Nile Delta vegetation response to Holocene climate variability

Bernhardt, Christopher E.; Horton, Benjamin P.; Stanley, Jean‐Daniel

doi:10.1130/g33012.1

Cited by 105 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Increased moisture at the beginning of the Holocene could have been supplied by insolation-forced northward migration of the intertropical convergence zone, or ITCZ (Bernhardt et al, 2012). This has been referred to as the African Humid Period (w15 kae5.5 ka) and is well established as a period of diminished dust accumulation in the early-to mid-Holocene, based on studies of marine cores off Africa in both the Atlantic (DeMenocal et al, 2000) and the Mediterranean (Hamann et al, 2008(Hamann et al, , 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Origin of the Sinai–Negev erg, Egypt and Israel: mineralogical and geochemical evidence for the importance of the Nile and sea level history

Muhs

Roskin

Tsoar

et al. 2013

Quaternary Science Reviews

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"Origin of the Sinai-Negev erg, Egypt and Israel: mineralogical and geochemical evidence for the importance of the Nile and sea level history" (2013 Overall, the mineralogical data suggest that the dunes are derived dominantly from the Nile Delta, with Sinai wadi sands being a minor contributor. Geochemical data that proxy for both the light mineral fraction (SiO 2 /10eAl 2 O 3 þ Na 2 O þ K 2 OeCaO) and heavy mineral fraction (Fe 2 O 3 eMgOeTiO 2 ) also indicate a dominant Nile Delta source for the dunes. Thus, we report here the first empirical evidence that the SinaieNegev dunes are derived dominantly from the Nile Delta. Linkage of the SinaieNegev erg to the Nile Delta as a source is consistent with the distribution of OSL ages of Negev dunes in recent studies. Stratigraphic studies show that during the Last Glacial period, when dune incursions in the SinaieNegev erg began, what is now the Nile Delta area was characterized by a broad, sandy, minimally vegetated plain, with seasonally dry anastomosing channels. Such conditions were ideal for providing a ready source of sand for aeolian transport under what were probably much stronger glacial-age winds.With the post-glacial rise in sea level, the Nile River began to aggrade. Post-glacial sedimentation has been dominated by fine-grained silts and clays. Thus, sea level, along with favorable climatic conditions, emerges as a major influence on the timing of dune activity in the SinaieNegev erg, through its control on the supply of sand from the Nile Delta. The mineralogy of the SinaieNegev dunes is also consistent with a proposed hypothesis that these sediments are an important source of loess in Israel.Published by Elsevier Ltd.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Origin of the Sinai–Negev erg, Egypt and Israel: mineralogical and geochemical evidence for the importance of the Nile and sea level history

Muhs

Roskin

Tsoar

et al. 2013

Quaternary Science Reviews

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“…The Egyptian landscape in the Late Pleistocene/early Holocene was very different; during the African Humid Period (AHP) (14,800-5,500 y B.P. ), the region had a cooler, wetter climate driven by heavy monsoonal rains (5). These factors contributed to a diverse assemblage of mammals that bears a strong resemblance to communities in East Africa today.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Examining the long-term effects of extinctions on communities can only be accomplished by studying past ecosystems (4). The paleontological record and the remarkable historical record of species occurrences in Egypt document a biological community changing in the face of increasing aridification and human population densities (5). The timing and pattern of animal extinctions in Egypt are thus well suited to illuminate our understanding of how the structure and functioning of biotic communities are altered by changing climatic and anthropogenic impacts.…”

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Collapse of an ecological network in Ancient Egypt

