ORCID Profile
0000-0001-9615-2065
Current Organisations
University of Potsdam
,
Ruhr University Bochum
,
Northumbria University
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Research Topics
In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Top 5 Research Topics
ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)
Palaeontology (incl. palynology) | Archaeology of Asia Africa and the Americas | Geology
ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)
Related Links
Publications
SISALv2: A comprehensive speleothem isotope database with multiple age-depth models
Publisher: Copernicus GmbH
Date: 27-10-2020
DOI: 10.5194/ESSD-12-2579-2020
Abstract: Abstract. Characterizing the temporal uncertainty in palaeoclimate records is crucial for analysing past climate change, correlating climate events between records, assessing climate periodicities, identifying potential triggers and evaluating climate model simulations. The first global compilation of speleothem isotope records by the SISAL (Speleothem Isotope Synthesis and Analysis) working group showed that age model uncertainties are not systematically reported in the published literature, and these are only available for a limited number of records (ca. 15 %, n=107/691). To improve the usefulness of the SISAL database, we have (i) improved the database's spatio-temporal coverage and (ii) created new chronologies using seven different approaches for age–depth modelling. We have applied these alternative chronologies to the records from the first version of the SISAL database (SISALv1) and to new records compiled since the release of SISALv1. This paper documents the necessary changes in the structure of the SISAL database to accommodate the inclusion of the new age models and their uncertainties as well as the expansion of the database to include new records and the quality-control measures applied. This paper also documents the age–depth model approaches used to calculate the new chronologies. The updated version of the SISAL database (SISALv2) contains isotopic data from 691 speleothem records from 294 cave sites and new age–depth models, including age–depth temporal uncertainties for 512 speleothems. SISALv2 is available at 0.17864/1947.256 (Comas-Bru et al., 2020a).
Climate dynamics during the penultimate glacial period recorded in a speleothem from Kanaan Cave, Lebanon (central Levant)
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 25-04-2018
DOI: 10.1017/QUA.2018.18
Abstract: Little is known about terrestrial climate dynamics in the Levant during the penultimate interglacial-glacial period. To decipher the palaeoclimatic history of the Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 glacial period, a well-dated stalagmite (~194 to ~154 ka) from Kanaan Cave on the Mediterranean coast in Lebanon was analyzed for its petrography, growth history, and stable isotope geochemistry. A resolved climate record has been recovered from this precisely U–Th dated speleothem, spanning the late MIS 7 and early MIS 6 at low resolution and the mid–MIS 6 at higher resolution. The stalagmite grew discontinuously from ~194 to ~163 ka. More consistent growth and higher growth rates between ~163 and ~154 ka are most probably linked to increased water recharge and thus more humid conditions. More distinct layering in the upper part of the speleothem suggests strong seasonality from ~163 ka to ~154 ka. Short-term oxygen and carbon isotope excursions were found between ~155 and ~163 ka. The inferred Kanaan Cave humid intervals during the mid–MIS 6 follow variations of pollen records in the Mediterranean basins and correlate well with the synthetic Greenland record and East Asian summer monsoon interstadial periods, indicating short warm/wet periods similar to the Dansgaard-Oeschger events during MIS 4–3 in the eastern Mediterranean region.
Holocene moisture changes in western China, Central Asia, inferred from stalagmites
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2017
Holocene variability of East Asian summer monsoon as viewed from the speleothem δ
Publisher:
Elsevier BV
Date:
03-2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2021
Supplementary material to "SISALv2: A comprehensive speleothem isotope database with multiple age-depth models"
Publisher: Copernicus GmbH
Date: 13-03-2020
The SISAL database: a global resource to document oxygen and carbon isotope records from speleothems
Publisher: Copernicus GmbH
Date: 14-09-0030
DOI: 10.5194/ESSD-10-1687-2018
Abstract: Abstract. Stable isotope records from speleothems provide information on past climate changes, most particularly information that can be used to reconstruct past changes in precipitation and atmospheric circulation. These records are increasingly being used to provide “out-of-s le” evaluations of isotope-enabled climate models. SISAL (Speleothem Isotope Synthesis and Analysis) is an international working group of the Past Global Changes (PAGES) project. The working group aims to provide a comprehensive compilation of speleothem isotope records for climate reconstruction and model evaluation. The SISAL database contains data for in idual speleothems, grouped by cave system. Stable isotopes of oxygen and carbon (δ18O, δ13C) measurements are referenced by distance from the top or bottom of the speleothem. Additional tables provide information on dating, including information on the dates used to construct the original age model and sufficient information to assess the quality of each data set and to erect a standardized chronology across different speleothems. The metadata table provides location information, information on the full range of measurements carried out on each speleothem and information on the cave system that is relevant to the interpretation of the records, as well as citations for both publications and archived data. The compiled data are available at 0.17864/1947.147.
