scholarly journals Hominin responses to environmental changes during the Middle Pleistocene in central and southern Italy

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 687-697 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Orain ◽  
V. Lebreton ◽  
E. Russo Ermolli ◽  
A.-M. Sémah ◽  
S. Nomade ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Vegetation Dynamic ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Global Climate Changes

Abstract. The palaeobotanical record of early Palaeolithic sites from Western Europe indicates that hominins settled in different kinds of environments. During the "mid-Pleistocene transition (MPT)", from about 1 to 0.6 Ma, the transition from 41- to 100-ka dominant climatic oscillations, occurring within a long-term cooling trend, was associated with an aridity crisis which strongly modified the ecosystems. Starting from the MPT the more favourable climate of central and southern Italy provided propitious environmental conditions for long-term human occupations even during the glacial times. In fact, the human strategy of territory occupation was certainly driven by the availabilities of resources. Prehistoric sites such as Notarchirico (ca. 680–600 ka), La Pineta (ca. 600–620 ka), Guado San Nicola (ca. 380–350 ka) or Ceprano (ca. 345–355 ka) testify to a preferential occupation of the central and southern Apennines valleys during interglacial phases, while later interglacial occupations were oriented towards the coastal plains, as attested by the numerous settlements of the Roma Basin (ca. 300 ka). Faunal remains indicate that human subsistence behaviours benefited from a diversity of exploitable ecosystems, from semi-open to closed environments. In central and southern Italy, several palynological records have already illustrated the regional- and local-scale vegetation dynamic trends. During the Middle Pleistocene climate cycles, mixed mesophytic forests developed during the interglacial periods and withdrew in response to increasing aridity during the glacial episodes. New pollen data from the Boiano Basin (Molise, Italy) attest to the evolution of vegetation and climate between MIS 13 and 9 (ca. 500 to 300 ka). In this basin the persistence of high edaphic humidity, even during the glacial phases, could have favoured the establishment of a refuge area for the arboreal flora and provided subsistence resources for the animal and hominin communities during the Middle Pleistocene. This could have constrained human groups to migrate into such a propitious area. Regarding the local climate evolution during the glacial episodes, the supposed displacement from these sites could be linked to the environmental dynamics solely due to the aridity increase, rather than directly to the global climate changes.

scholarly journals Hominin responses to environmental changes during the Middle Pleistocene in Central and Southern Italy

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 5181-5207 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Orain ◽  
V. Lebreton ◽  
E. Russo Ermolli ◽  
A.-M. Sémah ◽  
S. Nomade ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Vegetation Dynamic ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Global Climate Changes

Abstract. The palaeobotanical record of early Palaeolithic sites from Western Europe indicates that hominins settled in different kinds of environments. During the "Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT)", from about 1 to 0.6 Ma, the transition from 41-ka to 100-ka dominant climatic oscillations, occurring within a long-term cooling trend, was associated with an aridity crisis which strongly modified the ecosystems. Starting from the MPT the more favorable climate of central and southern Italy provided propitious environmental conditions for long-term human occupations even during the glacial times. In fact, the human strategy of territory occupation was certainly driven by the availabilities of resources. Prehistoric sites such as Notarchirico (ca. 680–600 ka), La Pineta (ca. 600–620 ka), Gaudo San Nicola (ca. 380–350 ka) or Ceprano (ca. 345–355 ka) testify to a preferential occupation of the central and southern Apennines valleys during interglacial phases, while later interglacial occupations were oriented towards the coastal plains, as attested by the numerous settlements of the Roma basin (ca. 300 ka). Faunal remains indicate that human subsistence behaviors benefited of a diversity of exploitable ecosystems, from semi-open to closed environments. In central and southern Italy, several palynological records have already illustrated the regional and local scale vegetation dynamic trends. During the Middle Pleistocene climate cycles, mixed mesophytic forests developed during the interglacial periods and withdrew in response to increasing aridity during the glacial episodes. New pollen data from the Boiano basin (Molise, Italy), attest to the evolution of vegetation and climate between OIS 13 and 9 (ca. 500 to 300 ka). In this basin, the persistence of high edaphic humidity, even during the glacial phases, could have favored the establishment of a refuge area for the arboreal flora and provided subsistence resources for the animal and hominin communities during the Middle Pleistocene. This could have constrained human groups to migrate into such a propitious area. Regarding to the local climate evolution during the glacial episodes, the supposed displacement from these sites could be linked to the environmental dynamics solely due to the aridity increase rather than directly to the global climate changes.

