A 20 ka sediment record from the Hajar Mountain range in N-Oman, and its implication for detecting arid–humid periods on the southeastern Arabian Peninsula

Playa-like sediments from the Hajar Mountain range in northern Oman (22.83°N, 59.00°E; 1050 m asl) document variations of the paleoenvironmental and paleoclimate conditions over the last 20 ka. Based on high-resolution sediment sampling and their OSL dating, sedimentation rates were calculated and used as a proxy for paleorainfall. The results show that the Glacial to Lateglacial was characterized by arid conditions with a following transitional period of even less rainfall. At 10.5 ka, sedimentation rates increases abruptly, indicating the onset of the early Holocene humid period (EHHP). Rainfall reaches its maximum at 9–8 ka (EHHP-2) and a decreasing sedimentation rate after 8 ka characterizes the arid period of the middle to late Holocene. Variations of the hydrological regime are associated with the intensity of the boreal summer Indian monsoon and its related position of the ITCZ. For the onset of the EHHP, a northerly shift of the ITCZ is postulated, thus confirming earlier results from the southern Arabian Peninsula.