scholarly journals Interactions between climate change and human activities during the Early to Mid Holocene in the East Mediterranean basins

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. Berger ◽  
L. Lespez ◽  
C. Kuzucuoğlu ◽  
A. Glais ◽  
F. Hourani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Climate Impact ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Central Anatolia ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Long Term Trends ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Lake Systems ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. This paper focuses on Early Holocene Rapid Climate Changes (RCC) records in the Mediterranean zone, which are under-represented in continental archives (9.2 to 8.2 ka events) and on their impact on prehistoric societies. This lack of data handicaps indeed assumptions about climate impact on human societies which flourished in recent years. Key questions remain about the impact of Early Holocene cooling events on the Mediterranean climate, ecosystems and human societies. In this paper, we discuss some examples from river and lake systems from the eastern to central Mediterranean area (Central Anatolia, Cyprus, NE and NW Greece,) that illustrate some paleohydrological and erosion variations that modified the sustainability of the first Neolithic populations in this region. Results allow us to present direct land-sea correlations, and to reconstruct regional long-term trends as well as millennial to centennial-scaled climatic changes. In this context, we question the socio-economic and geographical adaptation capacities of these societies (mobility, technology, economic practices, social organisation) during the "Early Holocene" interval (11.7 to 8.2 ka) which corresponds partly to the Sapropele 1 deposition in the Eastern Mediterranean sea.

scholarly journals Interactions between climate change and human activities during the early to mid-Holocene in the eastern Mediterranean basins

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1847-1877 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Francois Berger ◽  
Laurent Lespez ◽  
Catherine Kuzucuoğlu ◽  
Arthur Glais ◽  
Fuad Hourani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Central Anatolia ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Lake Systems ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. This paper focuses on early Holocene rapid climate change (RCC) records in the Mediterranean zone, which are under-represented in continental archives (9.2 to 8.2 ka events) and on their impact on prehistoric societies. This lack of data handicaps the general interpretation of climate impacts on human societies, which flourished in recent years. Key questions remain about the impact of early Holocene cooling events on the Mediterranean climate, ecosystems and human societies. In this paper, we discuss some examples from river and lake systems from the eastern to central Mediterranean area (central Anatolia, Cyprus, northeastern and northwestern Greece) that illustrate some palaeohydrological and erosion variations that modified the sustainability of the first Neolithic populations in this region. Results allow us to present direct land–sea correlations and to reconstruct regional long-term trends as well as millennial- to centennial-scale climatic changes. In this context, we question the socio-economic and geographical adaptation capacities of these societies (mobility, technology, economic practices, social organisation) during the “early Holocene” interval (11.7 to 8.2 ka), which corresponds partly to the Sapropel 1 deposition in the eastern Mediterranean sea.

scholarly journals African dust outbreaks over the Mediterranean Basin during 2001–2011: PM<sub>10</sub> concentrations, phenomenology and trends, and its relation with synoptic and mesoscale meteorology

