Dating Climatic Episodes of the Holocene

Wendland, Wayne M.; Bryson, Reid A.

doi:10.1016/0033-5894(74)90060-x

Cited by 143 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 8 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…In a preliminary report, Mighall et al (1990) suggested that climate change could also be a contributory factor in causing the decline in woodland at Bryn y Castell. Evidence from a frequency analysis of Holocene radiocarbon dates has indicated a major global climatic discontinuity around 2700 yr BP (Wendland & Bryson, 1974). Using peat stratigraphical studies.…”

Section: Mid Holocene (C 7000-3000 Bp)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Holocene vegetation history and human impact at Bryn y Castell, Snowdonia, north Wales

Mighall

Chambers²

1995

New Phytologist

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SUMMARYThree radiocarbon-dafed pollen diagrams are presenfed from Holocene peat and lake deposits in Snowdonia, elose to the Late Iron Age/Romano-Britisb ironworking hill-fort of Bryn y Casfell, Gwynedd, in upland north Wales. This paper discusses pollen, charcoal and peat-stratigrapbic evidence for major local vegetation changes and for tbe development of the surrounding cultural landscape during the last 10000 radioearbon yr. Pollen data from one of the sites (BYC 2) provided a vegetational record for most of the Holocene. The early part of the sequence suggests an oligotrophie lake in a landscape that is being colonized by birch-pine woodland; later, mixed deciduous woodland surrounds an infilling lake basin. Dating of peat deposits at two of tbe sites (BYC, BY'C H) indicated that their pollen records commenced between 5500 and 5000 yr BP. By this time, the lake basin was fringed by alder carr. There followed a gradual and then, c. 2700 yr BP, a more abrupt decline in woodland, such that, by tbe end of the Bronze Age and with the basin largely terrestrialized, the local landscape became dominated by mire vegetation communities, which have persisted to the present. Human activity seems to have been a major factor in the loss of woodland eover. Although there is some circumstantial evidence for earlier phases of human disturbance at BYC 2, human activity becomes increasingly apparent from c. 5000 yr BP. During the mid Holoeene, the impaet of Neolithic and early-to mid-Bronze Age cultures appears to be characterized by temporary woodland clearances, for arable and pastoral agriculture. By c. 2700 yr BP the majority of woodland cover seems to have been permanently removed from the landscape, but as there is scant archaeological evidence for late Bronze Age cultures in this part of Snowdonia, other factors, especially climate change, could be implicated. During the late Holocene, especially during part of the late Iron Age and Romano-British period, remaining local stands of woodland seem to have been exploited for iron smelting, although the overall impact of ironworking was limited.

show abstract

Section: Mid Holocene (C 7000-3000 Bp)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Holocene vegetation history and human impact at Bryn y Castell, Snowdonia, north Wales

Mighall

Chambers²

1995

New Phytologist

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Arguments that atmospheric temperature changes in uneven and irregular jumps have been offered. Bryson and colleagues (Wendland and Bryson, 1974;Bryson and Murray, 1977) have recognized for some time that, at the earth's surface, the effects of otherwise apparently smooth air streams, can change suddenly. This is due to both surface features and atmospheric processes.…”

Section: Theory Of Global Climate Statesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bryson (1974) analyzed influences individually using thermodynamic calculations of the effects of each. Schneider and Mass (1975) and Gilliland (1982;see Shine et al, 1990 for a review of other similar efforts) calculated the proportional contributions of several variables.…”

Section: Research Design Previous Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global temperature stability by rule induction: An interdisciplinary bridge

Gunn

Grzymała-Busse

1994

Hum Ecol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:Rules incorporating influences on global temperature, an estimate of radiation balance, were induced from astronomical, geophysical, and anthropogenic variables. During periods of intermediate global temperatures (generally like the present century), the influences assume canceling roles; influences cancel the effects of extreme states potentially imposed by other influences because they are, in aggregate, most likely to be assuming opposite values. This imparts an overall stability to the global temperature. To achieve cold or hot global temperature, influences assume reinforcing roles. CO 2 is an active influence on global temperature. By virtue of its constancy in the atmosphere, it can be expected to sponsor frequent hot years in combination with the other influences as they cycle through their periods. If measures were implemented to maintain warm or cool global temperatures, it could retain the status quo of present global agricultural regions. They are probably more productive than hot world regions would be because of narrow storm tracks. KEY WORDS: global climate; artificial intelligence; energy balance; rough sets. Article:INTRODUCTION The articles in this issue discuss variations in the sources of energy that modify the earth's radiation budget. They are features of the earth's orbit, atmosphere, oceans, and geosphere that modulate the amount of energy admitted to, and retained within, the oceans and atmosphere. In this article we will examine the interaction of these influences within the modern atmosphere through annual global average temperature, an estimate of radiation budget. Because of the concern generated during the 1980s by numerous record high global temperature years, and questions about future change (Houghton et al., 1990), we direct our attention to the mechanism of global temperature stability.The physical sciences have reasonably been concerned with the trendier aspects of global climate change. In the life sciences, occasional intimations of concern for interannual climate stability have begun to appear in the literature. Efforts to understand these life system effects can be expected to yield more easily to examination and explanation as year-by-year stability indices spanning thousands of years become more common. Thompson et al. (this issue) discuss the considerable range of information present in ice cores on global conditions. Through tree rings, Dean et al. (1985) provide a year-by-year index of regional climate stability in the southwestern United States spanning thousands of years. We make use of the worldwide and highly accurate measures of atmospheric temperature and related phenomena during the last decades to study temperature change processes. Close scrutiny of these data provides insights into the changes recorded in the long records. Results may apply across the sciences as historic and prehistoric climate records are drawn into the debate over anthropogenic contributions to global change. Rightly so, as the unforseen problems of global change, coupled with u...

show abstract

“…A study by Wendland and Bryson (1974) suggests that the dangers of climatic change are indeed formidable. All of the C-14 dates on past cultures were plotted on ~ time chart along with periods of known climatic change.…”

Section: In:tjtoduc;tlonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Papers in Applied Archaeology

Gunn¹

1978

ITA

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dating Climatic Episodes of the Holocene

Cited by 143 publications

References 8 publications

Holocene vegetation history and human impact at Bryn y Castell, Snowdonia, north Wales

Holocene vegetation history and human impact at Bryn y Castell, Snowdonia, north Wales

Global temperature stability by rule induction: An interdisciplinary bridge

Papers in Applied Archaeology

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About