scholarly journals Pervasive Arctic lead pollution suggests substantial growth in medieval silver production modulated by plague, climate, and conflict

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (30) ◽  
pp. 14910-14915 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph R. McConnell ◽  
Nathan J. Chellman ◽  
Andrew I. Wilson ◽  
Andreas Stohl ◽  
Monica M. Arienzo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
Pollution Abatement ◽  
Early Modern Period ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Lead Pollution ◽  
Lower Growth

Lead pollution in Arctic ice reflects large-scale historical changes in midlatitude industrial activities such as ancient lead/silver production and recent fossil fuel burning. Here we used measurements in a broad array of 13 accurately dated ice cores from Greenland and Severnaya Zemlya to document spatial and temporal changes in Arctic lead pollution from 200 BCE to 2010 CE, with interpretation focused on 500 to 2010 CE. Atmospheric transport modeling indicates that Arctic lead pollution was primarily from European emissions before the 19th-century Industrial Revolution. Temporal variability was surprisingly similar across the large swath of the Arctic represented by the array, with 250- to 300-fold increases in lead pollution observed from the Early Middle Ages to the 1970s industrial peak. Superimposed on these exponential changes were pronounced, multiannual to multidecadal variations, marked by increases coincident with exploitation of new mining regions, improved technologies, and periods of economic prosperity; and decreases coincident with climate disruptions, famines, major wars, and plagues. Results suggest substantial overall growth in lead/silver mining and smelting emissions—and so silver production—from the Early through High Middle Ages, particularly in northern Europe, with lower growth during the Late Middle Ages into the Early Modern Period. Near the end of the second plague pandemic (1348 to ∼1700 CE), lead pollution increased sharply through the Industrial Revolution. North American and European pollution abatement policies have reduced Arctic lead pollution by >80% since the 1970s, but recent levels remain ∼60-fold higher than at the start of the Middle Ages.

scholarly journals Accumulation Studies at a High Elevation Glacier Site in Central Karakoram

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Mayer ◽  
Astrid Lambrecht ◽  
Hans Oerter ◽  
Margit Schwikowski ◽  
Elisa Vuillermoz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
Layer Structure ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Western China ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Seasonal Signals

The precipitation conditions in central Karakoram are investigated on the basis of snow samples from high elevated snow pits at Urdok glacier from 2006 and the analysis of atmospheric transport trajectories in combination with the general, large scale pressure distribution. Our analysis shows that accumulation at the high elevated regions of the central Karakoram is dominated by the west wind circulation (WWC). Incursions of the South Asian monsoon (SAM) occur sometimes during the summer months accompanied by strong precipitation but play a minor role for the total accumulation amount. Dust layers found in the snow pits show a rare earth elements signature which indicates that the dust very likely originates from the arid regions of western China and Central Asia. Our trajectory calculations based on NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data confirm that especially during late spring and early summer the westerly flow is redirected over the Tarim basin to reach central Karakoram from an East/Southeast direction. The preservation of the layer structure and the clear seasonal signals in the snow pits indicate that locations above 5200 m in central Karakoram will be suitable places for retrieving longer climate records from ice cores.

scholarly journals Impurities in Snow: Effects on Albedo and Snowmelt (Review)

1984 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 177-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen G. Warren
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Surface Energy Budget ◽  
Anthropogenic Sources ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
West Antarctica ◽  
Snow Albedo ◽  
The North ◽  
Long Term Effect

Very small (ppm) amounts of soil dust in snow can significantly reduce snow albedo and thereby affect the snow-surface energy budget. Ice cores from Greenland show enhanced dust concentrations in ice from the last glacial maximum, in amounts capable of causing measurable effects on snow albedo. This enhanced dust is probably due in part to the expanded desert areas at that time.Volcanic ash layers visible in the Byrd station core reduced the snow albedo in West Antarctica when they were on the surface. The ash is unlikely to have had a long-term effect on albedo because of the episodic nature of volcanic eruptions.Very large amounts of dust on snow can inhibit snow-melt by insulating the snow. A debris cover probably slowed the melting of parts of the North American ice sheet during its most recent decay phase.Snow in the Arctic Ocean is presently suffering large-scale contamination by carbon soot from anthropogenic sources. Preliminary estimates indicate that soot concentrations in Arctic snow are sufficient to reduce snow albedo measurably.