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 28195-28235 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Pey ◽  
X. Querol ◽  
A. Alastuey ◽  
F. Forastiere ◽  
M. Stafoggia
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Moderate Intensity ◽  
Sharp Change ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Mesoscale Meteorology ◽  
Transitional Area ◽  
African Dust ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The occurrence of African dust outbreaks over the whole Mediterranean Basin has been identified on an 11-yr period (2001–2011). In order to evaluate the impact of such mineral dust outbreaks on ambient concentrations of particulate matter, PM10 data from regional and suburban background sites across the Mediterranean area were compiled. After identifying the daily influence of African dust, a methodology for estimating natural dust contributions on daily PM10 concentrations was applied. Our results reveal that African dust outbreaks occur with much higher frequency in southern areas of the Mediterranean, from 30 to 37% of the annual days, whereas they take place less than 20% of the annual days in northern sites. The central Mediterranean emerges as a transitional area, with slightly higher frequency of dust episodes in its lower extreme when compared to equivalent areas in western and eastern sides of the Basin. A decreasing south to north gradient of African dust contribution to PM10 is patent across the Mediterranean. Our study demonstrates that this gradient may be mainly explained by the latitudinal position. A longitudinal increasing trend of African dust contribution to PM10 is also observed from 25° E eastwards, and is due to the annual occurrence of intense dust episodes. Thus, the slightly higher frequency of African dust episodes over the lower part of Central Mediterranean is compensated by its moderately lower intensity. Concerning seasonality patterns and intensity characteristics, a clear summer prevalence is observed in the western part, with low occurrence of severe episodes (daily dust averages over 100 μg m−3 in PM10); no seasonal trend is detected in the central region, with moderate-intensity episodes; and significantly higher contributions are common in autumn-spring in the eastern side, with yearly occurrence of various severe episodes. Overall, African dust emerges as the largest PM10 source in regional background southern areas of the Mediterranean (35–50% of PM10), with seasonal peak contributions to PM10 up to 80% of the total mass. The multi-year study of African dust episodes and their contributions to PM10 concentrations allowed us to identify a consistent decreasing trend in the period 2006/2007 to 2011 in 4 of the 17 studied regions, all of them located in the NW of the Mediterranean. The observed trend is almost parallel to the NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation) index for the summer period, progressively more negative since 2006 onwards. As a consequence, a sharp change in the atmospheric circulation over the last 5 yr (a similar negative NAO period occurred in the 1950 decade) have affected the number of African dust episodes and their mean contribution to PM10 in the NW part of the Mediterranean. The investigation of summer temperatures at 850 hPa suggest that warm air accomplishing African dust air masses moved anomalously through the central Mediterranean in the 2007–2008 period, whereas it was displaced atypically to the NW African coast and the Canary Islands in the 2009–2011 period.

scholarly journals Molecular Analysis of the Official Algerian Olive Collection Highlighted a Hotspot of Biodiversity in the Central Mediterranean Basin

Genes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benalia Haddad ◽  
Alessandro Silvestre Gristina ◽  
Francesco Mercati ◽  
Abd Elkader Saadi ◽  
Nassima Aiter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Background ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Mountainous Area ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
Crop Varieties ◽  
Genetic Resources Management ◽  
The Mediterranean

Genetic diversity and population structure studies of local olive germplasm are important to safeguard biodiversity, for genetic resources management and to improve the knowledge on the distribution and evolution patterns of this species. In the present study Algerian olive germplasm was characterized using 16 nuclear (nuSSR) and six chloroplast (cpSSR) microsatellites. Algerian varieties, collected from the National Olive Germplasm Repository (ITAFV), 10 of which had never been genotyped before, were analyzed. Our results highlighted the presence of an exclusive genetic core represented by 13 cultivars located in a mountainous area in the North-East of Algeria, named Little Kabylie. Comparison with published datasets, representative of the Mediterranean genetic background, revealed that the most Algerian varieties showed affinity with Central and Eastern Mediterranean cultivars. Interestingly, cpSSR phylogenetic analysis supported results from nuSSRs, highlighting similarities between Algerian germplasm and wild olives from Greece, Italy, Spain and Morocco. This study sheds light on the genetic relationship of Algerian and Mediterranean olive germplasm suggesting possible events of secondary domestication and/or crossing and hybridization across the Mediterranean area. Our findings revealed a distinctive genetic background for cultivars from Little Kabylie and support the increasing awareness that North Africa represents a hotspot of diversity for crop varieties and crop wild relative species.

scholarly journals African dust outbreaks over the Mediterranean Basin during 2001–2011: PM<sub>10</sub> concentrations, phenomenology and trends, and its relation with synoptic and mesoscale meteorology

