The position is connected to the theme: The effects of shifting coastlines on early human cognition and behaviour in southern Africa of the Shaping European Research Leaders for Marine Sustainability (SEAS) project. The successful candidate will be employed at the Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion and included in the SapienCE Centre of Excellence on Early Sapiens Behaviour. The sensitivity of the climate of coastal southern Africa to changes 70 ka in glacial variations in sea level and associated land extent has been investigated with a high-resolution regional climate model, downscaling from global model simulations and incorporating concurrent external forcing factors. As the coastline moves away and a coastal plain is exposed, the climate at previously coastal localities show strong continental characteristics when sea level drops. Notably, diurnal and interseasonal temperature ranges change by up to +/- 6°C, with, for example, temperature extremes of the modelled marine climate much more probable at Blombos Cave as the coastline shifts. Additionally, the coastline shift likely caused local modifications in near-surface atmospheric circulation, reducing the modelled amount of precipitation within the region by 40%. That is, the coastline position has been shown to shape the local climate around near-coastal environs.

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