Catastrophic changes in landscapes of the right bank of the Volga-Oka rivers in 14-18th centuries

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Polina Pushkina ◽  
Svetlana Sycheva ◽  
Nikolay Gribov ◽  
Olga Khokhlova ◽  
Pavel Ukrainskiy
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Anthropogenic Impact ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Life Support ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Russian Plain ◽  
Forest Zone ◽  
14Th Century ◽  
Rfbr Grant

<p>The landscapes of the Volga-Oka right bank are currently changed by human activity considerably. Most of the forests have been cleared and only preserved in the upper reaches of the ravines and on the valley slopes. The soils are largely eroded. The zone of deciduous forests has actually turned into a natural-agricultural area. A geoarchaeological study carried out jointly with archaeologists from Nizhny Novgorod in the area of the ancient Russian sites of Mordvina Gora and Podvyazye 1 made it possible to determine the beginning and maximum of anthropogenic impact on landscapes, which caused catastrophic changes in biota, soils, and landforms.</p><p>During the existence of the ancient Russian settlements of the 14th century in the study area, mixed and broad-leaved tree species grew on light gray forest and sod-podzolic soils (Retisols). The houses were built from oak and spruce. At first, the development of landscapes by the ancient Russian population proceeded along the banks of small and large rivers. Starting from the 14th century and especially sharply since the 18th century, accelerated anthropogenic soil erosion manifested itself. On the watersheds and slopes, the upper part of the soil profile (up to the Bt2 horizon) was destroyed by erosion. As a result, watersheds and slopes decreased by no less than 40-60 cm. Coastal ravines and microdepressions were almost completely filled with colluvium. Mordvin's gully has turned into a flat-bottomed ravine. The sediment thickness in the bottom of the ravine reaches 4.5 m. The depth of dismemberment has decreased by 4-5 m. The relics of the Ah and AE horizons of gray forest soils (Retisols) have been preserved only in a buried state on the slopes and in the bottoms of depressions.</p><p>The reasons for the described ecological catastrophe are associated with the imposition of anthropogenic impact (deforestation and plowing of land) on an unfavorable natural background - climate change towards humidification and cooling (wet phase preceding the Little Ice Age). Throughout the forest zone of the Russian Plain in the 14<sup>th</sup> century, the strategy of placing settlements has been changed. From the riverside settlements were relocated to watersheds since the former habitats - floodplains and low terraces became unsuitable for settlement due to frequent floods and high standing groundwater. Since that time, the widespread development of watersheds has been taking place for the first time. For life support, ponds were dug near the settlements or ravines, and gullies were blocked by dams, which were subsequently drained and completely covered by sediments.</p><p>Accelerated erosion increased significantly in the 18th century due to the further deterioration of the climate during the pessimum of the Little Ice Age, the growth of the agricultural population, and the introduction of the poll tax. It occurred repeatedly with a periodic deceleration of the pace, following low-amplitude climatic rhythms and local factors of agricultural development.</p><p><strong>This work was supported by RFBR, grant N19-29-05024 mk.</strong></p>

scholarly journals Mapping glaciers in Jotunheimen, South-Norway, during the "Little Ice Age" maximum

2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Baumann ◽  
S. Winkler ◽  
L. M. Andreassen
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Inventory Data ◽  
Digital Elevation ◽  
Remote Sensing Techniques ◽  
Southern Norway ◽  
Elevation Model

Abstract. The maximum glacier extent during the "Little Ice Age" (mid 18th century AD) in Jotunheimen, southern Norway, was mapped using remote sensing techniques. Interpretation of existing glaciochronological studies, analysis of geomorphological maps, and own GPS-field measurements were applied for validation of the mapping. The length of glacier centrelines and other inventory data were determined using a Geographical Information System (GIS) and a Digital Elevation Model. "Little Ice Age" maximum extent for a total of 233 glaciers comprising an overall glacier area of about 290 km2 was mapped. Mean length of the centreline was calculated to 1.6 km. Until AD 2003, the area and length shrank by 35% and 34%, respectively, compared with the maximum "Little Ice Age" extent.

