NILAFAR proposes to study the impact of hydrological fluctuations on societies in NE Africa and in particular on the development of pastoralism. NILAFAR also aims to better understand the climatic mechanisms at the origin of the fluctuation intensity of the African monsoon, and at the origin of short hyperarid episodes. NILAFAR proposes to explore the correlation between paleo-hydrological regimes and the evolution of these anthroposystems in the Afar valley in Ethiopia and Djibouti. The AHP will be revisited using innovative inorganic and organic tools that allow a quantification of hydrological variations of lakes and chemical alteration of Ethiopian soils at high temporal resolution (~100 years). In this context, we will study the Afambo, Gamari and Abhe Lakes and their watersheds as they have high-resolution records of major monsoon and environmental changes that occurred from the late Pleistocene (pre- 11.7 ka) to the Early Holocene (pre- Anthropocene).
