Depositional environments during the Late Palaeozoic ice age (LPIA) in northern Ethiopia, NE Africa

Whether most of the LPIA sediments in northern Ethiopia were deposited in lakes or in fjords is not yet clear. Although univocal evidence of marine conditions is missing, the presence of carbonate-rich beds and the trace fossil assemblage are compatible with a restricted marine environment such as broad palaeofjords affected by strong freshwater discharge during deglaciation. A restricted marine environment for most of the sediments in northern Ethiopia could challenge models of the LPIA sediments in Arabia as primarily glaciolacustrine and glaciofluviatile deposits.