A 7300-yr-old environmental history of seabird, human, and volcano impacts on Carlisle Island (the Islands of Four Mountains, eastern Aleutians, Alaska)

2019 ◽  
Vol 91 (03) ◽  
pp. 934-952 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evgeniya A. Kuzmicheva ◽  
Olesya I. Smyshlyaeva ◽  
Dmitry D. Vasyukov ◽  
Bulat F. Khasanov ◽  
Olga A. Krylovich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental History ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Initial Stage ◽  
History Of ◽  
Tephra Layers ◽  
Strong Winds ◽  
Human Predation ◽  
The Fourier Transform ◽  
Fertilizing Effect

AbstractWe present the results of multiproxy study of a peat deposit from Carlisle Island (the Islands of Four Mountains, Aleutians). Vegetation on the initial stage of the peat is characterized by heath vegetation dominated by Ericales indicating cold conditions at 7300–6100 cal yr BP. The appearance of Betula and Alnus is the result of long-distance transportation attributable to strong winds at this time. Sedge-grass (Cyperaceae and Poaceae) communities began replacing heath vegetation at 6100 cal yr BP because of the climatic amelioration. C/N ratios and pollen spectra remain relatively stable at 6100–2450 cal yr BP. For the CR-03 peatland, volcanic tephra contributed significantly to the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectral data. Volcanic input created overlap of an aluminosilicate signal with carbohydrate vibrations. Significant changes occurred at approximately 2450 cal yr BP when there is the some evidence of cooler and wetter conditions of the Neoglacial. High values of δ15N observed at 7100–7000 cal yr BP reflect the fertilizing effect of seabird nesting colonies. A decrease in δ15N ca. 6900 cal yr BP may indicate initial settlement on Carlisle Island corresponding with harvesting seabirds. Human predation continued until a series of volcanic eruptions, which deposited Okmok II and CR-02 tephra layers at ca. 2000 and 1050 cal yr BP, respectively.

Late Quaternary vegetation of the Aleutian Islands, southwestern Alaska

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (6) ◽  
pp. 1320-1326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Calvin J. Heusser
Keyword(s):  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Thickness Distribution ◽  
Patch Dynamics ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Aleutian Islands ◽  
Fossil Pollen ◽  
History Of ◽  
Tephra Layers ◽  
Radiocarbon Chronology

Late Quaternary vegetational history of the Aleutian Islands is interpreted from fossil pollen and spore stratigraphy and radiocarbon chronology of sections of mires on the islands of Attu, Adak, Atka, and Umnak. Mires postdate the withdrawal of ice-age glaciers between approximately 12 000 and 10 000 years ago with the exception of the mire on Attu Island, where deglaciation apparently began as late as 7000 years ago. No uniform pattern of change in Pacific coastal tundra communities is evident in the fossil assemblages. Pollen assemblages, consisting variably of Gramineae, Cyperaceae, Empetrum, Umbelliferae, Salix, Ranunculaceae, Compositae, Polypodiaceae, and Lycopodium, reflect conditions in effect in different sectors of the Aleutian chain. Climate, soil, topography, volcanism, and seismic activity are noteworthy parameters influencing vegetation composition and distribution. Volcanism has been of major importance, as shown by thickness, distribution, and frequency of tephra layers that number 5 on Attu, 24 on Adak, 17 on Atka, and 5 on Umnak. A repeated condition of patch dynamics, created in the main by recurrent volcanic eruptions with widespread accompanying ashfalls, has apparently overprinted the effects of climatic change. Key words: Aleutian Islands, Quaternary, vegetation, fossil pollen, volcanism.

Geochemical and mineralogical characterization of sediments from Lake Futalaufquen (42.8°S, Andean Patagonia) to evaluate their potential as paleoclimatic proxies

2020 ◽  
Vol 98 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Romina Daga ◽  
Sergio Ribeiro Guevara ◽  
Andrea Rizzo ◽  
Polona Vreča ◽  
Sonja Lojen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Mineralogical Characterization ◽  
Depositional History ◽  
Medieval Climatic Anomaly ◽  
Northern Patagonia ◽  
The Andes ◽  
History Of ◽  
Tephra Layers

AbstractLake sediments are key archives for paleoenvironmental investigation as they provide continuous records of the depositional history of the lake and its watershed. Lake Futalaufquen (42.8°S) is an oligotrophic waterbody located in Los Alerces National Park in the Andes of northern Patagonia, South America. A sedimentary sequence covering 1600 years was recovered to analyze the potential for paleoenvironmental reconstructions of the last millennia. Integration of different geochemical and mineralogical parameters and comparison with climatic reconstructions from other Patagonian records give clues for the identification of a warm period around AD 800–1000, associated with the Medieval Climatic Anomaly. The high frequency of tephra layers beginning in the mid-sixteenth century precludes identification of the Little Ice Age, recorded in northern Patagonia as a cold period from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century. Furthermore, the parameters analysed do not provide evidence of late-twentieth-century global warming. However, Zn deposition, a long-distance atmospheric transport process of anthropogenic origin, was identified during the last century.

scholarly journals 500,000 Years of Environmental History in Eastern Anatolia: The PALEOVAN Drilling Project

2012 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 18-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Litt ◽  
F. S. Anselmetti ◽  
H. Baumgarten ◽  
J. Beer ◽  
N. Cagatay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental History ◽  
Earthquake Activity ◽  
Eastern Anatolia ◽  
Pore Waters ◽  
Scientific Drilling ◽  
Compositional Evolution ◽  
Site Survey ◽  
History Of ◽  
Tephra Layers ◽  
Semi Arid Region