scholarly journals Holocene and ‘Little Ice Age’ glacial activity in the Marboré Cirque, Monte Perdido Massif, Central Spanish Pyrenees

The Holocene ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (11) ◽  
pp. 1439-1452 ◽  
Author(s):  
José M García-Ruiz ◽  
David Palacios ◽  
Nuria de Andrés ◽  
Blas L Valero-Garcés ◽  
Juan I López-Moreno ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Rock Avalanche ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Maunder Minimum ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Massif Central ◽  
Exposure Dating ◽  
Glacial Expansion

The Marboré Cirque, which is located in the southern Central Pyrenees on the north face of the Monte Perdido Peak (42°40′0″N; 0.5°0″W; 3355 m), contains a wide variety of Holocene glacial and periglacial deposits, and those from the ‘Little Ice Age’ (‘LIA’) are particularly well developed. Based on geomorphological mapping, cosmogenic exposure dating and previous studies of lacustrine sediment cores, the different deposits were dated and a sequence of geomorphological and paleoenvironmental events was established as follows: (1) The Marboré Cirque was at least partially deglaciated before 12.7 kyr BP. (2) Some ice masses are likely to have persisted in the Early Holocene, although their moraines were destroyed by the advance of glaciers during the Mid Holocene and ‘LIA’. (3) A glacial expansion occurred during the Mid Holocene (5.1 ± 0.1 kyr), represented by a large push moraine that enclosed a unique ice mass at the foot of the Monte Perdido Massif. (4) A melting phase occurred at approximately 3.4 ± 0.2 and 2.5 ± 0.1 kyr (Bronze/Iron Ages) after one of the most important glacial advances of the Neoglacial period. (5) Another glacial expansion occurred during the Dark Age Cold Period (1.4–1.2 kyr), followed by a melting period during the Medieval Climate Anomaly. (6) The ‘LIA’ represented a clear stage of glacial expansion within the Marboré Cirque. Two different pulses of glaciation were detected, separated by a short retraction. The first pulse occurred most likely during the late 17th century or early 18th century (Maunder Minimum), whereas the second occurred between 1790 and ad 1830 (Dalton Minimum). A strong deglaciation process has affected the Marboré Cirque glaciers since the middle of the 19th century. (7) A large rock avalanche occurred during the Mid Holocene, leaving a chaotic deposit that was previously considered to be a Late Glacial moraine.

scholarly journals Flood sensitivity of the Bavarian Alpine Foreland since the late Middle Ages in the context of internal and external climate forcing factors

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 4721-4734 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Böhm ◽  
J. Jacobeit ◽  
R. Glaser ◽  
K.-F. Wetzel
Keyword(s):  
Climate Variability ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Flood Frequency ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Natural Climate Variability ◽  
14Th Century ◽  
Alpine Foreland ◽  
Natural Climate

Abstract. This paper describes the flood sensitivity of the Bavarian part of the Alpine Foreland of Germany and addresses different questions concerning climate variability and flood frequencies, from the 14th century until today. The focal point of the paper is the flood frequency of the superordinate spatial unit of the Bavarian Foreland. Based on written historical sources, the flood history of the Alpine Foreland of Germany can be reconstructed back to the 14th century. One major result is the occurrence of "flood-rich" and "flood-poor" episodes in almost cyclical sequences. Flood-rich periods, before the 16th century based on limited available data, were recorded in the periods 1300–1335, 1370–1450, 1470–1525, 1555–1590, 1615–1665, 1730–1780, 1820–1870, and 1910–1955 as well as in a ninth period beginning in 1980. The flood-rich periods are characterized by longer flood duration. Most of the flood-rich and flood-poor periods (in particular the beginning and the end of them) can be connected to changes in natural climate variability. These include changing sunspot numbers (as a measure of solar activity), so-called Little Ice Age type events (LIATEs) as well as changes in the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Climate signals from external forcing factors, which could be used to explain the changing flood frequencies in the Bavarian Alpine Foreland, end in 1930. Relationships within the climate system such as the correlation of flood frequencies with the NAO have changed during the transition from the post Little Ice Age period to the Modern Climate Optimum around 1930. Natural climate variability might have been overlaid by anthropogenic climate change.

