Regattieri, Eleonora

In the first millennia of the Holocene, human communities in the Fertile Crescent experienced drastic cultural and technological transformations that modified social and human-environments interactions, ultimately leading to the rise of complex societies. The potential influence of climate on this "Neolithic Revolution" has long been debated. Here we present a speleothem record from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, covering from Early Neolithic to Early Chalcolithic periods (~ 11 to 7.3 ka, 9000-5300 BCE). The record reveals the influence of the Siberian High on regional precipitation, and shows large hydroclimatic variability at the multicentennial scale. In particular, it highlights wetter conditions between 9.7 and 9.0 ka, followed by an abrupt reduction of precipitation between 9.0 and 8.5 ka, and a wetter interval between 8.5 and 8.0 ka. A comparison with regional and local archaeological data demonstrates an influence of recorded hydroclimatic changes on settlement patterns (size, distribution, permanent vs. seasonal occupation) and on the exploitation of water resources by Neolithic to Chalcolithic populations. Our record does not show prominent hydroclimatic changes at 9.3 and 8.2 ka, thus not supporting direct influence of such rapid and widespread events on the process of Neolithization and its cultural dispersal.

A multiproxy record from a stalagmite collected from Torgashinskaya Cave (Southern Siberia, Russia) and growing between ca. 6 and 3.8 ka shows evidence for regional climatic changes occurring at ca. 5 ka. Interpretation of stable isotope ratios (δ18O and δ13C) and fluorescence data (intensity and wavelength of the emitted fluorescence) suggests that the interval between ca. 5 and 4.2 ka was generally warmer and drier than the interval between ca. 6 and 5 ka. The observed bipartitioning of the climate, attributable to the so-called ‘middlelate Holocene transition’, has a striking similarity to changes in K+ and Na+ concentration of Greenland ice cores (taken as indicators of the strength of the Siberian High and Icelandic Low, respectively), in the abundance of hematite-stained grains in subpolar North Atlantic sediments and, to lesser extent, in the summer Asian monsoon intensity deduced by δ18O from Chinese speleothems. In particular, the δ18O record at Torgashinskaya Cave can be interpreted as mostly driven by temperature changes. Besides several episodes of drift towards higher temperatures, it also strongly suggests the presence of short cooling events centered at 4.1+0.08/-0.07, 4.85+0.05/-0.06, 5.1+0.09/-0.09, 5.3+0.08/-0.07 and 5.8+0.12/-0.13 ka. Notably, the last three such events are in very good correspondence with spikes in the K+ and Na+ concentration of Greenland ice cores. Instead, the cooling around 4.1 ka could be the local response to the 4.2 event, a cold/dry episode identified in several records in the Northern Hemisphere. This suggests that δ18O of speleothem calcite from this area could be a useful proxy for defining the evolution of the Siberian High and its effect on the wider regional climate.

Accurately reconstructing the scale and timing of dynamic processes, such as Middle-Late Pleistocene explosive volcanism and rapid climatic changes, requires rigorous and independent chronological constraints. In this framework, the study of distal volcanic ash layers, or tephra, transported and deposited over wide regions during explosive volcanic eruptions, is increasingly being recognised as a fundamental chronostratigraphic tool for addressing these challenging issues. Here we present a high-resolution distal tephra record preserved in the lacustrine sedimentary succession of the Fucino Basin, central Italy. The investigated record spans the 430-365 ka time interval, covering the entirety of Marine Isotope Stage 11 (MIS 11), and provides important insights into peri-Tyrrhenian potassic explosive volcanism from sources located in central Italy against a backdrop of Mediterranean palaeooclimate records. The succession of ash fall events of this time interval is reconstructed through a detailed lithostratigraphic, geochemical and 40Ar/39Ar geochronological characterization of the deposits preserved as discrete layers in the Fucino F4-F5 sediment core. This work is complemented by similarly detailed characterization of selected proximal pyroclastic units from the peri-Tyrrhenian potassic volcanoes. Geochemical fingerprinting of the tephra deposits by means of their major, minor and trace elements and Sr isotope composition indicates that all the thirty-two investigated ash layers derived from the peri-Tyrrhenian potassic volcanoes. The stratigraphically continuous succession of the Fucino tephra layers allowed the development of a fully independent, 40Ar/39Ar age-constrained, Bayesian age-depth model for the investigated time interval. The age-model allows us to establish modelled ages for the tephra layers within the succession that are not directly dated. The resulting dated tephra record clearly reveals a highly time resolved and previously unparalelled chronicle of explosive activity from the Vulsini, Vico, Sabatini, Colli Albani and Roccamonfina volcanic complexes. Our study provides a benchmark and valuable geochemical and geochronological dataset to be used as a reference for any future development and application of the tephrostratigraphic methods across the central Mediterranean area both during the investigated 430-365 ka time interval, and deeper in time. This contribution underlines the importance of integrating proximal and distal sedimentary records to more accurately establish long-term and comprehensive volcanic eruption records.

