The onset of the palaeoanthropocene in Iceland
Changes in complex natural systems
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12267232 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Richard Streeter (0000-0003-2261-4540, University of St Andrews, corresponding author), Andrew J Dugmore (University of Edinburgh), Andrew Dugmore (0000-0001-6556-717X, University of Edinburgh), Ian T Lawson (0000-0002-3547-2425, University of St Andrews), Egill Erlendsson (0000-0002-2264-3504, University of Iceland), Kevin J Edwards (0000-0002-7205-066X, University of Aberdeen) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue | 10 |
| Pages | 1662-1675 |
| Publication date | 2015-07-10 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Holocene (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0959-6836 • E-ISSN: 1477-0911 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0959683615594468 |
| OpenAlex | W1834559345 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 20 |
| References cited | 74 |
Pre-industrial human impacts on the past environment are apparent in different proxy records at different times in different places. Recognizing environmentally transformative human impacts in palaeoenvironmental archives, as opposed to natural variability, is a key challenge in understanding the nature of the transition to the Earth’s current ‘Anthropocene’ condition. Here, we consider the palaeoenvironmental record for Iceland over the past 2.5 ka, both before and after the late ninth century human settlement ( landnám). The Scandinavian colonization of the island was essentially abrupt, involving thousands of people over a short period. The colonization triggered extensive changes in Icelandic ecosystems and landscapes. A volcanic ash known as the Landnám tephra was deposited over most of Iceland immediately before the settlement began. The Landnám tephra layer thus provides a uniquely precise litho-chrono-stratigraphic marker of colonization. We utilize this marker horizon as an independent definition of the effective onset of the local palaeoanthropocene (which is conceptually related to, but distinct from, the global Anthropocene). This allows us to evaluate proxy records for human impact on the Icelandic environment and to assess how and when they show transformative impact. Based on this analysis, we consider the implications for understanding and defining the Anthropocene in those areas of the Earth where such a clear independent marker of the onset of significant human impacts is lacking
Anthropocene · Archaeology · Climate change · Earth science · Environmental change · Geography · Geologic record · Icelandic · Natural (archaeology · Physical geography · Proxy (statistics · Tephra · Tephrochronology · Volcano · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Geology · Oceanography · Paleontology
Assessing spatial patterns of soil erosion in a high‐latitude rangeland
Geohistorical records of the Anthropocene in Chile
Fostering Collaborative Synthetic Research in Archaeology
Social science perspectives on drivers of and responses to global climate change
Disparate impacts of the Eldgjá and Laki flood-lava eruptions
Why are sustainable practices often elusive? The role of information flow in the management of networked human-environment interactions
Saga, settlement and sediments at Helgafell, western Iceland
The vegetation and land use histories of two farms in Iceland
Uncovering the Multibiome Environmental and Earth System Legacies of Past Human Societies
Simulating the extent and depth of spring snow cover for medieval settlements in Iceland and Greenland
Marking the boundaries of stratigraphy
Palaeoenvironmental evidence for woodland conservation in Northern Iceland from settlement to the twentieth century
Landnám , Land Use and Landscape Change at Kagaðarhóll in Northwest Iceland
Pollen, Plague & Protestants
Deforestation and Human Agency in the North Atlantic Region
Archaeological, Written, and Palaeoecological Evidence for Environmental Change in the Wake of Settlement in Iceland
Tropical peatlands in the anthropocene
Physical properties and spatial controls of stone walls in the northeastern USA
Archaeology for the Anthropocene
Anthropocene Landscape Change and the Legacy of Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Mining in the Fourmile Catchment, Colorado Front Range
Erosional Effects on Terrestrial Resources over the last Millennium in Reykjanes, Southwest Iceland
Vegetational response to human colonisation of the coastal and volcanic environments of Ketilsstaðir, southern Iceland
The Anthropogenic Greenhouse Era Began Thousands of Years Ago
Defining the epoch we live in
A synchronized dating of three Greenland ice cores throughout the Holocene
Ash layers from Iceland in the Greenland GRIP ice core correlated with oceanic and land sediments
The New World of the Anthropocene
Methods and code for ‘classical’ age-modelling of radiocarbon sequences
Tephrochronology and its application
Stratigraphy of the Anthropocene
Defining the Anthropocene
Geology of mankind
Krísuvíkureldar I. Aldur Ögmundarhrauns og miðaldalagsins
Tefrokronologiska studier på Island. Pjórsárdalur och Dess Förödelse
North Atlantic Biota and Their History
Two new Icelandic tephra markers
The timing and causes of the final pre-settlement expansion of Betula pubescens in Iceland
Geochemistry of historical-age silicic tephras in Iceland
The stratigraphic status of the Anthropocene
Years of environmental change and human impact at Stóra-Mörk, southern Iceland
Holocene land degradation and climatic change in northeastern Iceland
IntCal13 and Marine13 Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curves 0–50,000 Years cal BP
Charcoal Production During the Norse and Early Medieval Periods in Eyjafjallahreppur, Southern Iceland
Radiocarbon Dating Tephra Layers in Britain and Iceland
Vegetational response to tephra deposition and land-use change in Iceland
The Norse landnám on the North Atlantic islands
Decline of Birch Woodland Cover in Þjórsárdalur Iceland from 1587 to 1938
Shieling Areas
The Peopling of Iceland
Was The Peopling of Iceland a Trickle, a Steady Stream or a Deluge
INTCAL98 Radiocarbon Age Calibration, 24,000-0 cal BP
IntCal09 and Marine09 Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curves, 0-50,000 Years cal BP
When did the Anthropocene begin? A mid-twentieth century boundary level is stratigraphically optimal
Archeology, deep history, and the human transformation of island ecosystems
Human acceleration of animal and plant extinctions
The onset of the Anthropocene
The Palaeoanthropocene - The beginnings of anthropogenic environmental change
Conceptual Models of 1200 Years of Icelandic Soil Erosion Reconstructed Using Tephrochronology
Diachronous beginnings of the Anthropocene
The trajectory of the Anthropocene
Feasting in Viking Age Iceland
Abandoned Farms, Volcanic Impacts, and Woodland Management
Landscapes of Settlement in Northern Iceland
On the Windy Edge of Nothing
| Unique citing works | 20 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,54 |
| Citation span | 2013 - 2024 (12) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 20 |