Precipitation evolution of Central Asia during the last 5000 years
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 06-10-2016
Abstract: Central Asia is located at the confluence of large-scale atmospheric circulation systems. However, the number of Holocene climate records is still low in most parts of this region and insufficient to allow detailed discussion and comparisons to disentangle the complex climate history and interplays between the different climatic systems. Here, we present the first stalagmite record from arid Central Asia (south-western Kyrgyzstan) by using δ 18 O, δ 13 C, and micro x-ray fluorescence (µXRF)-sulfur data spanning the last 5000 years. The cave hosting stalagmite Uluu-2 is ideally suited to identify past shifts in seasonal variations in precipitation in this part of the world. Comparison of instrumental and paleo-isotopic studies demonstrates that the Uluu-2 speleothem isotope composition faithfully records climate changes and responds to shifts in the proportion of moisture derived from mid-latitude Westerlies during the winter/spring season. The reconstructions suggest that the area was characterized by a dry climate from 4700 to 3900 yr BP, interrupted by a wet episode around 4200 yr BP. Further drier conditions also occurred between 4000 and 3500 yr BP. Wetter conditions were re-established at ca. 2500 yr BP, after another dry episode between 3000 and 2500 yr BP. With the exception of two short dry events (1150 and 1300 yr BP), the period after 1700 yr BP shows moderate to wet conditions. Regional comparisons suggest that the strength and position of the Westerly winds control climatic shifts in arid Central Asia, leading to complex local responses.
Archaeological and environmental cave records in the Gobi-Altai Mountains, Mongolia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2021
Holocene hydroclimate variability along the Southern Patagonian margin (Chile) reconstructed from Cueva Chica speleothems
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2023
SISALv2: A comprehensive speleothem isotope database with multiple age-depth models
Publisher: Copernicus GmbH
Date: 13-03-2020
DOI: 10.5194/ESSD-2020-39
Abstract: Abstract. Characterising the temporal uncertainty in palaeoclimate records is crucial for analysing past climate change, for correlating climate events between records, for assessing climate periodicities, identifying potential triggers, and to evaluate climate model simulations. The first global compilation of speleothem isotope records by the SISAL (Speleothem Isotope Synthesis and Analysis) Working Group showed that age-model uncertainties are not systematically reported in the published literature and these are only available for a limited number of records (ca. 15 %, n = 107/691). To improve the usefulness of the SISAL database, we have (i) improved the database’s spatio-temporal coverage and (ii) created new chronologies using seven different approaches for age-depth modelling. We have applied these alternative chronologies to the records from the first version of the SISAL database (SISALv1) and to new records compiled since the release of SISALv1. This paper documents the necessary changes in the structure of the SISAL database to accommodate the inclusion of the new age-models and their uncertainties as well as the expansion of the database to include new records and the quality-control measures applied. This paper also documents the age-depth model approaches used to calculate the new chronologies. The updated version of the SISAL database (SISALv2) contains isotopic data from 691 speleothem records from 294 cave sites and new age-depth models, including age-depth temporal uncertainties for 512 speleothems. SISALv2 is available at 0.17864/1947.242 (Comas-Bru et al., 2020).
