Ayomide Mosaku-Johnson 

Current research

Reconstructing the paleo-environmental conditions of western Sahara during the Holocene

This project aims to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental history of the Middle Niger Lakes Region (Mali) during the last 10,000 years using sediment cores from Lake Fati, one of the few water bodies in the western Sahel that preserves a continuous Holocene record. Previous work has shown that Lake Fati sediments provide valuable insights into past hydrological variability linked to Niger River flooding and regional climate shifts. Building on this foundation, the proposed research will employ a multi-proxy approach combining Total Organic Carbon (TOC) measurements, elemental geochemistry, and grain-size analyses to track changes in organic productivity, detrital input, and depositional energy through time. Where possible, ostracod taxa will be identified to refine ecological interpretations and provide independent evidence for hydrological fluctuations. The study is expected to generate a high-resolution reconstruction of Holocene environmental variability in the western Sahel, offering critical insights into regional climate dynamics, the timing of arid and humid phases, and their potential influence on human settlement history.