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Article Reference A 1500-year record of North Atlantic storm flooding from lacustrine sediments, Shetland Islands (UK)
Severe storm flooding poses a major hazard to the coasts of north-western Europe. However, the long-term recurrence patterns of extreme coastal flooding and their governing factors are poorly understood. Therefore, high-resolution sedimentary records of past North Atlantic storm flooding are required. This multi-proxy study reconstructs storm-induced overwash processes from coastal lake sediments on the Shetland Islands using grain-size and geochemical data, and the re-analysis of historical data. The chronostratigraphy is based on Bayesian age–depth modelling using accelerator mass spectrometry 14C and 137Cs data. A high XRF-based Si/Ti ratio and the unimodal grain-size distribution link the sand layers to the beach and thus storm-induced overwash events. Periods with more frequent storm flooding occurred 980–1050, 1150–1300, 1450–1550, 1820–1900 and 1950–2000 ce, which is largely consistent with a positive North Atlantic Oscillation mode. The Little Ice Age (1400–1850 ce) shows a gap of major sand layers suggesting a southward shift of storm tracks and a seasonal variance with more storm floods in spring and autumn. Warmer phases shifted winter storm tracks towards the north-east Atlantic, indicating a possible trend for future storm-track changes and increased storm flooding in the northern North Sea region.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Article Reference A 1500-year record of North Atlantic storm flooding from lacustrine sediments, Shetland Islands (UK)
Severe storm flooding poses a major hazard to the coasts of north-western Europe. However, the long-term recurrence patterns of extreme coastal flooding and their governing factors are poorly understood. Therefore, high-resolution sedimentary records of past North Atlantic storm flooding are required. This multi-proxy study reconstructs storm-induced overwash processes from coastal lake sediments on the Shetland Islands using grain-size and geochemical data, and the re-analysis of historical data. The chronostratigraphy is based on Bayesian age–depth modelling using accelerator mass spectrometry 14C and 137Cs data. A high XRF-based Si/Ti ratio and the unimodal grain-size distribution link the sand layers to the beach and thus storm-induced overwash events. Periods with more frequent storm flooding occurred 980–1050, 1150–1300, 1450–1550, 1820–1900 and 1950–2000 ce, which is largely consistent with a positive North Atlantic Oscillation mode. The Little Ice Age (1400–1850 ce) shows a gap of major sand layers suggesting a southward shift of storm tracks and a seasonal variance with more storm floods in spring and autumn. Warmer phases shifted winter storm tracks towards the north-east Atlantic, indicating a possible trend for future storm-track changes and increased storm flooding in the northern North Sea region.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Article Reference A 1500-years record of North Atlantic storm flooding from lacustrine sediments, Shetland Islands (UK).
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Article Reference A 5000-year pollen and plant macrofossil record from the Osogovo Mountain, Southwestern Bulgaria: Vegetation history and human impact
Abstract Pollen and plant macrofossil analyses were performed on a sequence 105 cm deep obtained from a peat bog (1750 m) that is located above the present timber-line in the Osogovo Mountain, Southwestern Bulgaria. The palaeovegetation reconstruction, supported by a radiocarbon chronology, revealed the vegetation dynamics and human impact during the last 5000 years. The peat bog formed when a coniferous belt of Abies alba and Pinus (Pinus sylvestris, Pinus nigra) covered the high mountain slopes. Charcoal fragments indicate the presence of a broad-leaved tree community composed of Quercus, Corylus, Carpinus, Tilia, Acer and Ulmus at lower altitudes. Stands of Fagus sylvatica in places with higher air and soil humidity, like river valleys and deep ravines, became established. The pollen assemblages after c. 3200 cal. \BP\ record an important change in the forest composition that led to the replacement of the conifers, mostly A. alba, by the invading communities of F. sylvatica. The reasons for this replacement included factors related to both climate change and anthropogenic disturbance. During the last centuries a large-scale degradation of the woodlands in the mountain has occurred. On a regional scale the palaeoecological evidence is compared with information from palynological, archaeological and historical sources in Southwestern Bulgaria.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference A bioarchaeological investigation of three late Chalcolithic pits at Ovçular Tepesi (Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan)
Socio-economic organisation, subsistence strategies and environmental exploitation still remain largely open questions for the Late Chalcolithic period (ca. 4500–3500 BC) in southern Caucasus even though they are of prime importance for understanding the development of post-Neolithic societies in these semi-arid and mountainous areas. Interdisciplinary bioarchaeological research can, however, provide valuable new insights into these issues. In the Late Chalcolithic occupation layers at Ovçular Tepesi (Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Azerbaijan), the fills of pits, composed mainly of domestic refuse, proved to contain the richest and most diverse assemblages of biological remains at the site. These remains, retrieved by the use of flotation and sieving techniques, therefore constitute ideal assemblages for understanding subsistence strategies and the exploitation of natural resources. It is shown here that the agricultural economy at Late Chalcolithic Ovçular Tepesi was based mainly on the cultivation of cereals and pulses and the herding of sheep and goat. The river and its surroundings provided wood fuel and fish. The results of the bioarchaeological study further suggest that the Late Chalcolithic village was occupied permanently as shown by the development of commensal populations of small mammals.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference A candid view of relations between malacologists in the second half of the nineteenth century: the correspondence of Henri Drouët with Hippolyte Crosse
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019
Article Reference A case of predation by Naja samarensis (Elapidae) on Cyclocorus nuchalis nuchalis (Lamprophiidae) on Mindanao Island, Philippines
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference A case study on the growth of Lanice conchilega (Pallas, 1766) aggregations and their ecosystem engineering impact on sedimentary processes
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference A century of coping with environmental and ecological changes via compensatory biomineralization in mussels
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference A challenge for changes
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications