Recent hydrological variability of the Moroccan Middle Atlas Mountains inferred from microscale sedimentological and geochemical analyses of lake sediments Jouve G. auteur aut IRD Vidal L. auteur aut IRD Adallal R. auteur aut IRD Rhoujjati A. auteur aut IRD Benkaddour A. auteur aut IRD Chapron E. auteur aut IRD Tachikawa K. auteur aut IRD Bard E. auteur aut IRD Courp T. auteur aut IRD Dezileau L. auteur aut IRD Hebert B. auteur aut IRD Rapuc W. auteur aut IRD Simonneau A. auteur aut IRD Sonzogni C. auteur aut IRD Sylvestre Florence auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf born digital access Study of the hydro-sedimentary dynamics of lakes provides key information on hydrological changes. In this work, we investigate Lake Azigza in the Moroccan Middle Atlas, a region that suffers from a scarcity of observational hydrological data necessary for a coherent management of water resources. Sedimentary deposits of Lake Azigza (32 degrees 58 ' N, 5 degrees 26 ' W, 1,550 m above sea level) were dated and analyzed by combining geochemical and mineralogical measurements coupled with microfacies characterization for the last 134 yr. The detrital component derived from X-ray fluorescence elemental composition and microstructures analysis of the lake sediments provided proxies of runoff activity and lake-level changes, respectively. These proxies were calibrated with regional hydro-climatic and instrumental measurements available over the last 50 yr and used to reconstruct past hydrological changes on inter-annual to decadal time scales between 1879 and 2013. Since 1879, lake level and runoff proxies responded in phase to regional inter-annual precipitation variations. We also show that after the major lake-level drop observed in 2008, the response of the runoff proxy to variable precipitation regime is enhanced. Such an approach emphasizes the potential of these hydro-climate-sensitive sedimentary archives to assess the impact of climate change in the Mediterranean region. specialized North Africa hydrology Moroccan Middle Atlas Lake sediments Microfacies XRF Runoff Lake level MAROC 062 032 Quaternary Research 91 1 414-430 2019 0033-5894 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010077083 10.1017/qua.2018.94 0033-5894 [F B010077083] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010077083 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/intranet/publi/2019/10/010077083.pdf Accès réservé (Intranet de l'IRD) IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2019-11-05 2025-02-24 fdi:010077083 fre