Depopulation in the Americas and Climate Forcing

Land use and population change in the early post-contact Americas

A recent article published in Quaternary Science Reviews offers an updated view on the effect of indigenous depopulation in the Americas on the global climate. Reviewing 119 regional studies, it points  a decline in atmospheric carbon of 3.5 ppm due to the regrowth of secondary forests in areas previously used for agriculture that were abandoned after indigenous populations shrank. The authors point to this event as one of the earliest anthropogenic climate interventions. Read the full text here.

Freshwater Mussels as a Source of Climate Data

Growth curves for three species of mussel analyzed in the study.

A new paper in Ecological Indicators outlines the opportunities in using freshwater mussels as a climate proxy. Although using data from shells is a well-established practice, the study’s authors draw attention to alternative methods for noninvasive measurement. These measurements are annually banded and have the best response during warmer months, offering scientists the opportunity to create high resolution proxy records. Read the full paper here. 

New Pollen Record for Central Italy

Results of the study

A forthcoming palynology study on Lago di Mezzano in central Italy provides greater clarity to the landscape history in the region. In presenting her 15,300 year record, the author traces a shift from oak to beach to alder cars to a heavily human-modified assemblage in the recent past. This pollen data suggests that the area was most heavily impacted by humans during the Bronze Age, imperial Roman era, and the middle ages, though differently in each separate case. Read the full article here.  

Volume 4, Issue 3 of the CHN Newsletter Published

Nicholas Cunigan, our newsletter editor, has published the latest issue of our Climate History Newsletter. You'll find exciting project updates, the latest from Past Global Changes (PAGES) working groups, and of course: a long list of new scholarship.

Download the issue by clicking here.

Symposia on the history of meteorological knowledge transfer in colonial contexts

Zhenghong Chen talking about meteorology in China

Two linked symposia on “(Dis)Continuity Between the East and the West: The History of Meteorological Knowledge Transfer in Colonial Contexts”, sponsored by the International Commission for the History of Meteorology, took place in London this month during the conference of the European Society for the History of Science (14-17 September 2018). Read more about it here.

Understanding Chinese Climate Sources

Confucian philosopher Dong Zhongshu
Source: Public Domain

A new article in the journal Environmental History offers insight into classical Chinese sources on climate history. Although Chinese annals contain a wealth of weather data, putting this data to use meaningfully requires a careful understanding of the context in which the often-qualitative data were produced. As Pei and Forêt argue, Confucian “heaven-human induction theory,” in which the heavens communicated their displeasure with society or a ruler by sending weather omens, provides the fullest account of their intellectual underpinning. Read more about it here.

Whaling and Climate Change in the Arctic

A new report about ongoing research into the historical relationship of whaling and climate change in the Arctic was released by an interdisciplinary team from Denmark, Norway, and Greenland. Their report correlates the decline of whaling near Greenland with changes in sea ice cover and climate regimes locally and in the rest of Europe. At the same time, changes to whaling practices near Svalbard may have driven whales or whalers to new areas. Further developments promise new perspective on these charismatic creatures and how they, alongside humans, adapted to climate change. Read more about the project here.