Paleoenvironmental change in the southern Kenya Rift System: A case study based on the Pleistocene Olorgesailie and Oltulelei Formations
Abstract
The Pleistocene paleoenvironmental history of the East African Rift in southern Kenya is recorded by the Olorgesailie Fm. (1.2 - 0.5 ma) and the overlying Oltulelei Fm. ( 320 ka - 50 ka), which occur in a depositional basin north of Mt. Olorgesailie that extends into the northern end of the Koora Graben west of the mountain. The two formations preserve abundant archeological sites and fossil remains that document hominin behavior and paleoecology during the time in Africa when Homo erectus evolved into Homo sapiens. Geochronological calibration, based primarily on Ar-Ar dates of interbedded tephras, shows shifts in the physical landscape on time scales of 104 - 105 yrs, with a prolonged period of primarily lacustrine deposition (Olorgesailie Fm.) followed by tectonically driven changes in base level leading to accelerating cycles of erosion and deposition (Oltulelei Fm.). Following major erosion of the Olorgesailie Fm. between 500 and 320 ka, the Oltulelei Fm. was deposited during three cycles of aggradation and erosion, with fluvial, lacustrine and wetlands deposits preserved in fault-controlled areas or temporarily blocked drainage valleys. Deposition occurred in three sub-basins with varying degrees of linkage, reflecting a changing balance of sediment input and accommodation space controlled by climate, volcanism, and periodic movement of faults in the volcanic basement. Large volumes of sediment were removed during erosive phases, requiring increased precipitation and through-flowing drainage into Koora Graben southwest and south of Mt. Olorgesailie. The southern Kenya rift provided a shifting array of habitats and environmental challenges for hominins, which were driven both by the dynamic tectonic setting and climate cycles. Portions of both the Olorgesailie and Oltulelei Fms. correlate geochronologically with a drill core record 20 km to the south (ODP-OLO12-1A), which will provide paleoclimate information for times when erosion and subaerial landscapes prevailed in the Olorgesailie Basin to the north. This sets the stage for paleoenvironmental reconstructions that relate closely in time and space to documented changes in the archeology and faunas, which record critical transitions in technology and mammalian communities over the past 1.2 ma.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2017
- Bibcode:
- 2017AGUFMPP11F..06B
- Keywords:
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- 0444 Evolutionary geobiology;
- BIOGEOSCIENCES;
- 1051 Sedimentary geochemistry;
- GEOCHEMISTRY;
- 1165 Sedimentary geochronology;
- GEOCHRONOLOGY;
- 9604 Cenozoic;
- INFORMATION RELATED TO GEOLOGIC TIME