scholarly journals Paleotemperature and paleosalinity evolution across Eocene-Oligocene Transition in North Atlantic Ocean: Insights from geochemical analysis of bivalve shells.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justine Briard ◽  
Marc de Rafélis ◽  
Emmanuelle Vennin ◽  
Mathieu Daëron ◽  
Valérie Chavagnac ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Major Step ◽  
Mode Identification ◽  
Global Climate Changes ◽  
Bivalve Shells

<p>The Cenozoic period encompasses the last transition from the “greenhouse” climate of the late Early Eocene (~50 Ma) to our modern “icehouse” climate with its much lower CO<sub>2</sub> levels, significant polar glaciation and major sea level drop. The Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT), that marks the first major ice-sheet build-up on Antarctica, has been extensively studied as it represents the entrance into an icehouse mode. Identification of this major step of Antarctic ice-sheet build-up strongly relies on δ<sup>18</sup>O and Mg/Ca benthic foraminifera records from ODP / DSDP sites. By contrast, few records currently exist from coastal environments despite the presence of abundant fossil archives, like bivalve shells. Yet palaeoenvironmental records from these peculiar coastal sites could bring information on how they react to global climate changes and help to further understand the behavior of our climate system. In this study, we applied a multi-proxy strategy coupling δ<sup>18</sup>O, δ<sup>13</sup>C, clumped isotopes (Δ<sub>47</sub>), strontium isotopes (<sup>87</sup>Sr/<sup>86</sup>Sr) analyses on aragonitic and calcitic bivalves and sediments recovered from the Isle of Wight (London-Paris Basin, Northeastern Atlantic Ocean) to provide additional constrain on environmental changes in this region across the Eocene-Oligocene Transition (~37.8–33 Ma).</p><p>Our new coupled δ<sup>18</sup>O and Δ<sub>47 </sub>dataset highlights a marked decrease in local seawater temperatures (~ 8°C) coupled to a drop in local seawater δ<sup>18</sup>O, likely linked to the sea level drop associated with ice-cap formation and an evolution toward more proximal, brackish environment in this region (that is apparent from sediment facies evolution). We estimate the salinity decrease recorded at the local scale from the Eocene to the Oligocene as reaching about 6 PSU, from 31 to 25 PSU. Strontium isotope analyses of the bivalves support this interpretation, showing values close to that of seawater up to the EOT but a marked deviation from contemporaneous global seawater <sup>87</sup>Sr/<sup>86</sup>Sr values toward more radiogenic values afterward. This positive deviation is in agreement with an evolution toward more proximal environments, subjected to larger freshwater inputs.</p>

scholarly journals Climate-induced variability in South Atlantic wave direction over the past three millennia

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. P. Silva ◽  
A. H. F. Klein ◽  
A. F. H. Fetter-Filho ◽  
C. J. Hein ◽  
F. J. Méndez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Global Climate ◽  
Southern Annular Mode ◽  
Wave Climate ◽  
Wave Generation ◽  
South Atlantic ◽  
Wave Direction ◽  
Global Climate Changes ◽  
Ocean Wave Climate ◽  
Forcing Mechanisms

Abstract Through alteration of wave-generating atmospheric systems, global climate changes play a fundamental role in regional wave climate. However, long-term wave-climate cycles and their associated forcing mechanisms remain poorly constrained, in part due to a relative dearth of highly resolved archives. Here we use the morphology of former shorelines preserved in beach-foredune ridges (BFR) within a protected embayment to reconstruct changes in predominant wave directions in the Subtropical South Atlantic during the last ~ 3000 years. These analyses reveal multi-centennial cycles of oscillation in predominant wave direction in accordance with stronger (weaker) South Atlantic mid- to high-latitudes mean sea-level pressure gradient and zonal westerly winds, favouring wave generation zones in higher (lower) latitudes and consequent southerly (easterly) wave components. We identify the Southern Annular Mode as the primary climate driver responsible for these changes. Long-term variations in interhemispheric surface temperature anomalies coexist with oscillations in wave direction, which indicates the influence of temperature-driven atmospheric teleconnections on wave-generation cycles. These results provide a novel geomorphic proxy for paleoenvironmental reconstructions and present new insights into the role of global multi-decadal to multi-centennial climate variability in controlling coastal-ocean wave climate.

scholarly journals Anomalously warm temperatures are associated with increased injury deaths