Prologue

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
Jonathan Scott
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Economic ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
Cultural History ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Early Modern Period ◽  
Human Existence ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Major Field ◽  
Modern Period

Fewer than three hundred years ago there occurred the most fundamental reordering of human existence since the beginning of agriculture. How was this possible, involving as it did the disappearance of an entire and heavily defended way of life? The Industrial Revolution is a major field for economic and social historians. But explaining it requires us to understand a complex of developments across the early modern period connecting the sub-fields of environmental, economic, social, political, intellectual and cultural history, and to examine the unfolding of world-changing processes and events, including the large-scale migration of peoples....

scholarly journals Annual Greenland accumulation rates (2009–2012) from airborne Snow Radar

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 6697-6731 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. S. Koenig ◽  
A. Ivanoff ◽  
P. M. Alexander ◽  
J. A. MacGregor ◽  
X. Fettweis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Accumulation Rates ◽  
Surface Mass ◽  
Automated Method

Abstract. Contemporary climate warming over the Arctic is accelerating mass loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) through increasing surface melt, emphasizing the need to closely monitor surface mass balance (SMB) in order to improve sea-level rise predictions. Here, we quantify accumulation rates, the largest component of GrIS SMB, at a higher spatial resolution than currently available, using Snow Radar stratigraphy. We use a semi-automated method to derive annual-net accumulation rates from airborne Snow Radar data collected by NASA's Operation IceBridge from 2009 to 2012. An initial comparison of the accumulation rates from the Snow Radar and the outputs of a regional climate model (MAR) shows that, in general, the radar-derived accumulation matches closely with MAR in the interior of the ice sheet but MAR estimates are high over the southeast GrIS. Comparing the radar-derived accumulation with contemporaneous ice cores reveals that the radar captures the annual and long-term mean. The radar-derived accumulation rates resolve large-scale patterns across the GrIS with uncertainties of up to 11 %, attributed mostly to uncertainty in the snow/firn density profile.

scholarly journals Large-Scale Tropospheric Transport in the Chemistry Climate Model Initiative (CCMI) Simulations

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clara Orbe ◽  
Huang Yang ◽  
Darryn W. Waugh ◽  
Guang Zeng ◽  
Olaf Morgenstern ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Atmospheric Composition ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Free Running ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Interhemispheric Transport

Abstract. Understanding and modeling the large-scale transport of trace gases and aerosols is important for interpreting past (and projecting future) changes in atmospheric composition. Here we show that there are large differences in the global-scale atmospheric transport properties among models participating in the IGAC SPARC Chemistry-Climate Model Initiative (CCMI). Specifically, we find up to 40 % differences in the transport timescales connecting the Northern Hemisphere (NH) midlatitude surface to the Arctic and to Southern Hemisphere high latitudes, where the mean age ranges between 1.7 years and 2.6 years. We show that these differences are related to large differences in vertical transport among the simulations and, in particular, to differences in parameterized convection over the oceans. While stronger convection over NH midlatitudes is associated with slower transport to the Arctic, stronger convection in the tropics and subtropics is associated with faster interhemispheric transport. We also show that the differences among simulations constrained with fields derived from the same reanalysis products are as large as (and, in some cases, larger than) the differences among free-running simulations, due to larger differences in parameterized convection. Our results indicate that care must be taken when using simulations constrained with analyzed winds to interpret the influence of meteorology on tropospheric composition.

scholarly journals Remobilization of dormant carbon from Siberian-Arctic permafrost during three past warming events

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (42) ◽  
pp. eabb6546
Author(s):  
Jannik Martens ◽  
Birgit Wild ◽  
Francesco Muschitiello ◽  
Matt O’Regan ◽  
Martin Jakobsson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Last Deglaciation ◽  
Siberian Arctic ◽  
Carbon Release ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Global Sea Level ◽  
Carbon Remobilization

