Late Quaternary Palaeoenvironmental Reconstruction of Wadi Trubah in Western Saudi Arabia

While research into Quaternary environmental changes has taken place in the Central, Eastern, and southern regions of the Arabian Peninsula (AP) within Saudi Arabia, little paleoenvironment research has yet to be carried out in the western part of the AP, this is, even though the western part of Arabia is uniquely different from the eastern and central areas regarding climate and geology. Western Arabia is also critical in understanding past human migrations from Africa and the archaeological record of Arabia. To address the project's aims in reconstructing Late Quaternary environmental changes in wadi activity in the western region of Saudi Arabia and their relationship to regional environmental changes on the AP, a multiple methods approach using luminescence dating of the Wadi sedimentary archive, particle size analysis, and remote sensing was applied to map, understand, and model the fluvial drainage network. This research revealed the occurrence of major wet phases in the western part of the AP, which are MIS 9, 7, 3, and 1, which align with wet periods in other areas of the AP. Interestingly, no wet phase during MIS 5 has been found in the selected study area, indicating a need for further research.
Remote sensing has assisted in delineating the extensive stream network, which used to be active during intense precipitation during pluvial periods due to the combined climate wind systems of the Indian Ocean Monsoon and the North African Summer Monsoon. Regarding palaeolakes, the research mapped 231 ancient lakes in the Harrat region, 93 interdune palaeolakes, and 4806 archaeological sites, which themselves suggest that Wadi Trubah had a favourable climate condition for human settlements.