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1395-1410 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Pey ◽  
X. Querol ◽  
A. Alastuey ◽  
F. Forastiere ◽  
M. Stafoggia
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Moderate Intensity ◽  
Sharp Change ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
African Dust ◽  
Latitudinal Position ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The occurrence of African dust outbreaks over the whole Mediterranean Basin has been studied on an 11-yr period (2001–2011). In order to evaluate the impact of such mineral dust outbreaks on ambient concentrations of particulate matter, PM10 data from regional and suburban background sites across the Mediterranean area were compiled. After identifying the daily influence of African dust, a methodology for the estimation of the natural dust contributions on daily PM10 concentrations was applied. Our findings point out that African dust outbreaks are sensibly more frequent in southern sites across the Mediterranean, from 30 to 37% of the annual days, whereas they occur less than 20% of the annual days in northern sites. The central Mediterranean emerges as a transitional area, with slightly higher frequency of dust episodes in its lower extreme when compared to similar latitudinal positions in western and eastern sides of the Basin. A decreasing south to north gradient of African dust contribution to PM10, driven by the latitudinal position of the monitoring sites at least 25° E westwards across the Basin, is patent across the Mediterranean. As a result of this, an experimental equation for the estimation of annual African dust contributions based on the latitudinal position was obtained. From 25° E eastwards, higher annual dust contributions are encountered due to the elevated annual occurrence of severe episodes of dust but also because of inputs from Negev and Middle Eastern deserts. The slightly higher frequency of African dust episodes observed over southern sites in the central Mediterranean Basin is compensated by its moderately lower intensity. Concerning seasonality patterns and intensity characteristics, a clear summer prevalence is observed in the western part, with low occurrence of severe episodes (daily dust averages over 100 μg m−3 in PM10); no seasonal trend is detected in the central region, with moderate-intensity episodes; and significantly higher contributions are common in autumn-spring in the eastern side, with occurrence of various severe episodes throughout the year. Overall, African dust emerges as the largest PM10 source in regional background southern sites of the Mediterranean (35–50% of PM10), with seasonal peak contributions to PM10 up to 80% of the total mass. The multi-year study of African dust episodes and their contributions to PM10 concentrations reveals a consistent decreasing trend in the period 2006/2007 to 2011 in 4 of the 17 studied regions, all of them located in the NW of the Mediterranean. Such decrease is almost parallel to that of the NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation) index for the summer period, progressively more negative since 2006. Therefore, a sharp change in the atmospheric circulation over the last 5 yr (a similar negative NAO period occurred in the 1950 decade) have affected the number of African dust episodes and consequently the annual dust inputs to PM10 observed in the NW part of the Mediterranean. By investigating mean temperatures and geopotential height maps at 850 hPa it is evident a displacement of warm air masses accomplishing African dust towards the central Mediterranean in the 2007–2008 biennium, and towards the NW African coast and the Canary Islands in the 2009–2011 triennium.

scholarly journals Rheological profiles in the Central- Eastern Mediterranean

1997 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Viti ◽  
D. Albarello ◽  
E. Mantovani
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flow ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Geological Time ◽  
Western Turkey ◽  
Geological Time Scale ◽  
Total Strength ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Wet Rocks

Seismological investigations have provided an estimate of the gross structnral features of the crust/upper mantle system in the Mediterranean area. However, this information is only representative of the short-term me- chanical behaviour of rocks and cannot help us to understand slow deformations and related tectonic processes on the geological time scale. In this work strength envelopes for several major structural provinces of the Mediterranean area have been tentatively derived from seismological stratification and heat flow data, on the assumption of constant and uniforrn strain rate (10-16 S-1), wet rocks and conductive geotherm. It is also shown how the uncertainties in the reconstruction of thermal profiles can influence the main rheological prop- erties of the lithosphere, as thickness and total strength. The thickest (50-70 km) and strongest mechanical lithospheres correspond to the coldest zones (with heat flow lower than or equal to 50 mW m-2), i.e., the Io- nian and Levantine mesozoic basins, the Adriatic and Eurasian foreland zones and NW Greece. Heat flows larger than 65 mW m-2, generally observed in extensional zones (Tyrrhenian, Sicily Channel, Northern Aegean, Macedonia and Western Turkey), are mostly related to mechanical lithospheres thinner than 20 km. The characteristics of strength envelopes, and in particular the presence of soft layers in the crust, suggest a reasonable interpretation of some large-scale features which characterize the tectonic evolution of the Central- Eastem Mediterranean.