Defining paleoclimatic routes and opportunities for hominin dispersals across Iran
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 03-2023
DOI: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0281872
Abstract: Fossil and archaeological evidence indicates that hominin dispersals into Southwest Asia occurred throughout the Pleistocene, including the expansion of Homo sapiens populations out of Africa. While there is evidence for hominin occupations in the Pleistocene in Iran, as evidenced by the presence of Lower to Upper Paleolithic archaeological sites, the extent to which humid periods facilitated population expansions into western Asia has remained unclear. To test the role of humid periods on hominin dispersals here we assess Paleolithic site distributions and paleoenvironmental records across Iran. We developed the first spatially comprehensive, high-resolution paleohydrological model for Iran in order to assess water availability and its influence on hominin dispersals. We highlight environmentally mediated routes which likely played a key role in Late Pleistocene hominin dispersals, including the expansion of H . sapiens and Neanderthals eastwards into Asia. Our combined analyses indicate that, during MIS 5, there were opportunities for hominins to traverse a northern route through the Alborz and Kopet Dagh Mountains and the Dasht-I Kavir desert owing to the presence of activated fresh water sources. We recognize a new southern route along the Zagros Mountains and extending eastwards towards Pakistan and Afghanistan. We find evidence for a potential northern route during MIS 3, which would have permitted hominin movements and species interactions in Southwest Asia. Between humid periods, these interconnections would have waned, isolating populations in the Zagros and Alborz Mountains, where hominins may have continued to have had access to water.
Rainfall variations in central Indo-Pacific over the past 2,700 y
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 12-08-2019
Abstract: We present a high-resolution, replicated speleothem δ 18 O record from Klang Cave in southern Thailand that characterizes rainfall variation in NCIP over the past 2,700 y. This record reveals notable dry climate conditions during the current and past warm periods, similar to the observations in SCIP, which resemble enhanced El Niño-like conditions. Using a newly developed ITCZ shift index, we find a southward shifted ITCZ during the early MWP and the CWP. Our results suggest that detecting changes in rainfall due to anthropogenic forcing still remains indistinguishable from natural variability in the northern tropics.
Speleological and environmental history of Lida Ajer cave, western Sumatra
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 07-03-2022
Abstract: Some of the earliest evidence for the presence of modern humans in rainforests has come from the fossil deposits of Lida Ajer in Sumatra. Two human teeth from this cave were estimated to be 73–63 thousand years old, which is significantly older than some estimates of modern human migration out of Africa based on genetic data. The deposits were interpreted as being associated with a rainforest environment based largely on the presence of abundant orangutan fossils. As well as the main fossil-bearing chamber, fossil-bearing passages are present below a sinkhole, although the relationship between the different fossil deposits has only been tenuously established. Here, we provide significant new sedimentological, geochronological and palaeoecological data aimed at reconstructing the speleological and environmental history of the cave and the clastic and fossil deposits therein. Our data suggest that the Lida Ajer fossils were deposited during Marine Isotope Stage 4, with fossils from the lower passages older than the main fossil chamber. Our use of stable carbon and oxygen isotope analyses of mammalian tooth enamel demonstrates that early humans probably occupied a closed-canopy forest very similar to those present in the region today, although the fossil orangutans may have occupied a slightly different niche. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Tropical forests in the deep human past’.
Effects of Improved 17O Correction on Interlaboratory Agreement in Clumped Isotope Calibrations, Estimates of Mineral‐Specific Offsets, and Temperature Dependence of Acid Digestion Fraction
Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Date: 07-2019
DOI: 10.1029/2018GC008127
Abstract: The clumped isotopic composition of carbonate‐derived CO 2 (denoted Δ 47 ) is a function of carbonate formation temperature and in natural s les can act as a recorder of paleoclimate, burial, or diagenetic conditions. The absolute abundance of heavy isotopes in the universal standards VPDB and VSMOW (defined by four parameters: R 13 VPDB , R 17 VSMOW , R 18 VSMOW , and λ ) impact calculated Δ 47 values. Here, we investigate whether use of updated and more accurate values for these parameters can remove observed interlaboratory differences in the measured T‐Δ 47 relationship. Using the updated parameters, we reprocess 14 published calibration data sets measured in 11 different laboratories, representing many mineralogies, bulk compositions, s le types, reaction temperatures, and s le preparation and analysis methods. Exploiting this large composite data set ( n = 1,253 s le replicates), we investigate the possibility for a “universal” clumped isotope calibration. We find that applying updated parameters improves the T‐Δ 47 relationship (reduces residuals) within most labs and improves overall agreement but does not eliminate all interlaboratory differences. We reaffirm earlier findings that different mineralogies do not require different calibration equations and that cleaning procedures, method of pressure baseline correction, and mass spectrometer type do not affect interlaboratory agreement. We also present new estimates of the temperature dependence of the acid digestion fractionation for Δ 47 (Δ* 25‐X ), based on combining reprocessed data from four studies, and new theoretical equilibrium values to be used in calculation of the empirical transfer function. Overall, we have ruled out a number of possible causes of interlaboratory disagreement in the T‐Δ 47 relationship, but many more remain to be investigated.
