DOCSLIB.ORG

Supporting Information

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Supporting Information Supporting Information Butzer 10.1073/pnas.1114845109 Environmental Determinism and the Akkadian Collapse II/III period, whereas those of the subsequent Ur III-Isin-Larsa In 1911, Ellsworth Huntington (1) launched the hypothesis that phase more than doubled (ref. 17, figure 27). Archaeological degradation of the Mediterranean world and the decline of survey would therefore imply an increase, rather than decrease, Classical civilization were a result of desiccation (i.e., climatic of available water in the Euphrates basin from approximately aridification). This had led to nomadic expansion, attendant 2300 to 1600 BCE. It is implausible that the Akkadian heartland deforestation, and soil loss. Huntington (2) also claimed that collapsed because of a megadrought. periodic nomadic outbursts from central Asia were a result of Some science literature on the Tell Leilan event identifies a climatic fluctuations. Recourse to such “pulsations”—as pur- quasi-global paleoclimatic signal approximately 2100 BCE, claimed ported evidence for climatic cycles—has enjoyed great longevity. to be the most incisive of the Holocene record (8). However, Climatic change had become a major determinant in “decline.” whatever arid anomalies there were during the 600-y period after Determinism eventually fell into disfavor, but Harvey Weiss approximately 2500 BCE, they were of insufficient duration or and others (3) claimed that, after 2200 before common era intensity to leave a record in good-resolution pollen profiles of the (BCE), a mysterious “volcanic winter” of eolian ash triggered Near East (18, 19). Similarly, many hundred prime, global multi- a widespread environmental disaster lasting three centuries, proxy records fail to support this contention. What the most re- forcing abandonment of the early Bronze Age city of Tell Leilan cent research in the Mediterranean area and Near East does show in northeastern Syria and “collapse in the Aegean, Egypt, Pal- is that the Holocene record was marked by (i) a wet early Holo- estine, and the Indus” (4). This invocation of climate as a prime cene, with very rainy winters (11,000–7500 BP in calibrated years); mover was applauded by some hard scientists in favor of (ii) a drier, transitional mid-Holocene, with reduced seasonality a “Leilan Event” (in Upper Mesopotamia) and an Akkadian and bioclimatic oscillations, until 4000 BP; and (iii)atrendto collapse in the Euphrates floodplain (Lower Mesopotamia) as aridification and more contemporary conditions (11, 19). How- a consequence of abrupt climatic change. Bold correlations were ever, in central Asia and Anatolia, the early Holocene was arid, posited between peaks in deep-sea cores of the Arabian Sea, the mid-Holocene wet (16, 20). The observed isotopic shifts and wiggles in the stable isotopes of an Italian cave flowstone, or events fit comfortably into such a framework, without recourse to microstratigraphic identification of eolian activity in Nebraska, extreme anomalies or climatic change. as a global case for climatic forcing as a major agent of social fi change in distant Mesopotamia or Egypt (5–10). These papers Other Explanations. In short, the scienti c evidence does not show a nontrivial spread of 400 y for the beginning date, and support the hypothesis of a catastrophic megadrought as a prime suggest that hemispheric teleconnections remain premature. mover for collapse of either the Akkadian empire or a synergistic group of Near Eastern civilizations. What then does explain the Problems with Paleoclimatic Evidence. For one, the local environ- abandonment of Leilan? In the semiarid agricultural belt of mental evidence from Leilan (2) is unsatisfactory, and the au- eastern Syria, settlement patterns were dynamic, with urban thors have fundamentally changed their explanations several growth or settlement-cluster expansion in some areas, and times. Initially a volcanic winter was posited, but not supported ruralization or local abandonment in others, with no case for mass by a corresponding acid peak in Greenland ice cores (11). Traces migrations (21). In western Syria, a good number of cities were of volcanic glass in sediments at Leilan (4) are modest and destroyed, presumably by Akkadian military campaigns (ref. 22, limited to a very few profiles and levels. The authors sub- table 1). The desertion of Leilan coincided with this imperial sequently downplayed the pyroclastics, to opt for a megadrought unrest, which ended with disintegration of an internetworked caused by “massive smoke injection” from unverified “extensive world-economy, once extending from the Aegean to the Indus wildfires” that modified land/sea temperature gradients—a spe- Valley (ref. 22, pp. 280–287; and ref. 23). The triggering mech- cious explanation. More recently, the soils specialist of the anism was not a competition between farmers and pastoralists project abandoned the megadrought theory, arguing instead for (ref. 21, chap. 7; and ref. 24), but a relentless expansion of Akkad dust raised by the impact of an extraterrestrial body (12), a no- under Sargon or his grandson Naram-Sin that destroyed the tion that has found little support. The peculiar mineral grains entrepot role of Syria at the nexus of this economic system. The cited at nearby Tell Brak were found in a thin sediment lens checkerboard of destroyed cities suggests unbridled warfare, and below a structure built by the Akkadian ruler Naram-Sin much accumulated “capital” would have been lost, leaving the (∼2291–2255 BCE) (13). ability of the system to rebuild that capital severely impaired. Local, high-resolution isotope records, such as speleothems of Whether less destructive environmental stressors may have been Soreq Cave (Israel), have been invoked to argue for the mega- a coagency in regional transformation toward the end of the drought, but they suggest only minimal change after 2400 early Bronze age remains to be demonstrated by more careful BCE, whereas some earlier, wide divergences of the 18O and 13C sociohistorical and paleoclimatic analyses. isotope curves are difficult to explain for a complex cave envi- ronment (14). Instead, 13C isotopes from barley grains, a homo- Environmental Degradation and Human Impact geneous medium and from good archaeological contexts in Syria The links between deforestation and soil erosion were already (15), give consistently low negative values (i.e., drier climate) understood by Plato (∼370 BCE) (25), and the agronomist after approximately 2500 BCE and exhibit nothing extraordinary. Columella [∼65 common era (CE)] (26), who recommended The discharge of the Euphrates should be a key criterion for terracing of freshly cleared hillsides to avoid erosion. A modern such a regional megadrought. The isotopic and salinity records of development of these themes awaited George Perkins Marsh Lake Van, near its headwaters, do not support such an event (ref. (27) in 1864. Marsh was a leading conservationist who had ex- 16; despite lingering problems with a floating varve chronology). perienced clear-cutting in Michigan and later spent 20 y as Neither do settlement numbers and canal extensions in lower a traveler and diplomat in Italy and the Provence. He discussed Mesopotamia: the number of sites mapped for the Akkadian soil erosion and disastrous alluvial events, lamenting the impacts period increased 30% vs. that of the preceding early dynastic of what he regarded as slovenly Papist land use in the Mediter- Butzer www.pnas.org/cgi/content/short/1114845109 1of6 ranean basin. Unlike Huntington, who blamed climatic change, velop and disseminate their analytical insights for realistic Marsh saw an impending destruction of the Mediterranean en- planning and practice at individual, state, and national scales vironment as anthropogenic. (42). An overall increase in forest cover is also supported by Although Marsh was influential for environmental conserva- historical evidence that woodlands in New South Wales today tion in the United States, a related thesis championed by Colonial are much the same as those reported by the earliest European officers of Britain and France gained preeminence in the Med- travelers, who had already encountered prehistoric gullies (43). iterranean orbit. As argued by Sarah Harris (28, 29), landscape The informal narrative of Collapse (39) revolves more around ecology was reduced to an agricultural–pastoral dialectic, or one an author’s opinions or advocacy than it does his stellar primary that cast “backward,” indigenous practices as implicit resistance research. The book can also be criticized for the offhand treat- to Colonial imposition of a more rational husbandry. In whatever ment of societal issues, which has been faulted in a book-length structural form, unsustainable resource management favors bi- counterpoint by leading anthropologists (44). otic degradation, soil loss, slope failure, and gullying or accel- erated alluviation. At more sophisticated diagnostic levels, it Further Considerations of Collapse introduces matters of scale, biotic mosaics, habitat complexity, The two analytical sketches appended here examine other Near and local cultural perceptions of resource impairment, pro- Eastern collapse scenarios to highlight the fundamental impor- ductivity, and stress (30). tance of social factors and the protracted rather than “abrupt” Unlike the climatic change model, the anthropogenic degra- time frames for collapse. dation counterpart has continued to evolve. It reemerged as “desertification,” to attract support from international agencies, Greco-Roman Fayum
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Global Catastrophic Risks 2016
