The distribution of rainfall in tropical Africa is controlled by the African rainbelt1, which oscillates on a seasonal basis. The rainbelt has varied on centennial to millennial timescales along with changes in Northern Hemisphere high-latitude climate2, 3, 4, 5, the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation6 and low-latitude insolation7 over the past glacial-interglacial cycle. However, the overall dynamics of the African rainbelt remain poorly constrained and are not always consistent with a latitudinal migration2, 4, 5, 6, as has been proposed for other regions8, 9. Here we use terrestrially derived organic and sedimentary markers from marine sediment cores to reconstruct the distribution of vegetation, and hence rainfall, in tropical Africa during extreme climate states over the past 23,000 years. Our data indicate that rather than migrating latitudinally, the rainbelt contracted and expanded symmetrically in both hemispheres in response to changes in climate. During the Last Glacial Maximum and Heinrich Stadial 1, the rainbelt contracted relative to the late Holocene, which we attribute to a latitudinal compression of atmospheric circulation associated with lower global mean temperatures10. Conversely, during the mid-Holocene climatic optimum, the rainbelt expanded across tropical Africa. In light of our findings, it is not clear whether the tropical rainbelt has migrated latitudinally on a global scale, as has been suggested8,9.

Supplement to: Collins, James A; Schefuß, Enno; Heslop, David; Mulitza, Stefan; Prange, Matthias; Zabel, Matthias; Tjallingii, Rik; Dokken, Trond; Huang, Enqing; Mackensen, Andreas; Schulz, Michael; Tian, Jun; Zarriess, Michelle; Wefer, Gerold (2011): Interhemispheric symmetry of tropical African rainbelt over the past 23,000 years. Nature Geoscience, 4(1), 42-45