Integrating palaeoclimatological proxies and historical records, which is necessary to achieve a more complete understanding of climate impacts on past societies, is a challenging task, often leading to unsatisfactory and even contradictory conclusions. This has until recently been the case for Italy, the heart of the Roman Empire, during the transition between Antiquity and the Middle Ages. In this paper, we present new high-resolution speleothem data from the Apuan Alps (Central Italy). The data document a period of very wet conditions in the sixth c. AD, probably related to synoptic atmospheric conditions similar to a negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation. For this century, there also exist a significant number of historical records of extreme hydroclimatic events, previously discarded as anecdotal. We show that this varied evidence reflects the increased frequency of floods and extreme rainfall events in Central and Northern Italy at the time. Moreover, we also show that these unusual hydroclimatic conditions overlapped with the increased presence of "water miracles" in Italian hagiographical accounts and social imagination. The miracles, performed by local Church leaders, strengthened the already growing authority of holy bishops and monks in Italian society during the crucial centuries that followed the "Fall of the Roman Empire". Thus, the combination of natural and historical data allows us to show the degree to which the impact of climate variability on historical societies is determined not by the nature of the climatic phenomena per se, but by the culture and the structure of the society that experienced it.

Abstract: A sedimentary sequence of fluvial deposits preserved in the Corchia Cave (Alpi Apuane) provides new chronological constraints for the evolution of the cave system and the timing and rate of uplift of this sector of the Alpi Apuane since the late Pliocene. Supported by magnetostratigraphic analysis performed on fine-grained fluvial deposits, and by radiometric dating of speleothems, we suggest that the deposition of fluvial sediments occurred between ~1.6–1.2 Ma. This implies that the host volume of rock was already located close to the local base level, adding key information about the recent tectonic evolution of the Alpi Apuane. A few before ~1 Ma, an erosive phase occurred due to the base-level lowering, followed by continuous speleothem deposition since at least 0.97 Ma. From that time, Monte Corchia uplifted at a maximum rate of ~0.5 mm/year, which is consistent with isostatic uplift mainly driven by erosional unloading. The petrographical study of the fluvial deposits highlights the presence of material derived from the erosion of rocks that today are absent in the cave’s catchment area, suggesting a different surface morphology during the Early Pleistocene. This study highlights the potential of cave sediments as archives for reconstructing the uplift history of mountain ranges.

Identifying the hydrological and environmental response of the European Alpine region to different combinations of climate boundary conditions is crucial to advance the reliability of predictive climate models and thus shape climate adaptation policies that will impact millions of people in seven countries. Here we present a high-resolution multiproxy speleothem record (stable oxygen and carbon isotope ratios, petrography and magnetic properties) from Rio Martino Cave (Piedmont, Southern Alps, Italy), which covers the first part of the Penultimate Glacial (early MIS 6, 182e157 ka). During early MIS 6, the combination of high climatic precession and obliquity amplified the peak in Northern Hemisphere (NH) summer insolation intensity at ca. 174 ka to almost interglacial levels, leading to northward migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and the enhancement of the boreal monsoon system. At orbital scale, the hydroclimatic record from Rio Martino closely follows the precession pattern, and shows a wet interstadial phase between 180 and 170 ka, peaking at the precession minimum, characterized by glacial retreat and by the likely development of soils and vegetation up to 1900e2000 m a.s.l. in this alpine sector. This phase can be traced across the Southern Alps, and corresponds to pluvial conditions inferred from Western Mediterranean records, and to the interval of deposition of the cold Sapropel S6 in the eastern Mediterranean. We suggest that the interaction between an intensified northwesterly cold flow (relating to increased ice volume under glacial conditions), and the relatively warm waters of the NW Mediterranean (due to the peculiar atmospheric configuration occurring at the precession minimum) strongly enhanced the autumn cyclogenesis in the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea, fuelling intense precipitation to reach the Southern Alps. The Rio Martino record also shows a prominent sub-orbital variability, the overall structure of which is coherent with hemispheric changes in climate driven by cyclic perturbations of North Atlantic conditions related to the operation of the bipolar seesaw.