Paleolithic occupation of arid Central Asia in the Middle Pleistocene
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 21-10-2022
DOI: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0273984
Abstract: Central Asia is positioned at a crossroads linking several zones important to hominin dispersal during the Middle Pleistocene. However, the scarcity of stratified and dated archaeological material and paleoclimate records makes it difficult to understand dispersal and occupation dynamics during this time period, especially in arid zones. Here we compile and analyze paleoclimatic and archaeological data from Pleistocene Central Asia, including examination of a new layer-counted speleothem-based multiproxy record of hydrological changes in southern Uzbekistan at the end of MIS 11. Our findings indicate that Lower Palaeolithic sites in the steppe, semi-arid, and desert zones of Central Asia may have served as key areas for the dispersal of hominins into Eurasia during the Middle Pleistocene. In agreement with previous studies, we find that bifaces occur across these zones at higher latitudes and in lower altitudes relative to the other Paleolithic assemblages. We argue that arid Central Asia would have been intermittently habitable during the Middle Pleistocene when long warm interglacial phases coincided with periods when the Caspian Sea was experiencing consistently high water levels, resulting in greater moisture availability and more temperate conditions in otherwise arid regions. During periodic intervals in the Middle Pleistocene, the local environment of arid Central Asia was likely a favorable habitat for paleolithic hominins and was frequented by Lower Paleolithic toolmakers producing bifaces.
Hunting, herding, and people in the rock art of Mongolia: New discoveries in the Gobi-Altai Mountains
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2021
Drought-Induced Civil Conflict Among the Ancient Maya
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 19-07-2022
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-022-31522-X
Abstract: The influence of climate change on civil conflict and societal instability in the premodern world is a subject of much debate, in part because of the limited temporal or disciplinary scope of case studies. We present a transdisciplinary case study that combines archeological, historical, and paleoclimate datasets to explore the dynamic, shifting relationships among climate change, civil conflict, and political collapse at Mayapan, the largest Postclassic Maya capital of the Yucatán Peninsula in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries CE. Multiple data sources indicate that civil conflict increased significantly and generalized linear modeling correlates strife in the city with drought conditions between 1400 and 1450 cal. CE. We argue that prolonged drought escalated rival factional tensions, but subsequent adaptations reveal regional-scale resiliency, ensuring that Maya political and economic structures endured until European contact in the early sixteenth century CE.
Protracted Indian monsoon droughts of the past millennium and their societal impacts
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 19-09-2022
Abstract: Protracted droughts lasting years to decades constitute severe threats to human welfare across the Indian subcontinent. Such events are, however, rare during the instrumental period ( ca . since 1871 CE). In contrast, the historic documentary evidence indicates the repeated occurrences of protracted droughts in the region during the preinstrumental period implying that either the instrumental observations underestimate the full spectrum of monsoon variability or the historic accounts overestimate the severity and duration of the past droughts. Here we present a temporally precise speleothem-based oxygen isotope reconstruction of the Indian summer monsoon precipitation variability from Mawmluh cave located in northeast India. Our data reveal that protracted droughts, embedded within multidecadal intervals of reduced monsoon rainfall, frequently occurred over the past millennium. These extreme events are in striking temporal synchrony with the historically documented droughts, famines, mass mortality events, and geopolitical changes in the Indian subcontinent. Our findings necessitate reconsideration of the region’s current water resources, sustainability, and mitigation policies that discount the possibility of protracted droughts in the future.