International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) drilled a complete succession of the lacustrine sediment sequence deposited during the last ~500,000 years in Lake Van, Eastern Anatolia (Turkey). Based on a detailed seismic site survey, two sites at a water depth of up to 360 m were drilled in summer 2010, and cores were retrieved from sub-lake-floor depths of 140 m (Northern Basin) and 220 m (Ahlat Ridge). To obtain a complete sedimentary section, the two sites were multiple-cored in order to investigate the paleoclimate history of a sensitive semi-arid region between the Black, Caspian, and Mediterranean seas. Further scientific goals of the PALEOVAN project are the reconstruction of earthquake activity, as well as the temporal, spatial, and compositional evolution of volcanism as reflected in the deposition of tephra layers. The sediments host organic matter from different sources and hence composition, which will be unravelled using biomarkers. Pathways for migration of continental and mantle-derived noble gases will be analyzed in pore waters. Preliminary 40Ar/39Ar single crystal dating of tephra layers and pollen analyses suggest that the Ahlat Ridge record encompasses more than half a million years of paleoclimate and volcanic/geodynamic history, providing the longest continental record in the entire Near East to date. <br><br> doi:<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2204/iodp.sd.14.02.2012" target="_blank">10.2204/iodp.sd.14.02.2012</a>

Environmental history

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Richard T. Corlett
Keyword(s):  
Environmental History ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Homo Erectus ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Human Occupation ◽  
Natural Catastrophes ◽  
Urban Settlements ◽  
History Of ◽  
Spread Of Agriculture

This chapter covers the environmental history of Tropical East Asia, starting with its assembly from Gondwanan fragments during the Mesozoic. Changes in sea level, climate, and vegetation are covered in increasing detail from the Eocene to the present day, and the influence of volcanic eruptions and other natural catastrophes is discussed. The history of human occupation is outlined, from the appearance of Homo erectus more than a million years ago, through the arrival of modern humans in the region 80,000–50,000 years ago, to the spread of agriculture and the development of urban settlements. Human impacts on natural ecosystems are considered throughout the period of occupation, culminating in the concept of the human-dominated Anthropocene.

scholarly journals Radiocarbon Studies of Peat Bogs: an Investigation of South Kamchatka Volcanoes and Upper Volga Archeological Sites

Radiocarbon ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (2B) ◽  
pp. 571-580 ◽  
Author(s):  
N E Zaretskaia ◽  
V V Ponomareva ◽  
L D Sulerzhitsky ◽  
M G Zhilin
Keyword(s):  
Environmental History ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Peat Bogs ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Volga River ◽  
Volga River Basin ◽  
Upper Volga ◽  
Sample Composition ◽  
Different Types ◽  
History Of

We have undertaken extensive programs of natural radiocarbon measurement to date the evidence for various events buried in peat bogs. Two case studies are described here: 1) the chronological reconstruction of South Kamchatka volcanic eruptions and, 2) investigation of multi-layered archeological sites in the Upper Volga River Basin. Studies of sample composition and peat taphonomy allowed us to determine the source of 14C age deviations and to reconstruct the environmental history of organic matter accumulation. Data sets, obtained from different types of peat bog and containing traces of these Holocene events, are discussed.

scholarly journals The long and intertwined record of humans and the Campi Flegrei volcano (Italy)

2021 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Costa ◽  
M. A. Di Vito ◽  
G. P. Ricciardi ◽  
V. C. Smith ◽  
P. Talamo
Keyword(s):  
Ground Deformation ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Campi Flegrei ◽  
Volcanic System ◽  
Phlegraean Fields ◽  
Volcanic Lakes ◽  
History Of ◽  
Tephra Layers ◽  
Historic Record ◽  
Key Aspects

AbstractThe Campi Flegrei volcano (or Phlegraean Fields), Campania, Italy, generated the largest eruption in Europe in at least 200 ka. Here we summarise the volcanic and human history of Campi Flegrei and discuss the interactions between humans and the environment within the “burning fields” from around 10,000 years until the 1538 CE Monte Nuovo eruption and more recent times. The region’s incredibly rich written history documents how the landscape changed both naturally and anthropogenically, with the volcanic system fuelling these considerable natural changes. Humans have exploited the beautiful landscape, accessible resources (e.g. volcanic ash for pulvis puteolana mortar) and natural thermal springs associated with the volcano for millennia, but they have also endured the downsides of living in a volcanically active region—earthquakes, significant ground deformation and landscape altering eruptions. The pre-historic record is detailed, and various archaeological sites indicate that the region was certainly occupied in the last 10,000 years. This history has been reconstructed by identifying archaeological finds in sequences that often contain ash (tephra) layers from some of the numerous volcanic eruptions from Campi Flegrei and the other volcanoes in the region that were active at the time (Vesuvius and Ischia). These tephra layers provide both a relative and absolute chronology and allow the archaeology to be placed on a relatively precise timescale. The records testify that people have inhabited the area even when Campi Flegrei was particularly active. The archaeological sequences and outcrops of pyroclastic material preserve details about the eruption dynamics, buildings from Roman times, impressive craters that now host volcanic lakes and nature reserves, all of which make this region particularly mystic and fascinating, especially when we observe how society continues to live within the active caldera system. The volcanic activity and long record of occupation and use of volcanic resources in the region make it unique and here we outline key aspects of its geoheritage.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document