Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Measuring and Modeling Contractile Drying in Human Stratum Corneum
Published on: March 1, 2017
Late Cenozoic moisture history of East Africa
Martin H Trauth1, Mark A Maslin, Alan Deino
1Institut für Geowissenschaften, Universität Potsdam, Post Office Box 601553, D-14415 Potsdam, Germany.
Abstract:
Lake sediments in 10 Ethiopian, Kenyan, and Tanzanian rift basins suggest that there were three humid periods at 2.7 to 2.5 million years ago (Ma), 1.9 to 1.7 Ma, and 1.1 to 0.9 Ma, superimposed on the longer-term aridification of East Africa. These humid periods correlate with increased aridity in northwest and northeast Africa and with substantial global climate transitions. These episodes could have had important impacts on the speciation and dispersal of mammals and hominins, because a number of key events, such as the origin of the genus Homo and the evolution of the species Homo erectus, took place in this region during that time.
Related Concept Videos
The Water Cycle
Global Climate Change
Responses to Drought and Flooding
Precipitation Processes
Moisture Content and Bulking of Aggregate
When aggregates are exposed to rain or sit in stockpiles, they absorb moisture, which must be...
Drying Shrinkage
A portion of this drying shrinkage can be reversed; if the concrete is...

