scholarly journals Conflicts and the spread of plagues in pre-industrial Europe

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Kaniewski ◽  
Nick Marriner
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Human Behavior ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Environmental Consequences ◽  
Risk Of Disease ◽  
Sanitary Conditions ◽  
European Populations

AbstractOne of the most devastating environmental consequences of war is the disruption of peacetime human–microbe relationships, leading to outbreaks of infectious diseases. Indirectly, conflicts also have severe health consequences due to population displacements, with a heightened risk of disease transmission. While previous research suggests that conflicts may have accentuated historical epidemics, this relationship has never been quantified. Here, we use annually resolved data to probe the link between climate, human behavior (i.e. conflicts), and the spread of plague epidemics in pre-industrial Europe (AD 1347–1840). We find that AD 1450–1670 was a particularly violent period of Europe’s history, characterized by a mean twofold increase in conflicts. This period was concurrent with steep upsurges in plague outbreaks. Cooler climate conditions during the Little Ice Age further weakened afflicted groups, making European populations less resistant to pathogens, through malnutrition and deteriorating living/sanitary conditions. Our analysis demonstrates that warfare provided a backdrop for significant microbial opportunity in pre-industrial Europe.

scholarly journals Late Holocene environmental reconstructions and their implications on flood events, typhoon, and agricultural activities in NE Taiwan

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 1857-1869 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.-C. Wang ◽  
H. Behling ◽  
T.-Q. Lee ◽  
H.-C. Li ◽  
C.-A. Huh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Phase 1 ◽  
Warm Pool ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Agricultural Activities ◽  
Flood Events ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Hydrological Conditions ◽  
Enso Events

Abstract. We reconstructed paleoenvironmental changes from a sediment archive of a lake in the floodplain of the Ilan Plain of NE Taiwan on multi-decadal resolution for the last ca. 1900 years. On the basis of pollen and diatom records, we evaluated past floods, typhoons, and agricultural activities in this area which are sensitive to the hydrological conditions in the western Pacific. Considering the high sedimentation rates with low microfossil preservations in our sedimentary record, multiple flood events were. identified during the period AD 100–1400. During the Little Ice Age phase 1 (LIA 1 – AD 1400–1620), the abundant occurrences of wetland plant (Cyperaceae) and diatom frustules imply less flood events under stable climate conditions in this period. Between AD 500 and 700 and the Little Ice Age phase 2 (LIA 2 – AD 1630–1850), the frequent typhoons were inferred by coarse sediments and planktonic diatoms, which represented more dynamical climate conditions than in the LIA 1. By comparing our results with the reconstructed changes in tropical hydrological conditions, we suggested that the local hydrology in NE Taiwan is strongly influenced by typhoon-triggered heavy rainfalls, which could be influenced by the variation of global temperature, the expansion of the Pacific warm pool, and the intensification of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events.

scholarly journals The Little Ice Age, the climatic background of present-day warming in Europe

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Oliva
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Climate Regime ◽  
European Continent ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Spatio Temporal

The Little Ice Age (LIA) constitutes the coldest period of the last millennia in Europe. A wide range of natural and historical records show evidence of colder climate conditions between the 14th and 19th centuries, together with a higher frequency of extreme hydroclimatic events. During these centuries, temperatures and precipitations showed different spatio-temporal patterns across Europe. This Special Issue includes eleven scientific works focusing on the climate regime, environmental dynamics as well as socio-economic implications of the LIA in Europe. Besides, this paper also identifies key guidelines for future research on the LIA causes and its consequences on environmental systems in the European continent.

Oxygen isotope evidence of Little Ice Age aridity on the Caribbean slope of the Cordillera Central, Dominican Republic

2011 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 461-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chad S. Lane ◽  
Sally P. Horn ◽  
Kenneth H. Orvis ◽  
John M. Thomason
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Dominican Republic ◽  
Oxygen Isotope ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Energy Budgets ◽  
Cordillera Central ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
The Caribbean

AbstractClimate change during the so-called Little Ice Age (LIA) of the 15th to 19th centuries was once thought to be limited to the high northern latitudes, but increasing evidence reflects significant climate change in the tropics. One of the hypothesized features of LIA climate in the low latitudes is a more southerly mean annual position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), which produced more arid conditions through much of the northern tropics. High-resolution stable oxygen isotope data and other sedimentary evidence from Laguna de Felipe, located on the Caribbean slope of the Cordillera Central of the Dominican Republic, support the hypothesis that the mean annual position of the ITCZ was displaced significantly southward during much of the LIA. Placed within the context of regional paleoclimate and paleoceanographic records, and reconstructions of global LIA climate, this shift in mean annual ITCZ position appears to have been induced by lower solar insolation and internal dynamical responses of the global climate system. Our results from Hispaniola further emphasize the global nature of LIA climate change and the sensitivity of circum-Caribbean climate conditions to what are hypothesized to be relatively small variations in global energy budgets.

