A severe drought in parts of low-latitude northeastern Africa and southwestern Asia ∼4200 yr ago caused major disruption to ancient civilizations. Stable isotope, trace element, and organic fluorescence data from a calcite flowstone collected from the well-watered Alpi Apuane karst of central-western Italy indicate that the climatic event responsible for this drought was also recorded in mid-latitude Europe. Although the timing of this event coincides with an episode of increased ice-rafted debris to the subpolar North Atlantic, the regional ocean-atmosphere response seems atypical of similar Holocene ice-rafting events. Furthermore, comparison of the flowstone data with other regional proxies suggests that the most extreme part of the dry spell occurred toward the end of a longer-term climate anomaly.

Late Holocene drought responsible for the collapse of Old World civilizations is recorded in an Italian cave flowstone / R. Drysdale; G. Zanchetta; J. Hellstrom; R. Maas; A. Fallick; M. Pickett; I. Cartwright; L. Piccini. - In: GEOLOGY. - ISSN 0091-7613. - STAMPA. - 34(2):(2006), pp. 101-104.

Late Holocene drought responsible for the collapse of Old World civilizations is recorded in an Italian cave flowstone

PICCINI, LEONARDO
2006

Abstract

A severe drought in parts of low-latitude northeastern Africa and southwestern Asia ∼4200 yr ago caused major disruption to ancient civilizations. Stable isotope, trace element, and organic fluorescence data from a calcite flowstone collected from the well-watered Alpi Apuane karst of central-western Italy indicate that the climatic event responsible for this drought was also recorded in mid-latitude Europe. Although the timing of this event coincides with an episode of increased ice-rafted debris to the subpolar North Atlantic, the regional ocean-atmosphere response seems atypical of similar Holocene ice-rafting events. Furthermore, comparison of the flowstone data with other regional proxies suggests that the most extreme part of the dry spell occurred toward the end of a longer-term climate anomaly.
2006
34(2)
101
104
R. Drysdale; G. Zanchetta; J. Hellstrom; R. Maas; A. Fallick; M. Pickett; I. Cartwright; L. Piccini
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Utilizza questo identificatore per citare o creare un link a questa risorsa: https://hdl.handle.net/2158/254995
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