Carbon cycle models suggest that past warming events in the Arctic may have caused large-scale permafrost thaw and carbon remobilization, thus affecting atmospheric CO2 levels. However, observational records are sparse, preventing spatially extensive and time-continuous reconstructions of permafrost carbon release during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. Using carbon isotopes and biomarkers, we demonstrate that the three most recent warming events recorded in Greenland ice cores—(i) Dansgaard-Oeschger event 3 (~28 ka B.P.), (ii) Bølling-Allerød (14.7 to 12.9 ka B.P.), and (iii) early Holocene (~11.7 ka B.P.)—caused massive remobilization and carbon degradation from permafrost across northeast Siberia. This amplified permafrost carbon release by one order of magnitude, particularly during the last deglaciation when global sea-level rise caused rapid flooding of the land area thereafter constituting the vast East Siberian Arctic Shelf. Demonstration of past warming-induced release of permafrost carbon provides a benchmark for the sensitivity of these large carbon pools to changing climate.

Ancient Atmospheric Lead Pollution

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Varaschin
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
World Economy ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Lead Pollution ◽  
Roman Economy ◽  
Clear Peak ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
Atmospheric Lead Pollution

In the early 90s, evidence was found in ice cores taken from Greenland of increased levels of ancient atmospheric lead, preserved by way of the annual precipitation that eventually formed into ice sheets. Since that time, similar records of atmospheric lead pollution have been uncovered in myriad other naturally forming deposits, including lake sediments and bogs. These records of lead pollution are presumed to reflect an increase in anthropogenic atmospheric lead pollution as metal became more heavily utilized by ancient peoples. This pollution confirmed for many the size and sophistication of the Roman economy. The records exhibit a clear peak around the beginning of the first millennium, roughly the midpoint of the Roman Empire and such levels were not seen again until after the industrial revolution was well underway. This peak in atmospheric lead is thought to show the climax of Roman Industry, followed by a subsequent decline and historians and scientists have sought to use this evidence as a proxy for the ancient world economy, but more specifically for the so called rise and fall of the Roman Empire. This presentation will explore the science behind linking the atmospheric lead pollution to Roman mining activities and why lead pollution is so strongly thought to reflect the roman economy. Alternative theories as to how atmospheric lead was produced in such quantities will be explored, including, increased agriculture and wood burning. Lastly, confounding factors will be considered such as volcanism and other ancient sources, including mining in Asia Minor and Han China.

scholarly journals Impurities in Snow: Effects on Albedo and Snowmelt (Review)

1984 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 177-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen G. Warren
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Surface Energy Budget ◽  
Anthropogenic Sources ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
West Antarctica ◽  
Snow Albedo ◽  
The North ◽  
Long Term Effect

Very small (ppm) amounts of soil dust in snow can significantly reduce snow albedo and thereby affect the snow-surface energy budget. Ice cores from Greenland show enhanced dust concentrations in ice from the last glacial maximum, in amounts capable of causing measurable effects on snow albedo. This enhanced dust is probably due in part to the expanded desert areas at that time.Volcanic ash layers visible in the Byrd station core reduced the snow albedo in West Antarctica when they were on the surface. The ash is unlikely to have had a long-term effect on albedo because of the episodic nature of volcanic eruptions.Very large amounts of dust on snow can inhibit snow-melt by insulating the snow. A debris cover probably slowed the melting of parts of the North American ice sheet during its most recent decay phase.Snow in the Arctic Ocean is presently suffering large-scale contamination by carbon soot from anthropogenic sources. Preliminary estimates indicate that soot concentrations in Arctic snow are sufficient to reduce snow albedo measurably.

Merchant Capitalism and the Great Transition

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Erikson
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Early Modern Period ◽  
East India Company ◽  
The West ◽  
New Organizational Forms ◽  
Great Transition ◽  
English East India Company ◽  
Development Of Economic Theory ◽  
Merchant Capitalism

This chapter sets out the stakes of the book's argument, situating the English East India Company with respect to some of the larger processes of transition and change in the early modern period and the dawn of modernity in the nineteenth century. The issues addressed are large-scale macro-historical outcomes, such as economic development in the West, underdevelopment in Asia, growth in state capacity, the development of economic theory, and the emergence of new organizational forms. All are linked to and intertwine with the story of the English East India Company. In addition, these developments have at times been indirectly linked to the Industrial Revolution, which the chapter also briefly touches upon.

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