    Global Challenges Foundation Global Catastrophic Risks 2016 © Global Challenges Foundation/Global Priorities Project 2016 GLOBAL CATASTROPHIC RISKS 2016 THE GLOBAL CHALLENGES FOUNDATION works to raise awareness of the The views expressed in this report are those of the authors. Their Global Catastrophic Risks. Primarily focused on climate change, other en- statements are not necessarily endorsed by the affiliated organisations. vironmental degradation and politically motivated violence as well as how these threats are linked to poverty and rapid population growth. Against this Authors: background, the Foundation also works to both identify and stimulate the Owen Cotton-Barratt*† development of good proposals for a management model – a global gover- Sebastian Farquhar* nance – able to decrease – and at best eliminate – these risks. John Halstead* Stefan Schubert* THE GLOBAL PRIORITIES PROJECT helps decision-makers effectively prior- Andrew Snyder-Beattie† itise ways to do good. We achieve his both by advising decision-makers on programme evaluation methodology and by encouraging specific policies. We * = The Global Priorities Project are a collaboration between the Centre for Effective Altruism and the Future † = The Future of Humanity Institute, University of Oxford of Humanity Institute, part of the University of Oxford. Graphic design: Accomplice/Elinor Hägg Global Challenges Foundation in association with 4 Global Catastrophic Risks 2016 Global Catastrophic Risks 2016 5 Contents Definition: Global Foreword 8 Introduction 10 Catastrophic Risk Executive summary 12 1. An introduction to global catastrophic risks 20 – risk of events or 2. What are the most important global catastrophic risks? 28 Catastrophic climate change 30 processes that would Nuclear war 36 Natural pandemics 42 Exogenous risks 46 lead to the deaths of Emerging risks 52 Other risks and unknown risks 64 Our assessment of the risks 66 approximately a tenth of 3.
    [Show full text]
  • Catastrophism, Natural Disasters, and Cultural Change John Grattan and Robin Torrence
    Theme: Archaeology and the Environment Symposium 017/1 Grattan & Torrence Symposium: Catastrophism, Natural Disasters, and Cultural Change John Grattan and Robin Torrence The aim of this session is to examine both the short and long-term consequences of extreme natural events on patterns of cultural change. Archaeological theory about the pace and character of cultural change generally focuses on processes which are internally generated and which unfold slowly through time. Since environmental determinism has fallen out of favour, theories about social evolution pay very little attention to external, nonhuman factors nor to random factors. Little or no consideration has been given to the effects of one-off natural disasters. In contrast, a number of theoretical perspectives involving catastrophism, chaos, punctuated evolution, etc. provide a range of alternative views that focus on the effects of random events. One of the goals of the symposium is to assess the value of these theories for explaining the impacts of natural disasters on cultural change. Through extended discussions following short presentations of case studies representing a very broad coverage in spatial, chronological and cultural terms, the participants will consider a range of general questions. How and in what ways do natural hazards affect human societies? Have natural disasters played an important role in human evolution? Do natural disasters have only short-term, limited effects or should they play an important role within general theories about cultural change and
    [Show full text]
  • How to Stop a Supervolcano
    HOW TO STOP A SUPERVOLCANO [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT] In 1816, red snow fell in Maryland. And brown snow. And blue snow.1 Which was kind of weird. Even weirder? It was May. Parts of Pennsylvania were covered in half an inch of ice … in July.2 1816 was known as “The Year Without a Summer.” And the phenomenon wasn’t limited to the U.S. In fact, the reason Americans were shivering in the middle of the year … had to do with something that happened half a world away. The darkened, hazy skies produced by “The Year Without a Summer” led to a series of famous paintings by the likes of J.M.W. Turner, Caspar David Friedrich, and John Crome. Modern audiences often believe that the use of lighting in these works is stylized, not realizing that it was a reflection of the actual conditions at the time. Another artistic legacy of the year without a summer: Mary Shelley and her summer vacation companions at Lake Geneva were forced indoors, where they entertained each other by coming up with horror stories. Shelley’s contribution eventually became Frankenstein. The eruption of the volcano at Mount Tambora in Indonesia had released a massive cloud of ash and sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere. As a result, temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere plummeted. Crops failed and livestock died en masse. Between the eruption itself, the ensuing tsunamis, and the resulting starvation, approximately 92,000 people died.3 It is widely regarded as the worst volcanic eruption in recorded history. Here’s the good news: you didn’t have to live through it.
    [Show full text]
  • Assessing the Impact of a Future Volcanic Eruption on Decadal Predictions
    Earth Syst. Dynam., 9, 701–715, 2018 https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-9-701-2018 © Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Assessing the impact of a future volcanic eruption on decadal predictions Sebastian Illing1, Christopher Kadow1, Holger Pohlmann2, and Claudia Timmreck2 1Freie Universität Berlin, Institute of Meteorology, Berlin, Germany 2Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg, Germany Correspondence: Sebastian Illing ([email protected]) Received: 22 January 2018 – Discussion started: 2 February 2018 Accepted: 27 April 2018 – Published: 6 June 2018 Abstract. The likelihood of a large volcanic eruption in the future provides the largest uncertainty concerning the evolution of the climate system on the timescale of a few years, but also an excellent opportunity to learn about the behavior of the climate system, and our models thereof. So the following question emerges: how predictable is the response of the climate system to future eruptions? By this we mean to what extent will the volcanic perturbation affect decadal climate predictions and how does the pre-eruption climate state influence the impact of the volcanic signal on the predictions? To address these questions, we performed decadal forecasts with the MiKlip prediction system, which is based on the MPI-ESM, in the low-resolution configuration for the initialization years 2012 and 2014, which differ in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) phase. Each forecast contains an artificial Pinatubo-like eruption starting in June of the first prediction year and consists of 10 ensemble members. For the construction of the aerosol radiative forcing, we used the global aerosol model ECHAM5-HAM in a version adapted for volcanic eruptions.
    [Show full text]
  • Radiative and Climate Impacts of a Large Volcanic Eruption During Stratospheric Sulfur Geoengineering
    Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 305–323, 2016 www.atmos-chem-phys.net/16/305/2016/ doi:10.5194/acp-16-305-2016 © Author(s) 2016. CC Attribution 3.0 License. Radiative and climate impacts of a large volcanic eruption during stratospheric sulfur geoengineering A. Laakso1, H. Kokkola1, A.-I. Partanen2,3, U. Niemeier4, C. Timmreck4, K. E. J. Lehtinen1,5, H. Hakkarainen6, and H. Korhonen2 1Finnish Meteorological Institute, Atmospheric Research Centre of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland 2Finnish Meteorological Institute, Climate Research, Helsinki, Finland 3Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec, Canada 4Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg, Germany 5Department of Applied Physics, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio campus, Kuopio, Finland 6A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland Correspondence to: A. Laakso (anton.laakso@fmi.fi) Received: 18 June 2015 – Published in Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss.: 12 August 2015 Revised: 21 December 2015 – Accepted: 22 December 2015 – Published: 18 January 2016 Abstract. Both explosive volcanic eruptions, which emit sul- ulation, only about one-third of the global ensemble-mean fur dioxide into the stratosphere, and stratospheric geoengi- cooling occurs after the eruption, compared to that occur- neering via sulfur injections can potentially cool the climate ring after an eruption under unperturbed atmospheric con- by increasing the amount of scattering particles in the at- ditions. Furthermore, the global cooling signal is seen only mosphere. Here we employ a global aerosol-climate model for the 12 months after the eruption in the former scenario and an Earth system model to study the radiative and climate compared to over 40 months in the latter.
