Article
Geography, Physical
Giacomo Benati, Carmine Guerriero
Summary: Despite criticisms for its lack of formal theory, credible measurement strategy, and understanding of environmental shocks, collapse archaeology literature can be improved by combining a time inconsistency theory, institutional proxies, and simulated climate data. Applying this approach to Bronze Age Mesopotamia, the study shows that moderate droughts had direct and indirect impacts on the economy and institutional resilience.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Diane Z. Chase, Jose Lobo, Gary M. Feinman, David M. Carballo, Arlen F. Chase, Adrian S. Z. Chase, Scott R. Hutson, Alanna Ossa, Marcello Canuto, Travis W. Stanton, L. J. Gorenflo, Christopher A. Pool, Barbara Arroyo, Rodrigo Liendo Stuardo, Deborah L. Nichols
Summary: Urban adaptation to climate change is a global challenge. Efforts to leverage insights from the urban past have been hindered by disciplinary silos and misconceptions about prehistoric urban settlements, especially in prehispanic Mesoamerica. However, advances in archaeology have significantly enhanced our understanding of prehispanic urbanism in Mesoamerica, highlighting its resilience and adaptation to environmental change. This calls for a dialogue among urban archaeologists, sustainability scientists, and researchers interested in urban adaptation to climate change, aiming to shift the focus from failure and collapse to resilience and factors that fostered adaptation and sustainability.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Marten Scheffer, Egbert H. van Nes, Darcy Bird, R. Kyle Bocinsky, Timothy A. Kohler
Summary: Research shows that signals of critical slowing down existed before large-scale transformations in Pueblo cultures of the pre-Hispanic US Southwest, indicating declining stability and aligning with archaeological evidence of increasing violence and wealth inequality. This suggests that gradual processes may make societies more vulnerable over time, making them more likely to undergo radical transformations rejecting the status quo.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Dagomar Degroot, Kevin J. Anchukaitis, Jessica E. Tierney, Felix Riede, Andrea Manica, Emma Moesswilde, Nicolas Gauthier
Summary: In recent decades, there has been a rapid expansion of research on societal responses to past climate fluctuations. This interdisciplinary field, known as the History of Climate and Society (HCS), is primarily conducted by archaeologists, economists, geneticists, geographers, and paleoclimatologists. This review provides an overview of the approaches and findings of scholars in each of these disciplines, discussing how climatic changes are reconstructed and the environmental consequences they have had. It also explores the potential for transdisciplinary approaches in the field and concludes by examining how HCS studies can inform policy and activism addressing anthropogenic global warming.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Review
Economics
Danilo Brozovic
Summary: Due to concerns about the potential collapse of human civilization caused by ongoing climate change, the topic of societal collapse has become particularly significant, especially for future-oriented studies. Despite extensive research on societal collapse, there is a lack of consolidation and synthesis of the existing research. This article aims to systematize the current research on societal collapse and propose future research directions.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Jem Bendell, Katie Carr
Summary: This article synthesizes the practice and rationale behind ways of facilitating gatherings on topics of societal disruption and collapse, particularly in the field of 'Deep Adaptation.' The principles of Deep Adaptation facilitation, such as containment, welcoming radical uncertainty, and making space for difficult emotions, are summarized. Additionally, the paper reviews theories on environmental destruction and outlines a specific modality called Deep Relating.