scholarly journals Morphogenesis of New Straits and Islands Originated in the European Arctic Since the 1980s

Geosciences ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 476
Author(s):  
Wieslaw Ziaja ◽  
Krzysztof Ostafin
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Satellite Images ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Franz Josef Land ◽  
European Arctic ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
Origin Analysis

Several new islands and many islets have appeared in the European Arctic since the end of the 20th century due to glacial recession under climate warming. The specificity of the formation of each individual strait and island is shown in the paper (apart from its location and timing of its origin). Analysis of available maps and satellite images of all three European Arctic archipelagos, from different times since 1909–1910, was the main research method. There are three pathways of the morphogenesis of the new islands: (1) simultaneous recession of glaciers from both sides of a depression in bedrock being a potential strait (typical in Franz Josef Land), (2) uncovering a rocky hill (which protrudes from a depression in bedrock) from under a receding glacier, (3) recession of one glacier which had reached a rocky fragment of a coastline (e.g., headland or peninsula), being a potential new island, during a maximum extent of this glacier during the Little Ice Age (in the beginning of the 20th century). Additional straits and islands are currently at the stage of formation and will continue to form in the European Arctic in the case of further warming or stabilization of the current climate conditions.

scholarly journals Recent Climatic Mass Balance of the Schiaparelli Glacier at the Monte Sarmiento Massif and Reconstruction of Little Ice Age Climate by Simulating Steady-State Glacier Conditions

Geosciences ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 272
Author(s):  
Stephanie Suzanne Weidemann ◽  
Jorge Arigony-Neto ◽  
Ricardo Jaña ◽  
Guilherme Netto ◽  
Inti Gonzalez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Steady State ◽  
Mass Balance ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Similar Rate ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Recent Climate

The Cordillera Darwin Icefield loses mass at a similar rate as the Northern and Southern Patagonian Icefields, showing contrasting individual glacier responses, particularly between the north-facing and south-facing glaciers, which are subject to changing climate conditions. Detailed investigations of climatic mass balance processes on recent glacier behavior are not available for glaciers of the Cordillera Darwin Icefield and surrounding icefields. We therefore applied the coupled snow and ice energy and mass balance model in Python (COSIPY) to assess recent surface energy and mass balance variability for the Schiaparelli Glacier at the Monte Sarmiento Massif. We further used COSIPY to simulate steady-state glacier conditions during the Little Ice Age using information of moraine systems and glacier areal extent. The model is driven by downscaled 6-hourly atmospheric data and high resolution precipitation fields, obtained by using an analytical orographic precipitation model. Precipitation and air temperature offsets to present-day climate were considered to reconstruct climatic conditions during the Little Ice Age. A glacier-wide mean annual climatic mass balance of −1.8 ± 0.36 m w.e. a − 1 was simulated between between April 2000 and March 2017. An air temperature decrease between −0.9 ° C and −1.7 ° C in combination with a precipitation offset of up to +60% to recent climate conditions is necessary to simulate steady-state conditions for Schiaparelli Glacier in 1870.

scholarly journals Ship Sanitation: Controlling and Preventing Risk Factors of Disease Transmission

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-80
Author(s):  
Yetty Septiani Mustar
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Monitoring And Evaluation ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Maritime Transport ◽  
Risk Of Disease ◽  
Main Determinants ◽  
National Economies

The spread of infectious diseases globally has been a threat to public health and national economies for many centuries. One of the undeniable sectors that contributed to the spread of disease is maritime transport. This research aimed to examine ship sanitation for controlling and preventing the potential risk of disease transmission. This study used an observational survey method, with a sample of 24 ships that anchored in the port of Kendari by using an accidental sampling technique. Findings from this research revealed that there were ships with high-risk sanitation categories or have unqualified levels of sanitation. The main determinants that contribute to accelerating the global transmission of many infectious diseases on the ship are the sign and presence of vectors. Outbreaks associated with the presence of vectors on board are usually related to inadequate control and sanitation along with insufficient attention to preventing contamination. Therefore, the crewmember on board needs to increase their knowledge through various ship sanitation training, develop sanitation programs and integrate sustainable monitoring and evaluation programs of vectors toimprove sanitation as an effort to prevent risk factors for disease transmission.

