Climate changes in the Eastern Mediterranean over the last 5000 years and their links to the high-latitude atmospheric patterns and Asian monsoons

Katrantsiotis, Christos; Norström, Elin; Smittenberg, Rienk H.; Finné, Martin; Weiberg, Erika; Hättestrand, Martina; Avramidis, Pavlos; Wastegård, Stefan

doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2019.02.001

Cited by 31 publications

(83 citation statements)

References 113 publications

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“…4000 cal BP can be linked to climatic rather than anthropogenic forcing, which was locally restricted. The possible impacts of climatic changes on sedentary communities are a key topic in palaeoclimatic research in the eastern Mediterranean; they may have been one factor contributing to the downturn of societies, as intensely discussed for the Late Helladic Mycenaean palatial period (Drake, 2012;Finné et al, 2017;Kaniewski et al, 2013;Knapp and Manning, 2016;Knitter et al, 2019; for cultural phases see Table S3).…”

Section: Palaeoenvironmental Reconstruction On the Temporal Scalementioning

confidence: 99%

Reconstruction of palaeoenvironmental variability based on an inter-comparison of four lacustrine archives on the Peloponnese (Greece) for the last 5000 years

Seguin

Avramidis

Haug

et al. 2020

E&G Quaternary Sci. J.

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Abstract. A high quantity of well-dated, high-resolution, continuous geoarchives is needed to connect palaeoenvironmental reconstructions with socio-environmental and cultural transformations in a geographically heterogeneous region such as southern Greece. However, detailed and continuous palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental archives from the NE Peloponnese are still sparse. Here, we present two new palaeolake archives of Pheneos and Kaisari covering the last 10 500 and 6500 years, respectively. For the last 5000 years, we compare them with sediment records from adjacent Lake Stymphalia and the Asea valley by applying the same set of sedimentological, geochemical, and statistical analyses to all four lacustrine archives. Continuous geochemical X-ray fluorescence (XRF) core scanning records provide evidence for hydrological variations and environmental changes since the Early Helladic period (5050 BP), the beginning of the Bronze Age in Greece. We hereby focus on different spatial scales to estimate the validity range of the proxy signals. Ten elements were selected (Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, Rb, Sr, Zr) for a principal component analysis. The clr(Ca∕Ti) was chosen as the most meaningful proxy, reflecting varying input of carbonaceous vs. clastic input, which may be linked to changes in the hydrological conditions. Our results show phases when permanent lake water bodies existed (ca. 5000–3600 cal BP) as well as phases with periodic desiccation of the lakes during younger times. While Pheneos and Kaisari show a drying trend during the transition phase from the Late Helladic period to the Proto-Geometric period (ca. 3200–2800 cal BP), Stymphalia and Asea show a rather short dry peak around 3200 cal BP followed by a wetter phase. Although all our geoarchives show evidence for drier phases, their timing and duration display considerable site-to-site differences which may be explained by site-specific responses in individual ecosystems. Age uncertainties, however, may likewise explain some deviations, as the dating is based on bulk sediment samples including potential unknown reservoir effects. The high regional geographical diversity within the Peloponnese combined with the dating challenges in the limestone-rich area and the variation in our data testify that any hypothetical mono-causal connection between palaeoenvironmental changes in a single geoarchive and contemporaneous societal transformations across the Peloponnese would be an oversimplification.

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Section: Palaeoenvironmental Reconstruction On the Temporal Scalementioning

confidence: 99%

Reconstruction of palaeoenvironmental variability based on an inter-comparison of four lacustrine archives on the Peloponnese (Greece) for the last 5000 years

Seguin

Avramidis

Haug

et al. 2020

E&G Quaternary Sci. J.

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“…1400-1600 BP; Büntgen et al, 2016;Helama et al, 2017), the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA, ca. 1000-700 BP; Christiansen and Ljungqvist, 2017;Keigwin, 1996;Mangini et al, 2005), and the Little Ice Age (LIA, ca. 700-100 BP; Christiansen and Ljungqvist, 2017;Keigwin, 1996;Kelly and Ó Grada, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1000-700 BP; Christiansen and Ljungqvist, 2017;Keigwin, 1996;Mangini et al, 2005), and the Little Ice Age (LIA, ca. 700-100 BP; Christiansen and Ljungqvist, 2017;Keigwin, 1996;Kelly and Ó Grada, 2014). It seems however that their manifestations were spatially and temporally very different (Neukom et al, 2019), and local studies are needed to investigate the partly diverging characteristics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A 2600-year high-resolution climate record from Lake Trichonida (SW Greece)

Seguin¹,

Avramidis²,

Dörfler³

et al. 2020

E&G Quaternary Sci. J.

