concentrations of surface waters, as a basis for interpreting lacustrine diatom sequences. δ

We reconstructed aeolian dust accumulation during the Holocene from two radiocarbon-dated lake-sediment sequences from the Manga Grasslands in northeastern Nigeria in order to investigate long-term changes in the Harmattan dust system over West Africa and evaluate their possible causes. Flux values were low in the early Holocene, decreasing further to a minimum at around 6.2 kyr B.P. after which time they increased, steadily until around 2 kyr B.P. and then more sharply after this time. The long-term variations in dust flux agree broadly with changes in the exposed area of the Lake Chad Basin to the northeast of the study sites, which vary inversely with the volume of Paleolake Megachad. More proximal sources of dust, including the fine fraction of local dune sand and floodplains of nearby rivers, have also made a contribution to the total dust load during times of enhanced dune and fluvial activity. Sharp rises in dust flux over the past century may be related to human activity. Broad patterns of change in dust flux during the Holocene agree with other reconstructions over the same period. However, we see no evidence for a stepped rise during the middle Holocene, as seen at some sites from the northeastern tropical Atlantic, suggesting that controls on the Harmattan dust system have differed from those affecting dust deposition elsewhere across northern Africa.

a b s t r a c tOn Quaternary time scales, the global biogeochemical cycle of silicon is interlocked with the carbon cycle through biotic enhancement of silicate weathering and uptake of dissolved silica by vascular plants and aquatic microalgae (notably diatoms, for which Si is an essential nutrient). Large tropical river systems dominate the export of Si from the continents to the oceans. Here, we investigate variations in Si cycling in the upper White Nile basin over the last 15 ka, using sediment cores from Lakes Victoria and Edward. Coupled measurements of stable O and Si isotopes on diatom separates were used to reconstruct past changes in lake hydrology and Si cycling, while the abundances of lipid biomarkers characteristic of terrestrial/emergent higher plants, submerged/floating aquatic macrophytes and freshwater algae document past ecosystem changes. During the late-glacial to mid-Holocene, 15e5.5 ka BP, orbital forcing greatly enhanced monsoon rainfall, forest cover and chemical weathering. Riverine inputs of dissolved silica from the lake catchments exceeded aquatic demand and may also have had lower Si-isotope values. Since 5.5 ka BP, increasingly dry climates and more open vegetation, reinforced by the spread of agricultural cropland over the last 3e4 ka, have reduced dissolved silica inputs into the lakes. Centennial-to millennial-scale dry episodes are also evident in the isotopic records and merit further investigation.

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