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robbie M. Parks ◽  
James E. Bennett ◽  
Helen Tamura-Wicks ◽  
Vasilis Kontis ◽  
Ralf Toumi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Global Climate ◽  
Credible Interval ◽  
Targeted Interventions ◽  
Global Climate Changes ◽  
Monthly Temperature ◽  
Temporal Model ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Paris Climate Agreement ◽  
Local Average

AbstractTemperatures that deviate from the long-term local norm affect human health, and are projected to become more frequent as the global climate changes1. There are limited data on how such anomalies affect deaths from injuries. In the present study, we used data on mortality and temperature over 38 years (1980–2017) in the contiguous USA and formulated a Bayesian spatio-temporal model to quantify how anomalous temperatures, defined as deviations of monthly temperature from the local average monthly temperature over the entire analysis period, affect deaths from unintentional (transport, falls and drownings) and intentional (assault and suicide) injuries, by age group and sex. We found that a 1.5 °C anomalously warm year, as envisioned under the Paris Climate Agreement2, would be associated with an estimated 1,601 (95% credible interval 1,430–1,776) additional injury deaths. Of these additional deaths, 84% would occur in males, mostly in adolescence to middle age. These would comprise increases in deaths from drownings, transport, assault and suicide, offset partly by a decline in deaths from falls in older ages. The findings demonstrate the need for targeted interventions against injuries during periods of anomalously warm temperatures, especially as these episodes are likely to increase with global climate change.

scholarly journals Comparison of the Impact of Global Climate Changes and Urbanization on Summertime Future Climate in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area

2012 ◽  
Vol 51 (8) ◽  
pp. 1441-1454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sachiho A. Adachi ◽  
Fujio Kimura ◽  
Hiroyuki Kusaka ◽  
Tomoshige Inoue ◽  
Hiroaki Ueda
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Metropolitan Area ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Temperature Increase ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Tokyo Metropolitan Area ◽  
Global Climate Changes ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIn this study, the impact of global climate change and anticipated urbanization over the next 70 years is estimated with regard to the summertime local climate in the Tokyo metropolitan area (TMA), whose population is already near its peak now. First, five climate projections for the 2070s calculated with the aid of general circulation models (GCMs) are used for dynamical downscaling experiments to evaluate the impact of global climate changes using a regional climate model. Second, the sensitivity of future urbanization until the 2070s is examined assuming a simple developing urban scenario for the TMA. These two sensitivity analyses indicate that the increase in the surface air temperature from the 1990s to the 2070s is about 2.0°C as a result of global climate changes under the A1B scenario in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) and about 0.5°C as a result of urbanization. Considering the current urban heat island intensity (UHII) of 1.0°C, the possible UHII in the future reaches an average of 1.5°C in the TMA. This means that the mitigation of the UHII should be one of the ways to adapt to a local temperature increase caused by changes in the future global climate. In addition, the estimation of temperature increase due to global climate change has an uncertainty of about 2.0°C depending on the GCM projection, suggesting that the local climate should be projected on the basis of multiple GCM projections.

scholarly journals Agriculture Adaptation to Consequences of Global Climate Changes

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-20
Author(s):  
D. G. Galkin
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emission ◽  
Traditional Approach ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Global Climate Changes ◽  
Change Impact ◽  
Agriculture Development

The goal of the article is to work out recommendations aimed at providing sustainability of agriculture development on the level of national economy in conditions of changing climate. The agriculture development within the frames of traditional approach can be studied in two aspects: as a sector subjected to the global climate change impact; as a sector promoting climate change due to greenhouse gas emission. The authors showed that in regard to present trends scientific recommendations aimed at agriculture adaptation to climate changes are the most significant for Russia. On the basis of provided concepts they identified key lines in the said adaptation: to develop innovation connected with adaptation to consequences of climate changes; to upgrade the system of agro-insurance; to use methods of organic food production; to monitor and appraise adaptation of agriculture to climate changes; to introduce strategic planning of sustainable development and location of agricultural production. These lines should be realized on the basis of integrity, strategic orientation and scientific support of agricultural production. These lines can stabilize the level of key parameters of the sector in the long-term perspective.

scholarly journals Gene expression responses to thermal shifts in the endangered lichen Lobaria pulmonaria

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tania Chavarria Pizarro ◽  
Philipp Resl ◽  
Aleksandar Janjic ◽  
Silke Werth
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Gene Expression ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Thermal Conditions ◽  
Strong Response ◽  
Lobaria Pulmonaria ◽  
Green Algal