    [Show full text]
  • Global Catastrophic Risks 2017 INTRODUCTION
    Global Catastrophic Risks 2017 INTRODUCTION GLOBAL CHALLENGES ANNUAL REPORT: GCF & THOUGHT LEADERS SHARING WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ON GLOBAL CATASTROPHIC RISKS 2017 The views expressed in this report are those of the authors. Their statements are not necessarily endorsed by the affiliated organisations or the Global Challenges Foundation. ANNUAL REPORT TEAM Carin Ism, project leader Elinor Hägg, creative director Julien Leyre, editor in chief Kristina Thyrsson, graphic designer Ben Rhee, lead researcher Erik Johansson, graphic designer Waldemar Ingdahl, researcher Jesper Wallerborg, illustrator Elizabeth Ng, copywriter Dan Hoopert, illustrator CONTRIBUTORS Nobuyasu Abe Maria Ivanova Janos Pasztor Japanese Ambassador and Commissioner, Associate Professor of Global Governance Senior Fellow and Executive Director, C2G2 Japan Atomic Energy Commission; former UN and Director, Center for Governance and Initiative on Geoengineering, Carnegie Council Under-Secretary General for Disarmament Sustainability, University of Massachusetts Affairs Boston; Global Challenges Foundation Anders Sandberg Ambassador Senior Research Fellow, Future of Humanity Anthony Aguirre Institute Co-founder, Future of Life Institute Angela Kane Senior Fellow, Vienna Centre for Disarmament Tim Spahr Mats Andersson and Non-Proliferation; visiting Professor, CEO of NEO Sciences, LLC, former Director Vice chairman, Global Challenges Foundation Sciences Po Paris; former High Representative of the Minor Planetary Center, Harvard- for Disarmament Affairs at the United Nations Smithsonian
    [Show full text]
  • Volcanic Eruptions and Climate 38, 2 / Reviews of Geophysics
    VOLCAN IC ERUPTIONS AN D CLIMATE Alan Robock Departmentof EnvironmentalSciences RutgersUniversity New Brunswick,New Jersey Abstract. Volcaniceruptions are an importantnatural an enhancedpole-to-equator temperature gradient, es- cause of climate change on many timescales.A new pecially in winter. In the Northern Hemisphere winter capability to predict the climatic responseto a large this enhancedgradient produces a strongerpolar vortex, tropical eruption for the succeeding2 years will prove and this strongerjet stream producesa characteristic valuable to society.In addition, to detect and attribute stationarywave pattern of troposphericcirculation, re- anthropogenicinfluences on climate,including effects of sultingin winter warming of Northern Hemispherecon- greenhousegases, aerosols, and ozone-depletingchem- tinents.This indirect advectiveeffect on temperatureis icals, it is crucial to quantify the natural fluctuationsso strongerthan the radiative coolingeffect that dominates as to separatethem from anthropogenicfluctuations in at lower latitudes and in the summer. The volcanic the climate record. Studyingthe responsesof climate to aerosolsalso serveas surfacesfor heterogeneouschem- volcanic eruptions also helps us to better understand ical reactions that destroy stratosphericozone, which important radiative and dynamical processesthat re- lowers ultraviolet absorptionand reducesthe radiative spondin the climate systemto both natural and anthro- heating in the lower stratosphere,but the net effect is pogenicforcings. Furthermore, modeling the effects of still heating.Because this chemicaleffect dependson the volcanic eruptions helps us to improve climate models presenceof anthropogenicchlorine, it has only become that are needed to study anthropogeniceffects. Large important in recent decades.For a few days after an volcanic eruptions inject sulfur gasesinto the strato- eruptionthe amplitudeof the diurnal cycleof surfaceair sphere,which convertto sulfate aerosolswith an e-fold- temperature is reduced under the cloud.
