Early urban impact on Mediterranean coastal environments

Kaniewski, David; Campo, Elise Van; Morhange, Christophe; Guiot, Joël; Zviely, Dov; Shaked, Idan; Otto, Thierry; Artzy, Michal

doi:10.1038/srep03540

Cited by 54 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Temperature development in the Eastern Mediterranean region during the past 1,500 years based on palaeoclimate proxies of selected study sites. Proxy series from left to right (with site numbers): 59: Kocain Cave (Göktürk, ), AA38: Jableh (Kaniewski et al, ), AA39: Wadi Jarrah (Kaniewski et al, ), AA37: Tel Akko (Kaniewski et al, ), AA36: Israel coastal reefs (Sisma‐Ventura et al, ), and AA35: Dead Sea (Litt et al, ). Illustrated site numbers are bold and underlined in location map in Figure .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Medieval Climate Anomaly in the Mediterranean Region

Lüning¹,

Schulte

Garcés‐Pastor

et al. 2019

Paleoceanog and Paleoclimatol

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The Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) is a preindustrial phase of pronounced natural climate variability with a core period from 1000 to 1200 CE. The paper presents a synthesis that integrates palaeotemperature records from the Greater Mediterranean Region encompassing the past 1,500 years based on multiproxy data from 79 published land and marine sites. MCA warming dominated the Western Mediterranean (Iberia, NW Africa) as well as the northern land areas of the Central and Eastern Mediterranean region. MCA cooling prevailed in the Canary Current Upwelling System, southern Levant, and some sea areas of the Central and Eastern Mediterranean. Previous palaeoreconstructions suggest persistent positive Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO+) and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO+) conditions during the MCA, while the Little Ice Age was dominated by an AMO− and NAO− regime. During the past 150 years, AMO+ conditions are typically associated with warming episodes in the Mediterranean area. A similar relationship appears to have also been established during the MCA as the majority of all Mediterranean land sites experienced warm climate conditions. In contrast, the NAO typically leads to a characteristic west‐east temperature dipole pattern in the basin, as documented for the last decades. During NAO+ conditions the Western Mediterranean is generally warm (and dry), while large parts of the Central and Eastern Mediterranean are cold. Similar trends seem to have been developed during the MCA when the NAO+ regime led to consistent warming in the Western Mediterranean, while a significant number of sites with MCA cooling existed in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Medieval Climate Anomaly in the Mediterranean Region

Lüning¹,

Schulte

Garcés‐Pastor

et al. 2019

Paleoceanog and Paleoclimatol

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“…Rosen, 1986;Lipschitz et al, 1989;Neumann et al, 2006Neumann et al, , 2007Neumann et al, , 2010Cabanes et al, 2012). For example, Kaniewski et al, (2013) examined biological indicators (pollen grains, fern spores, micro-charcoal fragments, and dinoflagellate cysts) extracted from a continuous core drilled on the southern flank of Tel Akko, located on the northern Mediterranean coast of Israel. Through their research, they were able to illustrate the ecological impact of urbanization in the Early Bronze Age (~2,000 BCE) on the environment surrounding the ancient site.…”

Section: Pollen Assemblage From Lake Sedimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Paleo-Anthropocene and the Genesis of the Current Landscape of Israel

Ackermann

Maeir

Frumin

et al. 2017

Journal of Landscape Ecology

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Worldwide, human impact on natural landscapes has intensified since prehistoric times, and this is well documented in the global archaeological record. The period between the earliest hominids and the Industrial Revolution of the late 18-19 th centuries is known as the Paleo-Anthropocene. The current study reviews key geoarchaeological, floral and faunal factors of the Paleo-Anthropocene in Israel, an area that has undergone human activities in various intensities since prehistoric times. It discusses significant human imprints on these three features in the Israeli landscape, demonstrating that its current form is almost entirely anthropogenic. Moreover, some of the past physical changes still dynamically shape Israel's zoological, archaeological and geomorphic landscape today. It is hoped that insights from this article might aid in guiding present-day management strategies of undeveloped areas through renewal of human activity guided by traditional knowledge.

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“…This phenomenon was probably linked to the rise of several settlements (Stock et al ., ). A fast delta progradation was described for the Küçük Menderes delta by Eisma (); Erinç (); Meriç (); Hess (); Brückner () and other Mediterranean rivers (Grove and Rackham, ; Vella et al ., ; Kaniewski et al ., ). All of them start their advance during the mid‐Holocene when sea level stabilized following its rapid rise after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) (Stanley and Warne, ; Kraft et al ., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The impact of humans was already proven during the Neolithic period when small farming communities started to practise agriculture (Ruddiman and Thomson, 2001;Ruddiman et al, 2008;Ruddiman and Ellis, 2009;Derin, 2012;Lichter and Meriç, 2012;Foley et al, 2013;Anthony et al, 2014;Stock et al, 2015). However, by then, only some examples are known where extensive deforestation took place (Marriner et al, 2012;Kaniewski et al, 2013). Enhanced soil erosion has been observed since the Bronze age with a larger population and agricultural activities (Zolitschka et al, 2003;Zalasiewicz et al, 2010;Dusar et al, 2011;Broothaerts et al, 2014;Lewin and Macklin, 2014;Wilkinson et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human impact on Holocene sediment dynamics in the Eastern Mediterranean – the example of the Roman harbour of Ephesus

Stock

Knipping

Pint

et al. 2016

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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During the past millennia, many erosion and accumulation processes have been modified by anthropogenic impact. This holds especially true for the environs of ancient settlements and their harbours along the Mediterranean coasts. Our multi-proxy investigations in the Roman harbour and the harbour canal of Ephesus (western Turkey) reveals that humans have significantly triggered soil erosion during the last three millennia. Since the eighth century BC, and especially since the Hellenistic period, a high sedimentation rate indicates fast alluviation and delta progradation of the Küçük Menderes. Deforestation, agriculture (especially ploughing) and grazing (especially goats) were the main reasons for erosion of the river catchment area. One consequence was significant siltation of the Hellenistic/Roman harbour basin. This sediment trap archives the human impact, which was strongly enhanced from Hellenistic/Roman to Byzantine times (second/first centuries BC to the sixth/seventh centuries AD), evidenced by high sedimentation rates, raised values of heavy metal contaminations [lead (Pb), copper (Cu)], the occurrence of fruit tree pollen and of intestinal parasites. From the middle to the end of the first millennium AD, the influence of Ephesus declined, which resulted in a decrease of human impact. Studies of several ancient settlements around the Mediterranean Sea tell a comparable story. They also confirm that during their most flourishing periods the human impact totally overprinted the climatic one. To detect the latter, geo-bioarchives of relatively pristine areas have to be investigated in detail.

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Early urban impact on Mediterranean coastal environments

Cited by 54 publications

References 49 publications

The Medieval Climate Anomaly in the Mediterranean Region

The Medieval Climate Anomaly in the Mediterranean Region

The Paleo-Anthropocene and the Genesis of the Current Landscape of Israel

Human impact on Holocene sediment dynamics in the Eastern Mediterranean – the example of the Roman harbour of Ephesus

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