Dr. Nicolò Ardenghi - The Holocene fire history of Iceland: between natural and human forcings

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Dr. Nicolò Ardenghi, INSTAAR, University of Colorado Boulder

Mardi 21 mars 2023 à 12h30 - Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at 12:30 pm

Local PK-6205, 6e étage, 201 ave. du Président-Kennedy

Résumé / abstract:

Paleoclimate research across Iceland provides a template for changes in climate across the northern North Atlantic. The role of orbitally driven cooling, volcanism, and human impact as triggers of local environmental changes, such as fire and soil erosion, is debated. While there are indications that human impact could have reduced environmental resilience in a context of deteriorating climatic conditions, it is still difficult to resolve to what extent human and natural factors affected Iceland landscape instability.

I will present the first continuous Holocene fire record of Iceland from a lacustrine archive in the northeast region along with proxies for soil erosion, lake productivity, and human presence.

According to our data, there is no apparent human signal around the 9th century C.E., where an increase in man-made fires would likely be expected in connection to the historical data of Viking colonisation of Iceland (870s C.E.), suggesting that fire regimes have primarily been controlled by natural factors. Our proposed explanation for an unexpected pattern of Iceland fire history through the Holocene involves shifts in NAO connected to changes in precipitation regimes and shifts in the composition of the regional vegetational community.

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The Holocene fire history of Iceland: between natural and human forcings

Ajouter au calendrier 2023-03-21 12:30:00 2024-03-28 14:28:20 Dr. Nicolò Ardenghi - The Holocene fire history of Iceland: between natural and human forcings Paleoclimate research across Iceland provides a template for changes in climate across the northern North Atlantic. The role of orbitally driven cooling, volcanism, and human impact as triggers of local environmental changes, such as fire and soil erosion, is debated. While there are indications that human impact could have reduced environmental resilience in a context of deteriorating climatic conditions, it is still difficult to resolve to what extent human and natural factors affected Iceland landscape instability. I will present the first continuous Holocene fire record of Iceland from a lacustrine archive in the northeast region along with proxies for soil erosion, lake productivity, and human presence. According to our data, there is no apparent human signal around the 9th century C.E., where an increase in man-made fires would likely be expected in connection to the historical data of Viking colonisation of Iceland (870s C.E.), suggesting that fire regimes have primarily been controlled by natural factors. Our proposed explanation for an unexpected pattern of Iceland fire history through the Holocene involves shifts in NAO connected to changes in precipitation regimes and shifts in the composition of the regional vegetational community. Local PK-6205, 6e étage, 201 ave. du Président-Kennedy Geotop admin@example.com America/New_York public