    [Show full text]
  • Super-Eruptions: Global Effects and Future Threats
    The Jemez Mountains (Valles Caldera) super-volcano, New Mexico, USA. Many super-eruptions have come from volcanoes that are either hard to locate or not very widely known. An example is the Valles Caldera in the Jemez Mountains, near to Santa Fe and Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA. The caldera is the circular feature (centre) in this false-colour (red=vegetation) Landsat image, which shows an area about 80 kilometres across of the region in North-Central New Mexico. The collapsed caldera is 24 kilometres in diameter and is the result of two explosive super- eruptions 1.6 and 1.1 million years ago (i.e., 500,000 years apart). All rocks in the photo below are part of the 250 metre thick deposits of the older of the two super- eruptions at the Valles Caldera. It’s not a question of “if” – it’s a question of “when…” “Many large volcanoes on Earth are capable of explosive eruptions much bigger than any experienced by humanity over historic time. Such volcanoes are termed super-volcanoes and their colossal eruptions super-eruptions. Super-eruptions are different from other hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, storms or fl oods in that – like the impact of a large asteroid or comet – their environmental effects threaten global civilisation.” “Events at the smaller-scale end of the super-eruption size spectrum are quite common when compared with the frequency of other naturally occurring devastating phenomena such as asteroid impacts. The effects of a medium-scale super- eruption would be similar to those predicted for the impact of an asteroid one kilometre across, but super-eruptions of this size are still fi ve to ten times more likely to occur within the next few thousand years than an impact.” “Although at present there is no technical fi x for averting super-eruptions, improved monitoring, awareness-raising and research-based planning would reduce the suffering of many millions of people.” 1 Executive summary Some very large volcanoes are capable Problems such as global warming, of colossal eruptions with global impacts by asteroids and comets, rapid consequences.
    [Show full text]
  • Making a Riskier Future: How Our Decisions Are Shaping Future Disaster Risk Ix
    The making of a riskier future: How our decisions are shaping future disaster risk The making of a riskier future: How our decisions are shaping future disaster risk © 2016 Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., 20433, U.S.A. The text in this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or nonprofit uses, without special permission, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. The GFDRR Secretariat would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this report as a source. Copies may be sent to the GFDRR Secretariat at the above address. No use of this publication may be made for resale or other commercial purpose without prior written consent of the GFDRR Secretariat. All images remain the sole property of the source and may not be used for any purpose without written permission from the source. Notes: Fiscal year (FY) runs from July 1 to June 30; the financial contributions and expenditures reported are reflected up to June 30, 2015; all dollar amounts are in US dollars ($) unless otherwise indicated. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Design: Miki Fernández/ULTRAdesigns, Inc. Cover: Kathmandu cityscape, Nepal. Photo credit: sagarmanis/Thinkstock.com; Inside cover: Bhaktapur, Nepal – May 9, 2015: Woman outside her earthquake-ruined house in Bhaktapur, Nepal, located 30 km east of Kathmandu.
    [Show full text]
  • Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) 7 Eruptions and Their Chilling Impacts GEOSPHERE; V
    Research Paper THEMED ISSUE: Subduction Top to Bottom 2 GEOSPHERE Anticipating future Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) 7 eruptions and their chilling impacts GEOSPHERE; v. 14, no. 2 Chris Newhall1, Stephen Self2, and Alan Robock3 1Mirisbiris Garden and Nature Center, Sitio Mirisbiris, Barangay Salvacion, Santo Domingo, Albay 4508, Philippines doi:10.1130/GES01513.1 2Department of Earth & Planetary Science, University of California, 307 McCone Hall, Berkeley, California 94720-4767, USA 3Department of Environmental Sciences, Rutgers University, 14 College Farm Road, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901, USA 7 figures; 3 tables CORRESPONDENCE: cgnewhall@ gmail .com ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION CITATION: Newhall, C., Self, S., and Robock, A., 2018, Worst-case or high-end subduction-related earthquakes and tsunamis Explosive volcanic eruptions occur in a wide range of sizes, and the mod- Anticipating future Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) 7 eruptions and their chilling impacts: Geosphere, v. 14, of 2004 and 2011 are painfully fresh in our memories. High-end subduction- ern world has not yet seen an eruption of either Volcanic Explosivity Index no. 2, p. 1–32, doi:10.1130/GES01513.1. related volcanic eruptions have not occurred in recent memory, so we review (VEI) 7 or 8, the highest 2 orders of magnitude known from written and geo- historical and geologic evidence about such eruptions that will surely recur logic history (Newhall and Self, 1982; Mason et al., 2004; Global Volcanism Science Editor: Shanaka de Silva within coming centuries. Specifically, we focus on Volcanic Explosivity Index Program, 2013). Most, although not all, of these very large eruptions have oc- Guest Associate Editor: Robert Stern (VEI) 7 eruptions, which occur 1–2 times per thousand years.