Anthropogenic climate change has led to unprecedented shifts in temperature across many ecosystems. In a context of rapid environmental changes, acclimation is an important process as it may influence the capacity of organisms to survive under novel thermal conditions. Mechanisms of acclimation could involve upregulation of stress response genes involved in protein folding, DNA damage repair and the regulation of signal transduction genes, along with a simultaneous downregulation of genes involved in growth or cell cycle, in order to maintain cellular functions and equilibria. We transplanted Lobaria pulmonaria lichens originating from different forests to determine the relative effects of long-term acclimation and genetic factors on the variability in expression of mycobiont and photobiont genes. We found a strong response of mycobiont and photobiont to high temperatures, regardless of sample origin. The green-algal photobiont had an overall lower response than the mycobiont. The gene expression of both symbionts was also influenced by acclimation to transplantation sites and by genetic factors. Lobaria pulmonaria seems to have evolved powerful molecular pathways to deal with environmental fluctuations and stress and can acclimate to new habitats by transcriptomic convergence. Although L. pulmonaria has the molecular machinery to counteract short-term thermal stress, survival of lichens like L. pulmonaria depends mostly on their long-term positive carbon balance, which can be compromised by warmer temperatures and reduced precipitation, and both these outcomes have been predicted for Central Europe in connection with global climate change

scholarly journals Late Quaternary Tectonics along the Peri-Adriatic Sector of the Apenninic Chain (Central-Southern Italy): Inspecting Active Shortening through Topographic Relief and Fluvial Network Analyses

Lithosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Federica Ferrarini ◽  
J. Ramón Arrowsmith ◽  
Francesco Brozzetti ◽  
Rita de Nardis ◽  
Daniele Cirillo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Italy ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Hanging Wall ◽  
Seismic Hazard Assessment ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Seismic Line ◽  
Fluvial Terraces ◽  
Network Analyses ◽  
Fluvial Network

Abstract Active compressional tectonics along the outer front of the Apenninic-Maghrebian chain (Italy) is well documented along the northern and central segments and in Sicily. On the other hand, the Southern Apenninic Outer Front (SAOF) orogenic activity is well established only until the Lower-Middle Pleistocene. We address the hypothesis of its subsequent late Quaternary activity in central-southern Italy (Abruzzo and Molise regions). We integrated topographic and fluvial network analyses along with morphotectonic investigation of fluvial terraces to identify evidence of differential rock uplift. We compared the results with the main geolithological units, known structural elements, and long-term deformation history from seismic line interpretation. We found variable evidence suggesting localized rock uplift in the Abruzzo region along the SAOF (Abruzzo Citeriore Basal Thrust segment) and inward structures on its hanging wall (Casoli-Bomba high), as well as along part of the Struttura Costiera thrust. Middle-to-Late Pleistocene deformation is constrained by terrace tilting and disruption along the Pescara river. Localized shortening along segments of the Apenninic Outer Front could explain the observed pattern of anomalies which is difficult to explain with long-wavelength regional uplift alone. Our reconstruction is consistent with the long-term deformation of the area and agrees with its seismotectonic setting. Despite the low deformation rate context and the peculiar geological setting which challenges the interpretation of the topographic and geomorphic signals, this study compels reconsideration, in terms of seismic hazard assessment, of the existence of late Quaternary active thrusting in central-southern Italy.

scholarly journals Glacial Landforms as Geodiversity Resources for Geotourism in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Coronato ◽  
Soledad Schwarz ◽  
Flavia Flores Barrera
Keyword(s):  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Tierra Del Fuego ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Quaternary Period ◽  
Global Climate Changes ◽  
Natural Processes ◽  
Glacial Landforms ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Last Glacial

Abstract The southern extreme location and the natural landscapes, highly modelled by glaciers during the Quaternary period, give Tierra del Fuego a unique opportunity to attract visitors worldwide. Its glacial landforms are geodiversity resources that are witness to global climate changes as natural processes. Therefore, this study aims to highlight different glacial landforms considering their geodidactic potential for educational information in terms of geographical study. Sixteen georesources connected by routes are analysed, using bibliographic research, fieldwork and a datasheet designed ad-hoc. Four of them were formed during middle Pleistocene glaciations and the other twelve during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), out of which two also represent the Holocene, which happens to be the youngest glaciation.

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