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Abstract. This paper aims at reconstructing the palaeoclimatic changes during the last 2600 years in southern Greece based on a proxy record from Lake Trichonida. For the first time, we provide a reliable age-depth model and continuous geochemical data for the largest and deepest lake in Greece. We use X-ray fluorescence (XRF) geochemical data supported by discrete mineral analysis based on X-ray diffraction (XRD), grain size distribution, and organic matter content to investigate changes in the lake sedimentary system and identify the major forcing mechanisms. A principal component analysis based on the XRF geochemical composition identifies the variation between carbonate-rich material, precipitating predominantly under drier and/or warmer conditions, and terrigenous sediment input, with it being more prominent during wetter and/or colder conditions. The first principal component (PC1) shows a very strong correlation with the weathering proxy log (Rb∕Sr), and we interpret both proxies as depicting fluctuations in the hydrological conditions. A cluster analysis, conducted on the continuous geochemical and colour parameters, highlights the similarities in the sediment characteristics deposited during wetter phases, notably during 1850–1750, 1500–1400, ca. 1100, and ca. 100 cal BP. When comparing the PC1 Trichonida record to independent records from the Balkans, we find generally concurring patterns on a multi-decadal to centennial scale. We show that phases with wetter conditions at Lake Trichonida coincide with a more negative North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index, suggesting that the precipitation variability in southern Greece is linked to changes in the NAO atmospheric pattern, as one major driving force. The 2600-year-long sedimentary record of Lake Trichonida contributes to a better understanding of Late Holocene palaeohydrological changes in an important climatic transitional zone in the eastern Mediterranean.

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“…The river Erasinos, issuing from the spring at Kefalari, formed Lake Lerna at the coast south of Argos, which existed at least during a period from approx. 4800 BCE until 800 CE (Jahns 1993, Zangger 1993, Katrantsiotis et al 2019.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Land use patterns and climate change—a modeled scenario of the Late Bronze Age in Southern Greece

Knitter

Günther

Hamer

et al. 2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

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In this study, we present a modeling approach that investigates how much cultivable land was required to supply a society and whether societies were in need when environmental conditions deteriorated. The approach is implemented for the North-Eastern Peloponnese and is based upon the location of Late Helladic IIIB (1300-1200 BCE) archaeological sites, an assessment of their sizes, and a proposed diet of the people. Based on these information, the areal requirement of each site is calculated and mapped. The results show that large sites do not have sufficient space in their surroundings in order to supply themselves with the required food resources and thus they depended on supplies from the hinterland. Dry climatic conditions aggravate the situation. This indicates that potential societal crisis are less a factor of changing environmental conditions or a shortage of arable land but primarily caused by socio-economic factors.

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Climate changes in the Eastern Mediterranean over the last 5000 years and their links to the high-latitude atmospheric patterns and Asian monsoons

Cited by 31 publications

References 113 publications

Reconstruction of palaeoenvironmental variability based on an inter-comparison of four lacustrine archives on the Peloponnese (Greece) for the last 5000 years

Reconstruction of palaeoenvironmental variability based on an inter-comparison of four lacustrine archives on the Peloponnese (Greece) for the last 5000 years

A 2600-year high-resolution climate record from Lake Trichonida (SW Greece)

Land use patterns and climate change—a modeled scenario of the Late Bronze Age in Southern Greece

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Climate changes in the Eastern Mediterranean over the last 5000 years and their links to the high-latitude atmospheric patterns and Asian monsoons

Cited by 31 publications

References 113 publications

Reconstruction of palaeoenvironmental variability based on an inter-comparison of four lacustrine archives on the Peloponnese (Greece) for the last 5000 years

Reconstruction of palaeoenvironmental variability based on an inter-comparison of four lacustrine archives on the Peloponnese (Greece) for the last 5000 years

A 2600-year high-resolution climate record from Lake Trichonida (SW Greece)

Land use patterns and climate change—a modeled scenario of the Late Bronze Age in Southern Greece

Contact Info

Product

Resources

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Climate changes in the Eastern Mediterranean over the last 5000 years and their links to the high-latitude atmospheric patterns and Asian monsoons