Few palaeoclimate archives beyond the polar regions preserve continuous and datable palaeotemperature proxy time series over multiple glacial-interglacial cycles. This hampers efforts to develop a more coherent picture of global patterns of past temperatures. Here we show that Mg concentrations in a subaqueous speleothem from an Italian cave track regional sea-surface temperatures over the last 350,000 years. The Mg shows higher values during warm climate intervals and converse patterns during cold climate stages. In contrast to previous studies, this implicates temperature, not rainfall, as the principal driver of Mg variability. The depositional setting of the speleothem gives rise to Mg partition coefficients that are more temperature dependent than other calcites, enabling the effect of temperature change on Mg partitioning to greatly exceed the effects of changes in source-water Mg/Ca. Subaqueous speleothems from similar deep-cave environments should be capable of providing palaeotemperature information over multiple glacial-interglacial cycles.

Study of the climate in the Mediterranean basin during different historical periods has taken on a particular importance, particularly regarding its role (together with other factors) in the evolution of human settlement patterns. Although the Roman age is traditionally considered a period with a favourable climate, recent studies have revealed considerable complexity in terms of regional climate variations. In this paper, we compare the hydrological change from speleothem proxy records with flood reconstructions from archaeological sites for Northern Tuscany (central Italy). We identify a period of oscillating climatic conditions culminating in a multidecadal dry event during the 1st century BC, followed by a century of increased precipitation at the beginning of the Roman Empire and subsequently a return to drier conditions in the 2nd century AD. The period of rainfall increase documented by the speleothems agrees with both the archaeological flood record as well as historical flood data available for the Tiber River, ca. 300 km to the south. These data also suggest a return to wetter conditions following the 3nd and 4rd centuries AD.

The stable isotope composition of living and of Holocene Mytilidae shells was measured in the area of Camarones (Chubut, Argentina). The most striking results were the high 18O values measured in samples older than ca. 6.1 cal ka BP. In the younger samples, the 18O values remained substantially stable and similar to those of living specimens. Analysis of the data revealed the possibility for this isotopic shift to be driven mainly by changes in temperature probably accompanied by minor changes in salinity, suggesting cooler seawater before 6.1 cal ka BP, with a maximum possible temperature shift of ca. 5 C. A possible explanation of this change can be related to a northward position of the confluence zone of the Falkland and Brazilian currents. This is consistent with the data obtained in marine cores, which indicate a northerly position of the confluence in the first half of the Holocene. Our data are also in line with the changes in wind strength and position of the Southern WesterliesWind, as reconstructed in terrestrial proxies from the Southernmost Patagonia region.

Disentangling the effects of climate and human impact on the long-term evolution of the Earth Critical Zone is crucial to understand the array of its potential responses to the ongoing Global Change. This task requires natural archives from which local information about soil and vegetation can be linked directly to climate parameters. Here we present a high-resolution, well-dated, speleothem multiproxy record from the SW Italian Alps, spanning the last ~10,000 years of the present interglacial (Holocene). We correlate magnetic properties and the carbon stable isotope ratio to soil stability and pedogenesis, whereas the oxygen isotope composition is interpreted as primarily related to precipitation amount, modulated at different timescales by changes in precipitation source and seasonality. During the 9.7-2.8 ka period, when anthropic pressure over the catchment was scarce, intervals of enhanced soil erosion are related to climate-driven vegetation contractions and occurred during drier periods. Immediately following the onset of the Iron Age (ca. 2.8 ka), by contrast, periods of enhanced soil erosion coincided with a wetter climate. We propose that the observed changes in the soil response to climate forcing were related to early anthropogenic manipulations of Earth's surface, which made the ECZ more sensitive to climate oscillations.