From Disaster to Belief

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Philip Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Religious Change ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Cooling Period ◽  
Abundant Food ◽  
Over Time

Throughout history, climate-related disasters commonly had wide-ranging religious consequences. As climate conditions have changed over time, they have affected human affairs and shaped attitudes. At times those conditions might have promoted prosperity, abundant food supplies, fertility, and general contentment. Quite frequently, though, we can identify periods of acute harm, either short-lived, such as that of 1739–1742, or much longer-lasting, such as the repeated hammer blows during the prolonged cooling period that has been termed the Little Ice Age. This chapter describes the complex means by which climate affects human societies and thereby drives religious change, often on a revolutionary scale. It especially stresses the “apocalyptic” consequences: famine, plague, war, and death.

scholarly journals Continental atmospheric circulation over Europe during the Little Ice Age inferred from grape harvest dates

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 3023-3048 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Yiou ◽  
I. García de Cortázar-Atauri ◽  
I. Chuine ◽  
V. Daux ◽  
E. Garnier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Atmospheric Flow ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
The North ◽  
Harvest Dates ◽  
The 19Th Century

Abstract. Estimates of climate conditions before the 19th century are based on proxy data reconstructions or sparse meteorological measurements. The reconstruction of the atmospheric circulation that prevailed during the European Little Ice Age (~1500–1850) has fostered many efforts. This study illustrates a methodology combining historical proxies and modern data sets to obtain detailed information on the atmospheric circulation that prevailed over the North Atlantic region during the Little Ice Age. We use reconstructions of temperature gradients over France based on grape harvest dates to infer the atmospheric circulation. We find that blocking situations were more likely in summer, inducing a continental atmospheric flow. This study advocates that the reconstructions of the past atmospheric circulation should take this regime into account.

scholarly journals Rapid thinning of lake-calving Yakutat Glacier and the collapse of the Yakutat Icefield, southeast Alaska, USA

2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (213) ◽  
pp. 149-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara L. Trüssel ◽  
Roman J. Motyka ◽  
Martin Truffer ◽  
Christopher F. Larsen
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Southeast Alaska ◽  
Feedback Mechanisms ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Tidewater Glaciers ◽  
Warming Climate ◽  
Digital Elevation ◽  
Time Periods

AbstractBoth lake-calving Yakutat Glacier (337 km2), Alaska, USA, and its parent icefield (810 km2) are experiencing strong thinning, and under current climate conditions will eventually disappear. Comparison of digital elevation models shows that Yakutat Glacier thinned at area-averaged rates of 4.76 ± 0.06 m w.e.a−1 (2000–07) and 3.66 ± 0.03 m w.e.a−1 (2007–10). Simultaneously, adjacent Yakutat Icefield land-terminating glaciers thinned at lower but still substantial rates (3.79 and 2.94 m w.e.a−1 respectively for the same time periods), indicating lake-calving dynamics helps drive increased mass loss. Yakutat Glacier terminates into Harlequin Lake and for over a decade sustained a ∼3 km long floating tongue, which started to disintegrate into large tabular icebergs in 2010. Such floating tongues are rarely seen on temperate tidewater glaciers. We hypothesize that this difference is likely due to the lack of submarine melting in the case of lake-calving glaciers. Floating-tongue ice losses were evaluated in terms of overall mass balance and contribution to sea-level rise. The post-Little Ice Age collapse of Yakutat Icefield was driven in part by tidewater calving retreats of adjacent glaciers, the lake-calving retreat of Yakutat Glacier, a warming climate and by the positive feedback mechanisms through surface lowering.

scholarly journals Home Hygiene and Prevention of Infections

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. S79-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoe F.Y Lai ◽  
Sukhpreet Kaur
Keyword(s):  
Hand Hygiene ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Indirect Contact ◽  
Institutional Settings ◽  
Hygiene Practices ◽  
Public Areas ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Risk Of Disease ◽  
Prevention Of Infections

Health is wealth - a famous proverb that almost everyone has heard of but may not have fully understood its essence. Health comes from maintaining cleanliness and hygiene which starts from home and expands to workplaces and public areas. By practicing hygiene in the home and everyday life settings, it will have impact significantly in reducing the global burden of infectious diseases that kills over 17 million people a year. Mainly caused by microorganisms, infections can easily spread by direct and indirect contact. Common infectious diseases include chickenpox, common cold, malaria and pertussis. These diseases tend to have specific symptoms such as fever, diarrhoea, fatigue and muscle aches. In institutional settings, such as schools and child-cares settings, information relating hand hygiene is routine. However, the home environment is one of the potential sources of transmission of infectious diseases. This situation, of course, needs to be re-evaluated and the promotion of home hygiene should be encouraged. Positive correlation has been found between home hygiene practices and risk of disease transmission in homes where the first line of defence against infectious diseases is cleaning and disinfecting plus maintaining good hand hygiene. But, the implementation for an effective policy to monitor home hygiene is rather complex due to varying determinants of health. In a nutshell, proper home hygiene and cleaning practices lead to reduced risk of spreading infectious diseases. They should form the key issues in the practice of health promotion in the community and institutions.

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