Article
Geography, Physical
Steven T. Goldstein, Ceri Shipton, Jennifer M. Miller, Emmanuel Ndiema, Nicole Boivin, Michael Petraglia
Summary: This study examines the relationship between environmental change and the organization of stone tool technology at the Panga ya Saidi Cave site in eastern Kenya, and compares it with other high-resolution records from nearby areas. The results show that the lithic technologies used in lake basins and coastal zones reflect more stable land-use strategies, while the coastal forest area remains consistent throughout the study period. These findings are important for understanding the adaptations of hunter-gatherers and food producers in eastern Africa and for studying long-term human-environment dynamics.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Daniel Kondor, James S. Bennett, Detlef Gronenborn, Nicolas Antunes, Daniel Hoyer, Peter Turchin
Summary: Archaeological evidence suggests that the population dynamics of Mid-Holocene Europe were characterized by recurring boom and bust periods of settlement and occupation density, which cannot be explained solely by climate variation. Instead, social dynamics involving density-dependent conflict played a crucial role in shaping the population patterns of this time period.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Michael E. Mann
Summary: Studying paleoclimate records and climate model simulations of the Common Era can provide valuable insights into human-caused climate change and its impacts. The hockey stick curve, despite its apparent simplicity, actually reflects the dynamicism and complexity of climate history.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Whittaker Schroder, Timothy Murtha, Charles Golden, Andrew K. Scherer, Eben N. Broadbent, Angelica M. Almeyda Zambrano, Kelsey Herndon, Robert Griffin
Summary: The integration of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with LiDAR systems has great potential for high-precision archaeological mapping applications, providing valuable information about long-term land use and landscape change in the context of archaeological resources. These studies also offer an important opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration.
Article
Geography, Physical
Maxwell N. Wright, Broxton W. Bird, Derek K. Gibson, Harvie Pollard, Jaime Escobar, Robert C. Barr
Summary: This study investigates the relationship between climate and flood frequencies in the midcontinental United States by reconstructing flood frequencies at Half Moon Pond. The results show that frequent flooding occurred during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) and decreased during the Little Ice Age (LIA), with changes in ocean-atmosphere conditions. The White River trends were antiphased with flood frequencies in the lower Ohio River, indicating different sensitivities to rainfall and spring melts. Deforestation and land use practices have increased flooding in Midwestern watersheds, and continued increased rainfall is likely to enhance flood occurrence.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
A. Zorzi, S. M. Tikoo, G. C. Beroza, N. H. Sleep
Summary: The impacts associated with the Marquez Dome and Boltysh craters were too small to cause hyperthermal-like temperature changes, and large impacts are predicted to be uncommon during the Cenozoic era.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Matthew J. Jacobson
Summary: Archaeology offers a unique long-term perspective for effective policy-making, but specific evidence for resilient/sustainable systems is often overlooked. Climate change is the most cited stressor, with strategies related to natural resources common in case studies, while resilient/sustainable characteristics are often in direct contrast to each other.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ariane Burke, Matthew C. Peros, Colin D. Wren, Francesco S. R. Pausata, Julien Riel-Salvatore, Olivier Moine, Anne de Vernal, Masa Kageyama, Solene Boisard
Summary: Anthropogenic climate change poses a serious challenge to existing social, political, and economic systems, but the archaeological record offers opportunities to study the interaction between human and environmental systems, while cultural diversity is highlighted as a source of resilience.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Kurt H. Wogau, Norbert R. Nowaczyk, Harald N. Bohnel, Helge W. Arz, Roberto Molina-Garza
Summary: This study explores the relationship between paleoclimatic changes and decreased social development of societies in Mesoamerica from 4.3 ka to 2.2 ka, suggesting that variable hydrological conditions affected agricultural production during the Pre-Classic period. Increased concentrations of ferrimagnetic minerals and analysis of XRF Ti counts indicate the occurrence of variable hydrological conditions in the region.
QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
P. M. J. Douglas, D. A. Stolper, D. A. Smith, K. M. Walter Anthony, C. K. Paull, S. Dallimore, M. Wik, P. M. Crill, M. Winterdahl, J. M. Eiler, A. L. Sessions
GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA
(2016)
Article
Geography, Physical
Peter M. J. Douglas, Mark Brenner, Jason H. Curtis
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2016)
Review
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Peter M. J. Douglas, Daniel A. Stolper, John M. Eiler, Alex L. Sessions, Michael Lawson, Yanhua Shuai, Andrew Bishop, Olaf G. Podlaha, Alexandre A. Ferreira, Eugenio V. Santos Neto, Martin Niemann, Arne S. Steen, Ling Huang, Laura Chimiak, David L. Valentine, Jens Fiebig, Andrew J. Luhmann, William E. Seyfried, Giuseppe Etiope, Martin Schoell, William P. Inskeep, James J. Moran, Nami Kitchen
ORGANIC GEOCHEMISTRY
(2017)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Yanhua Shuai, Giuseppe Etiope, Shuichang Zhang, Peter M. J. Douglas, Ling Huang, John M. Eiler
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2018)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Yanhua Shuai, Peter M. J. Douglas, Shuichang Zhang, Daniel A. Stolper, Geoffrey S. Ellis, Michael Lawson, Michael D. Lewan, Michael Formolo, Jingkui Mi, Kun He, Guoyi Hu, John M. Eiler
GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA
(2018)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Peter M. J. Douglas, Mark Pagani, Timothy I. Eglinton, Mark Brenner, Jason H. Curtis, Andy Breckenridge, Kevin Johnston
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Peter M. J. Douglas, Regina Gonzalez Moguel, Katey M. Walter Anthony, Martin Wik, Patrick M. Crill, Katherine S. Dawson, Derek A. Smith, Ella Yanay, Max K. Lloyd, Daniel A. Stolper, John M. Eiler, Alex L. Sessions
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2020)
Article
Geography, Physical
Robert D. Bourque, Peter M. J. Douglas, Hans C. E. Larsson
Summary: This study used fossilized plant wax n-alkanes in fluvial sediments to reconstruct changes in plant ecology and carbon and water cycling across the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. The results show an increase in the relative abundance of terrestrial plants immediately after the boundary, possibly facilitated by the extinction of large herbivores. Additionally, the study found short-lived carbon and water cycle changes associated with the K-Pg impact in Western Canada, while longer-lasting ecological shifts in plant communities were observed.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Limnology
Vilmantas Preskienis, Isabelle Laurion, Frederic Bouchard, Peter M. J. Douglas, Michael F. Billett, Daniel Fortier, Xiaomei Xu
Summary: Studies on CO2 and CH4 emissions from lakes and ponds in the Arctic are limited, with water body morphology and seasonal patterns found to have significant impacts on gas emissions. Ice-out and autumnal turnover periods are identified as key moments for high emissions.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Josue J. Jautzy, Peter M. J. Douglas, Hao Xie, John M. Eiler, Ian D. Clark
Summary: The study presents isotopic data of methane from Paleozoic-aged pore waters in an aquiclude system from the Michigan Basin, indicating internal isotopic equilibrium of methane and intermolecular H-isotopic equilibrium between methane and co-occurring non-gaseous n-alkanes. Various mixing and microbial metabolic models were tested to identify the possibility of methane production at thermodynamic equilibrium from the syntrophic degradation of sedimentary n-alkanes at ultra-slow rates. This research sheds light on the deep subsurface biogeochemistry and the potential of using clumped isotopes as a geothermometer.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Benjamin Keenan, Anic Imfeld, Kevin Johnston, Andy Breckenridge, Yves Gelinas, Peter M. J. Douglas
Summary: The analysis of faecal stanols in lake sediment cores provides a new opportunity to study human population changes and their relation to climatic shifts. This study on the ancient Maya society reveals substantial population fluctuations over the centuries, which are linked to climatic events, settlement patterns, and agricultural practices.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Regina Gonzalez Moguel, Adrian M. Bass, Mark H. Garnett, Martin Pilote, Benjamin Keenan, Alex Matveev, Peter M. J. Douglas
Summary: Research shows that organic carbon decomposition from permafrost thawing in lakes and rivers in Northern Quebec can accelerate greenhouse gas emissions, particularly methane ebullition. Different types of water bodies have varying contributions of modern carbon and permafrost carbon, with changes in carbon age observed between winter and summer seasons.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-BIOGEOSCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Peter M. J. Douglas, Emerald Stratigopoulos, Sanga Park, Dawson Phan
Summary: Research has shown that the relationship between methane isotopic source signatures (delta H-2-CH4) in global freshwater environments and hydrogen isotopes of environmental water (delta H-2-H2O) can explain approximately 42% of the variation, enabling differentiation of emissions from different geographical sources. However, more data is needed to constrain isotopic signatures for low-latitude microbial methane sources.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mary Kang, Yuhan Dong, Yajing Liu, James P. Williams, Petermj Douglas, Jeffrey M. McKenzie
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
(2019)