Holocene demographic fluctuations, climate and erosion in the Mediterranean: A meta data-analysis

Walsh, Kevin; Berger, Jean‐François; Roberts, C. Neil; Vannière, Boris; Ghilardi, Matthieu; Brown, Antony G.; Woodbridge, Jessie; Lespez, Laurent; Estrany, Joan; Glais, Arthur; Palmisano, Alessio; Finné, Martin; Verstraeten, Gert

doi:10.1177/0959683619826637

Cited by 57 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 136 publications

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“…Tephra layers supporting the chronology could not be found in the sediments and have so far not been reported in southern Greece for the Middle to Late Holocene in this area (Zanchetta et al, 2011). Poor preservation of organic matter and the high amount of reworked material and inorganic carbon content present a considerable challenge for precise 14 C dating in the semi-arid Mediterranean (Grootes et al, 2004;Vaezi et al, 2019;Walsh et al, 2019). As human decisions may have a strong influence on the age-depth modelling, we present our dating proceeding in detail in the following.…”

Section: Radiocarbon Dating and Bayesian Modellingmentioning

confidence: 83%

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: Radiocarbon Dating and Bayesian Modellingmentioning

confidence: 83%

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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“…1700-1500 cal BP (250-450 CE), can be interpreted as a phase of stable, drier conditions at Lake Trichonida. Kapsia Cave (Finné et al, 2014) and Closani Cave (Warken et al, 2018) also show relatively stable conditions, and the NAO index is solely positive although variable (Olsen et al, 2012, Fig. 8a).…”

Section: Palaeohydrological Changesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(a) NAO index reconstruction from a lake in SW Greenland (axis inverted) from Olsen et al (2012). (b) Autumn/winter precipitation reconstruction from a speleothem at Closani Cave (SW Romania; Warken et al, 2018). (c) Ti/Ca proxy from Lake Butrint (Albania; Morellón et al, 2016).…”

Section: Palaeohydrological Changesmentioning

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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“…Fuchs's (2007) discussion of the possible impacts of changing climate, however, was hampered by the use of non-local, Eastern Mediterranean proxy data, which obscure the effects in specific Greek or Peloponnesian contexts. Although it is unlikely that drier conditions directly triggered increasing erosion, climate variability in combination with changing land use could have increased the susceptibility to erosion (Walsh et al 2019). New palaeoclimatological data from the Peloponnese enable these questions to be further addressed (Finné et al 2014(Finné et al , 2017Boyd 2015;Weiberg et al 2016).…”

Section: Landscape Dynamics In Hellenistic and Roman Greecementioning

confidence: 99%

Climate variability and landscape dynamics in the Late Hellenistic and Roman north-eastern Peloponnese

Bonnier

Finné

2020

Antiquity

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Holocene demographic fluctuations, climate and erosion in the Mediterranean: A meta data-analysis

Abstract: As part of the Changing the Face of the Mediterranean Project, we consider how human pressure and concomitant erosion has affected a range of Mediterranean landscapes has between the Neolithic

Cited by 57 publications

References 136 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)

Climate variability and landscape dynamics in the Late Hellenistic and Roman north-eastern Peloponnese

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