    [Show full text]
  • Ecology and Extinction of Southeast Asia's Megafauna
    ECOLOGY AND EXTINCTION OF SOUTHEAST ASIA’S MEGAFAUNA JULIEN LOUYS Thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences University of New South Wales Sydney, Australia December 2007 THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES Thesis/Dissertation Sheet Surname or Family name: Louys First name: Julien Other name/s: Claude Alexandre Abbreviation for degree as given in the University calendar: PhD School: Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty: Science Title: Ecology and Extinction of Southeast Asia’s Megafauna Abstract 350 words maximum: (PLEASE TYPE) The Quaternary megafauna of Southeast Asia are among the world’s poorest known. Throughout the Pleistocene, continental collisions, active volcanic systems and fluctuations in sea level have had dramatic effects on the region’s geography, from southern China to Indonesia. Many Southeast Asian megafauna experienced geographical range reduction or complete extinction during that interval. This thesis explores the relative influence of environmental change and human interaction in these extinctions. There is currently no direct evidence to suggest that humans had a negative impact on Southeast Asian megafauna until the Holocene. Rather, extinctions and geographical range reduction experienced by megafauna are likely to have resulted from of loss of suitable habitats, in particular the loss of more open habitats. Environmental change throughout the Pleistocene of Southeast Asia is reconstructed on the basis of discriminant functions analysis of megafauna from twenty-seven Southeast Asian Quaternary sites, as well as Gongwangling, an early Pleistocene hominin site previously interpreted as paleoarctic. The discriminant functions were defined on the basis of species lists drawn from modern Asian nature reserves and national parks, and were analysed using both taxonomic and phylogeny-free variables.
    [Show full text]
  • 8 Scheme Title Volcanoes Urban Geography Environmental Issues
    Subject : Geography Year Group: 8 Scheme title Volcanoes Urban Geography Environmental Issues Development in the Horn of Africa Purpose of scheme The unit is an introduction to plate tectonics and natural The unit is an introduction to the study of urban Geography The unit coveres the concept of global warming and extreme The unit introduces the concepts of development, hazards that is later covered at GCSE. The unit focuses on the that is later covered at GCSE. The units covers the concept of weather and looking at sustainable solutcions.. The unit will development gap and inequality. In the unit students will cause and impacts of volcanic eruptions. urbanisation and growth of UK cities. The unit will also then teach students about the Ocean ecosystem and human learn about the concepts of poverty and factors that may compare opportunities and challenges of urbanisation in actions can threaten an ecostystem. prevent or promote economic development. The unit acts as HIC's and LIC's. The unit will also introduce the concept of in introduction to the cocept of development that is covered sustainabilty through looking at sustainable urban living. at GCSE. Knowledge in Structure of the earth; inner core, outer core, mantle, crust. Varying rates of urbanisation in HIC’s, NEE’s and LIC’s. Causes Is the world’s weather becoming more extreme? Examine Categorising countries in LIC, NEE and HIC. sequence of urbanisation; rural urban migration and natural increase. evidence of weather events. Tectonic plates; plate boundary, constructive plate, Using development indicators as a way to determine level of destructive plate and conservative plate.
    [Show full text]