Little Ice Age subsidence and post Little Ice Age uplift at Juneau, Alaska, inferred from dendrochronology and geomorphology

2003 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 300-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roman J. Motyka
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Tide Gauge ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Tide Gauge Records ◽  
Relative Sea Level ◽  
Late 18Th Century ◽  
Glaciomarine Sediments ◽  
Sea Cliff

AbstractApplication of dendrochronology and geomorphology to a recently emerged coastal area near Juneau, Alaska, has documented a Little Ice Age (LIA) sea-level transgression to 6.2 m above current sea level. The rise in relative sea level is attributed to regional subsidence and appears to have stabilized by the mid 16th century, based on a sea-cliff eroded into late-Pleistocene glaciomarine sediments. Land began emerging between A.D. 1770 and 1790, coincident with retreat of regional glaciers from their LIA maximums. This emergence has continued since then, paralleling regional glacier retreat. Total Juneau uplift since the late 18th century is estimated to be 3.2 m. The rate of downward colonization of newly emergent coastline by Sitka spruce during the 20th century closely parallels the rate of sea-level fall documented by analysis of local tide-gauge records (1.3 cm/yr). Regional and Glacier Bay LIA loading and unloading are inferred to be the primary mechanisms driving subsidence and uplift in the Juneau area. Climate change rather then regional tectonics has forced relative sea-level change over the last several hundred years.

scholarly journals Mapping and morphometric analysis of glaciers in Jotunheimen, South Norway, during the "Little Ice Age" maximum

2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 351-381
Author(s):  
S. Baumann ◽  
S. Winkler
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Glacier Area ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Flow Length ◽  
Glacier Flow

Abstract. This study provides mapping and analysis of the maximum glacier extent during the "Little Ice Age" in Jotunheimen, Southern Norway, on a regional scale. Remote sensing techniques were used to map the glacier area at the maximum of the "Little Ice Age" (mid 18th century AD). For validation of the mapping, interpretation of existing glaciochronological studies, analysis of geomorphological maps and our own field measurements using GPS have been applied. The flow length of the glaciers and other inventory data were determined by using a Geographical Information System and a digital elevation model. A total of 233 glaciers existed during the "Little Ice Age" maximum in Jotunheimen, comprising an overall glacier area of about 290 km2. Mean glacier flow length was calculated as about 1.6 km. Until AD 2003, the area shrank by about 35% and the mean flow length decreased by about 34%, compared with the maximum "Little Ice Age" extent.

scholarly journals De sequías a riadas: casos de alta variabilidad climática desde las fuentes eclesiásticas de Orihuela (1700-1750)

2019 ◽  
pp. 37-67
Author(s):  
Claudio Cremades Prieto
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Historical Evolution ◽  
Religious Institution ◽  
Droughts And Floods ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Industrial Societies ◽  
Over Time

