Reconstructing precipitation changes in northeastern Africa during the Quaternary by clay mineralogical and geochemical investigations of Nile deep-sea fan sediments

► Glacial-interglacial changes of rainfall in Sahara controlled by NAO-like shifts of climate conditions. ► Much drier Sahara during the MPT. ► Precipitation in the Nile sources is mainly monsoonal. ► The “Mediterranean-type” rainfall in northern Egypt also controlled by NAO-like shifts.