The African monsoon system controlled the mobilisation and delivery of clay-sized sediment particles to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea in the late Quaternary. During African Humid Periods of the last 200 kyr, smectite-rich suspension load was provided by the Nile river and by palaeo-rivers discharging into the Gulf of Sirte. After the termination of the African Humid Periods, kaolinite- and palygorskite-rich clay was mobilised from desiccated soils, lake and river beds, and delivered in form of dust pulses to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Magnitude and abruptness of the dust pulses depend on the distance of the accumulation sites from the dust sources. Proximal sites experienced large amounts of dust from local sources, while more distal sites received dust from the wider Saharan region, documenting the time-transgressive termination of the humid periods. The strengths of individual dust pulses reflect the intensity of the preceding humid periods. Distinct droughts during the last glacial period can be associated with Heinrich events and are best documented at a semi-distal site, illustrating links between the African monsoon and the climate of the high-latitudes.

非洲季风系统控制了第四纪晚期黏土大小的沉积物颗粒的动员和向地中海东部的输送。在最近200年的非洲湿润时期，尼罗河和排入苏尔特湾的古河带提供了富含绿土的悬浮物。非洲湿润时期结束后，从干燥的土壤，湖泊和河床中调集了富含高岭石和坡缕石的粘土，并以粉尘脉冲的形式输送到东地中海。尘埃脉冲的大小和陡度取决于尘埃累积点到尘埃源的距离。近端站点从本地获得大量粉尘，而更多远端站点则从更广泛的撒哈拉沙漠地区接收了灰尘，记录潮湿时段随时间推移的终止情况。各个粉尘脉冲的强度反映了先前潮湿时段的强度。上一个冰川期的明显干旱可能与海因里希事件有关，最好在半边远的地方进行记录，这说明了非洲季风与高纬度气候之间的联系。