Local and Regional Indian Summer Monsoon Precipitation Dynamics During Termination II and the Last Interglacial
Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Date: 14-11-2019
DOI: 10.1029/2019GL083721
Abstract: To date Indian summer monsoon (ISM) dynamics have been assessed by changes in stalagmite δ 18 O. However, stalagmite δ 18 O is influenced by multiple environmental factors (e.g., atmospheric moisture transport, rainfall amount at the study site, and ISM seasonality), precluding simple and clear reconstructions of rainfall amount or variability. This study aims to disentangle these environmental factors by combining δ 18 O, δ 44 Ca, and elemental data from a stalagmite covering Termination II and the last interglacial from Mawmluh Cave, NE India, to produce a semiquantitative reconstruction of past ISM rainfall. We interpret δ 18 O as a mixed signal of rainfall source dynamics and rainfall amount and coupled δ 44 Ca and X/Ca ratios as indicators of local infiltration rate and prior calcite precipitation in the karst zone. The wettest conditions in our studied interval (135 and 100 kyrs BP BP = before present, with the present being 1950 CE) occurred during Marine Isotope Stage 5e. Our multiproxy data set suggests a likely change in seasonal distribution of Marine Isotope Stage 5e rainfall compared to the Holocene the wet season was longer with higher‐than‐modern dry season rainfall. Using the last interglacial as an analogue for future anthropogenic warming, our data suggest a more erratic ISM behavior in a warmer world.
Climatic and in-cave influences on δ18O and δ13C in a stalagmite from northeastern India through the last deglaciation
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 21-09-2017
DOI: 10.1017/QUA.2017.72
Abstract: Northeastern (NE) India experiences extraordinarily pronounced seasonal climate, governed by the Indian summer monsoon (ISM). The vulnerability of this region to floods and droughts calls for detailed and highly resolved paleoclimate reconstructions to assess the recurrence rate and driving factors of ISM changes. We use stable oxygen and carbon isotope ratios (δ 18 O and δ 13 C) from stalagmite MAW-6 from Mawmluh Cave to infer climate and environmental conditions in NE India over the last deglaciation (16–6ka). We interpret stalagmite δ 18 O as reflecting ISM strength, whereas δ 13 C appears to be driven by local hydroclimate conditions. Pronounced shifts in ISM strength over the deglaciation are apparent from the δ 18 O record, similarly to other records from monsoonal Asia. The ISM is weaker during the late glacial (LG) period and the Younger Dryas, and stronger during the Bølling-Allerød and Holocene. Local conditions inferred from the δ 13 C record appear to have changed less substantially over time, possibly related to the masking effect of changing precipitation seasonality. Time series analysis of the δ 18 O record reveals more chaotic conditions during the late glacial and higher predictability during the Holocene, likely related to the strengthening of the seasonal recurrence of the ISM with the onset of the Holocene.
Evaluating model outputs using integrated global speleothem records of climate change since the last glacial
Publisher: Copernicus GmbH
Date: 09-08-2019
Abstract: Abstract. Although quantitative isotope data from speleothems has been used to evaluate isotope-enabled model simulations, currently no consensus exists regarding the most appropriate methodology through which to achieve this. A number of modelling groups will be running isotope-enabled palaeoclimate simulations in the framework of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6, so it is timely to evaluate different approaches to using the speleothem data for data–model comparisons. Here, we illustrate this using 456 globally distributed speleothem δ18O records from an updated version of the Speleothem Isotopes Synthesis and Analysis (SISAL) database and palaeoclimate simulations generated using the ECHAM5-wiso isotope-enabled atmospheric circulation model. We show that the SISAL records reproduce the first-order spatial patterns of isotopic variability in the modern day, strongly supporting the application of this dataset for evaluating model-derived isotope variability into the past. However, the discontinuous nature of many speleothem records complicates the process of procuring large numbers of records if data–model comparisons are made using the traditional approach of comparing anomalies between a control period and a given palaeoclimate experiment. To circumvent this issue, we illustrate techniques through which the absolute isotope values during any time period could be used for model evaluation. Specifically, we show that speleothem isotope records allow an assessment of a model's ability to simulate spatial isotopic trends. Our analyses provide a protocol for using speleothem isotope data for model evaluation, including screening the observations to take into account the impact of speleothem mineralogy on δ18O values, the optimum period for the modern observational baseline and the selection of an appropriate time window for creating means of the isotope data for palaeo-time-slices.
Related Organisations
Northumbria University
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
University Of Cambridge
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Related Funding Activities
Discovery Projects - Grant ID: DP230101273
Start Date: 03-2024
End Date: 03-2027
Amount: $582,031.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded Activity