In two field campaigns (2009 and 2010) we successfully cored and explored two lakes in southern Ethiopia: Chew Bahir and Lake Chamo.
Whereas in late 2009 we obtained a 19 m long core from the western periphery of the Chew Bahir basin, in 2010 we extracted a total of five (up to 11 m long) cores along a NW-SE transect across the dried-out former lake bed of this basin. Current activities include the description and sampling of these cores, analyses of the sediments for organic matter and microfossils, studies of the physical properties (e.g. magnetic susceptibility, µ-XRF-based geochemical composition) of the material, and the extraction of material suitable for 14C dating. Meanwhile the Chew Bahir basin is one location of the ICDP Hominid Sites and Paleolakes Drilling Project (HSPD) which has recently received a positive review by the ICDP Science Advisory Group (SAG).
From Lake Chamo we took seven cores (lengths between 1.6 m and 17 m). This lake is famous for its big crocodiles, hippos and pelicans. Fortunately, none of our team suffered harm, neither by an animal nor by the extreme heat during the operations at both lakes.
 Coring in the Chew Bahir basin – with human and mechanical power. Photo: Frank Schäbitz/Verena Förster |
 Coring in Lake Chamo – under special supervision. Photo: Frank Schäbitz |