Yeakel

Pires

Rudolf³

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The dynamics of ecosystem collapse are fundamental to determining how and why biological communities change through time, as well as the potential effects of extinctions on ecosystems. Here, we integrate depictions of mammals from Egyptian antiquity with direct lines of paleontological and archeological evidence to infer local extinctions and community dynamics over a 6,000-y span. The unprecedented temporal resolution of this dataset enables examination of how the tandem effects of human population growth and climate change can disrupt mammalian communities. We show that the extinctions of mammals in Egypt were nonrandom and that destabilizing changes in community composition coincided with abrupt aridification events and the attendant collapses of some complex societies. We also show that the roles of species in a community can change over time and that persistence is predicted by measures of species sensitivity, a function of local dynamic stability. To our knowledge, our study is the first high-resolution analysis of the ecological impacts of environmental change on predator-prey networks over millennial timescales and sheds light on the historical events that have shaped modern animal communities.community stability | historical ecology | trophic interactions | dynamic sensitivity | redundancy M odern biological communities are vestiges, with rich ecological ancestries shaped by evolutionary, climatic, and more recently anthropogenic effects. Determining the consequences of past ecological disturbance will inform predictions of how modern communities may respond to ongoing anthropogenic or climatic pressures. Of particular importance are extinction cascades (1, 2), which can lead to trophic downgrading and community collapse by altering the structure (2) and relative strengths of interactions between species (3). Examining the long-term effects of extinctions on communities can only be accomplished by studying past ecosystems (4). The paleontological record and the remarkable historical record of species occurrences in Egypt document a biological community changing in the face of increasing aridification and human population densities (5). The timing and pattern of animal extinctions in Egypt are thus well suited to illuminate our understanding of how the structure and functioning of biotic communities are altered by changing climatic and anthropogenic impacts.The Nile Valley north of Aswan is known for its intense heat, low rainfall, and relatively sparse vegetation. In fact, the last 2,750 km of the Nile is devoid of water-bearing tributaries and surrounded by desert with an average rainfall of 3.4 cm/y. The Egyptian landscape in the Late Pleistocene/early Holocene was very different; during the African Humid Period (AHP) (14,800-5,500 y B.P.), the region had a cooler, wetter climate driven by heavy monsoonal rains (5). These factors contributed to a diverse assemblage of mammals that bears a strong resemblance to communities in East Africa today.Termination of the AHP was associated with increasingly wea...

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“…Note the cop per ba sin and ewer still in situ (bot tom right). (Arz et al, 2006;Bernhardt et al, 2012). How ever, the un settled weather caused by the sus tained rain storms would have cre ated havoc with lo cal eco nomic and ag ri cul tural ac tiv ity, usu ally de pend ent on sta ble cli ma tic and en vi ron men tal systems, thus add ing to an al ready un steady po lit i cal sit u a tion for the king and his ad min is tra tion in the late Sixth Dy nasty.…”

Section: Discussion and Con Clu Sionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence for Late Third Millennium Weather Events from a Sixth Dynasty Tomb at Saqqara

Sowada¹

2013

Studia Quaternaria

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Ab stractDur ing ex ca va tions in 1996 on a tomb in the Teti Cem e tery at Saqqara by the Aus tra lian Cen tre for Egyp to logy (Macquarie Uni ver sity, Syd ney, Aus tra lia), ev i dence of an cient weather events was re vealed. The tomb be longed to the high of fi cial Inumin, who late in his ca reer served as vi zier of King Pepy I of the Sixth Dy nasty. Over a metre of eolian sand sealed by ex ten sive lam i nated silt de pos its in the sub ter ra nean burial cham ber was the re sult of a sus tained dry windy pe riod, fol lowed by a short pe riod of in tense rain fall. These events are dated on strati graphic grounds to the Late Old King dom -early First In ter me di ate Pe riod. Ev i dence of the same weather event was re corded near the en closure of Netjerykhet Djoser at Saqqara, which was dated by the ex ca va tors to the 23rd cen tury BC. Key words:Teti Cem e tery, Saqqara, Sixth Dy nasty, 4200 cal BP event, rain fall IN TRO DUC TIONThe Teti Cem e tery at Saqqara is a multi-phase site featur ing built tombs, the re mains of other mon u ments and many mi nor buri als span ning over two mil len nia. From 1994 to 2010, the Aus tra lian Cen tre for Egyp to logy (Macquarie Uni ver sity, Syd ney, Aus tra lia) worked at the cem e tery, with a par tic u lar fo cus on Old King dom built mas ta bas, and fu nerary re mains from the New King dom and later. Over two seasons in 1995 and 1996, ex ca va tions un cov ered a Sixth Dynasty mas ta ba be long ing to Inumin, built of stone and mudbrick, with sub ter ra nean burial apart ments.Dur ing ex ca va tion of the burial apart ments, ev i dence for weather events was dis cov ered. This pa per ar gues that this ev i dence is as so ci ated with cli ma tic ac tiv ity that took place to ward the end of the third mil len nium BC. The re sults presented in this pa per are based on the stra tig ra phy, the study of the finds, and ob ser va tions of the au thor, who was re spon sible for ex ca vat ing the burial cham ber.

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Nile Delta vegetation response to Holocene climate variability

Cited by 105 publications

References 31 publications

Origin of the Sinai–Negev erg, Egypt and Israel: mineralogical and geochemical evidence for the importance of the Nile and sea level history

Origin of the Sinai–Negev erg, Egypt and Israel: mineralogical and geochemical evidence for the importance of the Nile and sea level history

Collapse of an ecological network in Ancient Egypt

Evidence for Late Third Millennium Weather Events from a Sixth Dynasty Tomb at Saqqara

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