scholarly journals High diversified benthic habitats in a tidal Mediterranean sub-tropical environment: the case of the Gulf of Gabès (Tunisia)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abir Fersi ◽  
Nawfel Mosbahi ◽  
Ali Bakalem ◽  
Jean-Philippe Pezy ◽  
Alexandrine Baffreau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Tropical Environment ◽  
Gulf Of Gabes ◽  
Annual Cycles ◽  
Gulf Of Gabès ◽  
Zostera Noltei ◽  
Sediment Types ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Impact

The Gulf of Gabès on the southern coasts of Tunisia in the central part of the Mediterranean is a very shallow basin, characterized by semidiurnal tides, attaining a range of 2.3 m during spring tides. The intertidal zone was covered by extended Zostera (Zosterella) noltei Hornemann, 1832 beds mainly developed around the Kneiss Islands while tidal channels ensured the water circulation in this sub-tropical environment with very low freshwater input and high summer temperature. In spite of protected conventions, the area remained under high human pressures: overfishing, and the impact of the pollution of the phosphate industry. Intensive sampling in both intertidal and shallow subtidal zones during annual cycles permitted to identify a rich macrofauna which increase considerably the species known in this eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. More than 50 species are added for the Tunisian fauna. Moreover, patterns of diversity are analysed with the sediment types, presence or absence of Zostera noltei seagrass bed, and human pressures. The list of the collected species are compared with those of surrounding areas in both Western and Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Developing a multi-methods dating framework for the Eastern Mediterranean region over the Late Quaternary

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuang Zhang ◽  
Christina Manning ◽  
Christopher Satow ◽  
Simon J Armitage ◽  
Simon Blockley
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Trace Element ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽  
Aegean Sea ◽  
Trace Element Geochemistry ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Element Geochemistry ◽  
The Mediterranean

&lt;p&gt;The Eastern Mediterranean is an important region for understanding the late Quaternary, as there is evidence for a complex pattern of climatic and environmental change, influenced by orbital forcing and complex feedback mechanisms (Rohling et al., 2013). It is also a key region for examining the dispersal of humans out of Africa. Consequently, it is important to develop robust chronologies for palaeoclimatic, environmental and archaeological records in the region, to allow synchronisation, comparison and hypothesis testing. Tephrochronology is a vital tool for correlating such records, but the fine detail of the Eastern Mediterranean tephra depositional history is not yet well defined. Part of the problem relates to a lack of cryptotephra (non-visible ash) studies on long stratigraphic records. It is well known from the Atlantic and Central Mediterranean that cryptotephra studies can significantly improve tephra inventories, and constrain the relationship between key tephra markers and important environmental transitions. Another key problem for the region is that for distal tephra there is a relatively limited geochemical database from different volcanic centres, especially in terms of trace element compositions. One important method for addressing this problem is to develop detailed tephrostratigraphic records and tephra geochemical inventories from long sediment sequences (e.g. Bourne et al., 2010; Satow et al., 2015).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here we present the first marine crypto-tephrostratigraphy from the Levantine Sea, covering approximately the last ~200,000 years, from a long marine core (MD81-LC31). The new data for the core include tephra shard concentrations, major and trace element geochemistry, correlations to the eruptive record of the Aegean and Anatolian volcanic centres, and new radiometric age information. Our new data is compared to existing chronological information from LC-31, including sedimentological, geochemical, paleomagnetic and radiocarbon evidence. Our data helps to refine the chronology for this important record and will underpin ongoing studies into the detail of palaeoceanographic and environmental change in the region.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Bourne, A.J., Lowe, J.J., Trincardi, F. et al. 2010. Distal tephra record for the last ca 105,000 years from core PRAD 1-2 in the central Adriatic Sea: implications for marine tephrostratigraphy.&amp;#160;Quaternary Science Reviews,&amp;#160;29(23-24), 3079-3094.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Rohling, E.J., Grant, K.M., Roberts, A.P. et al. 2013. Paleoclimate variability in the Mediterranean and Red Sea regions during the last 500,000 years: implications for hominin migrations. Current Anthropology, 54(S8), S183-S201.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Satow, C., Tomlinson, E.L., Grant, K.M. et al. 2015. A new contribution to the Late Quaternary tephrostratigraphy of the Mediterranean: Aegean Sea core LC21.&amp;#160;Quaternary Science Reviews,&amp;#160;117, 96-112.&lt;/p&gt;