RESUMENEste estudio analiza los impactos de sequías e inundaciones en el Bajo Segura durante la primera mitad del siglo xviii. Apoyándonos en trabajos precedentes, hemos tratado de aportar datos inéditos sobre las repercusiones de los riesgos naturales. Para ello hemos analizado los Libros de Actas Capitulares del cabildo eclesiástico oriolano, custodiados en el Archivo Diocesano de Orihuela. El resultado es un recorrido cronológico por los contrastes climáticos del marco geográfico, acentuando los episodios hidrometeorológicos más extremos y delimitando en el tiempo los períodos de mayor irregularidad. Igualmente nos aproximamos a la relación entre el clima y el devenir histórico de las vulnerables sociedades preindustriales desde la perspectiva de la referida institución religiosa. Para dotar de mayor dimensión al estudio, nos acercaremos sucintamente a las fundamentales rogativas pro pluvia y pro serenitate, y cómo estas evolucionaron entre 1700 y 1750.PALABRAS CLAVEOrihuela, Pequeña Edad del Hielo, sequías, inundaciones, riadas, rogativas. TITLEFrom droughts to fl oods: high climatic variability cases from the ecclesiastical sources of Orihuela (1700-1750)ABSTRACTThis study analyzes the droughts and floods impacts in Bajo Segura during the first half of the 18th century. Supporting us in the precedents works, we tried to provide unpublished data on the repercussions of natural risks. For this purpose, we have turned over and analyzed the Chapter Record Books of the Oriolan Ecclesiastical Chapter, kept in the Diocesan Archives of Orihuela (A.D.O). The result is a chronological journey through the climatic contrasts of the geographical frame, accentuating the most extreme hydrometeorological episodes and delimiting periods of greatest irregularity over time. We also approach the relationship between the climate and the historical evolution of the vulnerable pre-industrial societies from the aforementioned religious institution perspective. To give a greater dimension to the study, we will briefly approach the fundamental rogation pro pluvia and pro serenitate, and how they evolved between 1700 and 1750.KEY WORDSOrihuela, Little Ice Age, droughts, floods, stream, rogation.

A chronology of the Little Ice Age in the tropical Andes of Bolivia (16°S) and its implications for climate reconstruction

2008 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 198-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoine Rabatel ◽  
Bernard Francou ◽  
Vincent Jomelli ◽  
Philippe Naveau ◽  
Delphine Grancher
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Extreme Values ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Tropical Andes ◽  
Equilibrium Line Altitude ◽  
Mountain Areas ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Glacier Recession

AbstractDating moraines by lichenometry enabled us to reconstruct glacier recession in the Bolivian Andes since the Little Ice Age maximum. On the 15 proglacial margins studied, we identified a system of ten principal moraines that marks the successive positions of glaciers over the last four centuries. Moraines were dated by performing statistical analysis of lichen measurements based on the extreme values theory. Like glaciers in many mid-latitude mountain areas, Bolivian glaciers reached their maximal extent during the second half of the 17th century. This glacier maximum coincides with the Maunder minimum of solar irradiance. By reconstructing the equilibrium-line altitude and changes in mass-balance, we think the glacier maximum may be due to a 20 to 30% increase in precipitation and a 1.1 to 1.2 °C decrease in temperature compared with present conditions. In the early 18th century, glaciers started to retreat at varying rates until the late 19th to early 20th century; this trend was generally associated with decreasing accumulation rates. By contrast, glacier recession in the 20th century was mainly the consequence of an increase in temperature and humidity. These results are consistent with observations made in the study region based on other proxies.

scholarly journals Little Ice Age glacial activity in Peter Lougheed and Elk Lakes provincial parks, Canadian Rocky Mountains

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 579-589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Smith ◽  
Daniel P. Mccarthy ◽  
Margaret E. Colenutt
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Canadian Rocky Mountains ◽  
Glacial Chronology ◽  
Provincial Parks ◽  
Glacial Expansion ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Glacial Advance

Dendrochronological, lichenometric, and 14C studies at 14 glacier sites in Peter Lougheed and Elk Lakes provincial parks were used to develop a chronology of Little Ice Age glacial events. The earliest indications of glacial activity are represented by moraines deposited prior to the 16th century. A major glacial expansion in the 17th century is recorded at three sites, where I4C dates show glaciers reached their maximum down-valley positions. Lichenometric dates and tree growth suppression records show a phase of glacial activity early in the 18th century, for which there is only sparse morainic evidence. Most moraines in the area date from a glacial advance culminating in the mid-19th century, and moraine formation was complete everywhere by the late 1800's. Recessional moraines are rare in the study area and indicate that ice-front retreat has been relatively continuous since the 19th century. The glacial chronology developed in this work is comparable to that reconstructed for both the Main Ranges of the Canadian Rockies and the Coast Ranges of the southern Cordillera.

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