Paléoclimat des Petites Antilles depuis 4000 ans BP : l'enregistrement de la lagune de Grand-Case à Saint-Martin

Bertrán, Pascal; Bonnissent, Dominique; Imbert, Daniel; Livet, Pierre; Serrand, Nathalie; Stouvenot, Christian

doi:10.1016/j.crte.2004.09.009

Cited by 30 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Previous comparison between the radiocarbon ages given by wood fragments and Ruppia fruits in the GC4 core did not reveal any significant reservoir effect (Bertran et al, 2004). Control of the reservoir effect was only possible in the middle part of the core thanks to the preservation of wood fragments resulting from sedimentation in anoxic bottom waters.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Hurricanes and climate in the Caribbean during the past 3700 years BP

et al. 2011

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International audienceA multiproxy analysis of lacustrine sediments cored in Grand-Case Pond at Saint-Martin, north of the Lesser Antilles archipelago, reveals three distinct climatic periods for the last 3700 years. From 3700 to ~2500 yr cal. BP and from 1150 yr cal. BP to the present, carbonate mud deposition occurred in connection with pond lowstands. These periods were also punctuated by severe drought events, marked by gypsum laminae, and hurricane landfalls, leading to marine sand inputs into the pond. The intermediate time interval, from 2500 to 1150 yr cal. BP, is typified by black organic mud deposition, suggesting that hypoxic to anoxic conditions prevailed at the pond bottom. These were probably linked with a perennial pond highstand and reflect more uniform and wetter climatic conditions than today. The carbon isotopic composition of the ostracod Perissocytheridea bisulcata shows that the lowest δ13C values are recorded during the hypoxic periods, as a consequence of bacterial recycling of isotopically depleted organic matter. Such a climatic history agrees closely with that documented from other records in the Caribbean area, such as the Cariaco Basin, central coast of Belize or Barbados. By constrast, discrepancies seem to emerge from the comparison between hurricane activity recorded at Saint-Martin on the one hand and Vieques (Puerto Rico) on the other hand. We explain this apparent contradiction by a balance between two distinct storm paths in response to latitudinal shifts of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Stronger storm activity over the Gulf coast and the inner Caribbean Sea is favoured by a southern position of the ITCZ in connection with dry climatic conditions. Plausible links with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) are also suggested

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Preliminary sedimentological study on a first core (GC4) allowed the recognition of three main phases in the hydrological budget of the pond (Bertran et al, 2004): (1) a dry period from 4500 to 2350 yr cal. BP, characterised by the deposition of carbonate mud and gypsum layers, (2) a wet phase (2350-1100 yr cal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hurricanes and climate in the Caribbean during the past 3700 years BP

et al. 2011

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“…The northern sections of South America and the Greater Antilles therefore saw wetter wet seasons and drier dry seasons (Burney et al, 1994;Curtis et al, 1999;Greer and Swart, 2006;Higuera-Gundy et al, 1999;Hodell et al, 1991;Kennedy et al, 2006;Milne et al, 2005;Nyberg et al, 2001;Peros et al, 2007). These changes also led to the intensification of the African summer monsoon and a weakening of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability (Clement et al, 2000;Moy et al, 2002), which in turn influenced the regular path and intensity of Atlantic tropical storms (Bertran et al, 2004;Donnelly and Woodruff, 2007;Haug et al, 2001;Malaizé et al, 2011;Woodruff et al, 2008aWoodruff et al, , 2008b.…”

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confidence: 99%

Human adaptation strategies to abrupt climate change in Puerto Rico ca. 3.5 ka

et al. 2015

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The connection between climatic change and social response is complex because change articulates a number of inter-related factors. Human decisions are filtered by social buffers – including social memory, risk perception, and cultural priorities – and the rate and scale of climate change is usually much larger than the scale of human decision-making. In this article, we provide information on climate change based on precisely dated speleothems with the response evident in archaeological sites that have radiocarbon date ranges within the same time frame. A stalagmite recovered from within the catchment area for aquifer recharge of the Pre-Arawak site of Angostura in Barceloneta, Puerto Rico, shows that a significant wet period occurred between 3.9 and 3.1 ka (primarily centered at 3.5 ka). We investigate the effect that this increase in precipitation had on the earliest occupations on the island in the context of palaeoenvironmental, geoarchaeological, and archaeological records from Angostura, Maruca, and Paso del Indio. Our analysis suggests the presence of two different adaptation strategies: settlement relocation and microlandscape modification. Our study concludes that the social response to change cannot be seen as monolithic given that human behavior, even within the same period, addresses the needs of individual groups with different priorities. This multiplicity of responses can indeed enhance resilience as social support can continue through alliances and exchanges, strengthening social bonds that can help buffer catastrophes. The results can help shed light on the range of adaptation strategies to change encompassed within the manifestations of social resilience or vulnerability.

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“…Even though long-term fluctuations in temperature and precipitation were considered to be very important in other palaeoenvironmental investigations along Caribbean shorelines (e.g. Bertran et al, 2004), they appear rather negligible in this study, at least concerning the prehistoric core sections. Evaporation rates throughout the time of deposition seem to have been cosistently high, often resulting in stressful ecological conditions, reflected by the low diversity of the in-situ ostracofauna (cf.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Shoreline changes and high-energy wave impacts at the leeward coast of Bonaire (Netherlands Antilles)

et al. 2012

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Supralittoral coarse-clast deposits along the shores of Bonaire (Netherlands Antilles) as well as increased hurricane frequency during the past decade testify to the major hazard of high-energy wave impacts in the southern Caribbean. Since deducing certain events from the subaerial coarse-clast record involves major uncertainties and historical reports are restricted to the past 500 years, we use a new set of vibracore and push core data (i) to contribute to a more reliable Holocene history of regional extreme-wave events and (ii) to evaluate their impact on shoreline evolution. Multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental analyses (XRF, XRD, grain size distribution, carbonate, LOI, microfossils) were carried out using nearshore sedimentary archives from the sheltered western (leeward) side of Bonaire and its small neighbour Klein Bonaire. In combination with 14 C-AMS age estimates the stratigraphy reflects a long-term coastal evolution controlled by relative sea level rise, longshore sediment transport, and short-term morphodynamic impulses by extreme wave action, all three of which may have significantly influenced the development of polyhaline lagoons and the demise of mangrove populations. Extreme wave events may be categorized into major episodic incidents (c. 3.6 ka [?] BP; 3.2-3.0 ka BP; 2.0-1.8 ka BP; post-1.3 ka [?] BP), which may correspond to tsunamis and periodic events recurring on the order of decades to centuries, which we interpret as severe tropical cyclones. Extreme wave events seem to control to a certain extent the formation of coastal ridges on Bonaire and, thus, to cause abrupt shifts in the long-term morphodynamic and ecological boundary conditions of the circumlittoral inland bays.

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Paléoclimat des Petites Antilles depuis 4000 ans BP : l'enregistrement de la lagune de Grand-Case à Saint-Martin

Cited by 30 publications

References 17 publications

Hurricanes and climate in the Caribbean during the past 3700 years BP

Hurricanes and climate in the Caribbean during the past 3700 years BP

Human adaptation strategies to abrupt climate change in Puerto Rico ca. 3.5 ka

Shoreline changes and high-energy wave impacts at the leeward coast of Bonaire (Netherlands Antilles)

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