Ethnicity, Entrepreneurship, and Exchange: Mediterranean Inter-island Relations in the Late Bronze Age

1990 ◽  
Vol 85 ◽  
pp. 115-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Bernard Knapp
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Copper Production ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
Production Distribution ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Bronze Age ◽  
Metals Production

New data on Late Bronze Age Cypriot and Aegean material found in the eastern, southern, and central Mediterranean significantly alter timeworn concepts about the scope and extent of Mediterranean trade systems. Recent geochemical and statistical analyses highlight the pivotal role played by the production, distribution, and consumption of copper oxhide ingots in the Bronze Age economies of the wider Mediterranean world. As a consequence, it is possible to propose some basic hypotheses on metallurgical origins, and on the possible orientation of Mediterranean Bronze Age trade and traders.Two basic issues are involved: 1) did increased trade with the eastern Mediterranean stimulate production and intensify exchange mechanisms in the central Mediterranean? 2) or did eastern Mediterranean traders simply plug into an existing politico-economic system that somehow monitored metals' production and exchange further west?This paper also evaluates the impact of new archaeological and metallurgical data on traditional interpretations of Cypriot copper production and exchange in its Late Bronze Age Mediterranean context. Whilst Cypriot copper production remained important to the economy of the Bronze Age Mediterranean, it also made key tactical and commercial adjustments to the coming Age of Iron. Mechanisms of Mediterranean trade are still difficult to pin down, and it is unrealistic to do more than propose basic models of entrepreneurship, ethnicity, and exchange.

Subduction Orogeny and the Late Cenozoic Evolution of the Mediterranean Arcs

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 261-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leigh Royden ◽  
Claudio Faccenna
Keyword(s):  
Convergence Rate ◽  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Driving Mechanism ◽  
Late Cenozoic ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Collisional Orogens

The Late Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the Mediterranean region, which is sandwiched between the converging African and European continents, is dominated by the process of subduction orogeny. Subduction orogeny occurs where localized subduction, driven by negative slab buoyancy, is more rapid than the convergence rate of the bounding plates; it is commonly developed in zones of early or incomplete continental collision. Subduction orogens can be distinguished from collisional orogens on the basis of driving mechanism, tectonic setting, and geologic expression. Three distinct Late Cenozoic subduction orogens can be identified in the Mediterranean region, making up the Western Mediterranean (Apennine, external Betic, Maghebride, Rif), Central Mediterranean (Carpathian), and Eastern Mediterranean (southern Dinaride, external Hellenide, external Tauride) Arcs. The Late Cenozoic evolution of these orogens, described in this article, is best understood in light of the processes that govern subduction orogeny and depends strongly on the buoyancy of the locally subducting lithosphere; it is thus strongly related to paleogeography. Because the slow (4–10 mm/yr) convergence rate between Africa and Eurasia has preserved the early collisional environment, and associated tectonism, for tens of millions of years, the Mediterranean region provides an excellent opportunity to elucidate the dynamic and kinematic processes of subduction orogeny and to better understand how these processes operate in other orogenic systems.

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