Human–climate interactions in the central Mediterranean region during the last millennia: The laminated record of Lake Butrint (Albania)

Lake Butrint (39°47 N, 20°1 E) is a ca. 21 m deep, coastal lagoon located in SW Albania where finely-laminated sediments have been continuously deposited during the last millennia. The multi-proxy analysis (sedimentology, high-resolution elemental geochemistry and pollen) of a 12 m long sediment core, supported by seven AMS radiocarbon dates and 137Cs dating, enable a precise reconstruction of the environmental change that occurred in the central Mediterranean region during the last ∼4.5 cal kyrs BP. Sediments consist of triplets of authigenic carbonates, organic matter and clayey laminae. Fluctuations in the thickness and/or presence of these different types of seasonal laminae indicate variations in water salinity, organic productivity and runoff in the lake's catchment, as a result of the complex interplay of tectonics, anthropogenic forcing and climate variability. The progradation of the Pavllo river delta, favoured by variable human activity from the nearby ancient city of Butrint, led to the progressive isolation of this hydrological system from the Ionian Sea. The system evolved from an open bay to a restricted lagoon, which is consistent with archaeological data. An abrupt increase in mass-wasting activity between 1515 and 1450 BC, likely caused by nearby seismic activity, led to the accumulation of 24 homogenites, up to 17 cm thick. They have been deposited during the onset of finely laminated sedimentation, which indicates restricted, anoxic bottom water conditions and higher salinity. Periods of maximum water salinity, biological productivity, and carbonate precipitation coincide with warmer intervals, such as the early Roman Warm Period (RWP) (500 BC–0 AD), the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) (800–1400 AD) and recent times (after 1800 AD). Conversely, lower salinity and more oxic conditions, with higher clastic input were recorded during 1400–500 BC, the Late Roman and the Early Medieval periods (0–800 AD) and during the Little Ice Age (1400–1800 AD). Hydrological fluctuations recorded in Butrint are in phase with most central and western Mediterranean records and correlate with NAO variability. In contrast, opposite hydrological patterns have been recorded in the Eastern Balkans and the Levant during the last millennium, emphasizing a complex spatial variability in the region. Phases of maximum settlement intensity in Butrint (Roman-Late Antique) coincide with warmer and/or stable climate periods (0–800 AD and MCA, respectively), indicating a long-term influence of climatic conditions on human activities. The Late Holocene sedimentary record of Lake Butrint demonstrates the complex interplay of climate variability, tectonics and human impact in the recent evolution of coastal Mediterranean regions.

Adam und Eva [Illustration] : Ölgemälde, ca. 1530

Jan Gossaert

Freshening of the Alaska Coastal Current Recorded By Coralline Algal Ba/Ca Ratios

Arctic Ocean freshening can exert a controlling influence on global climate, triggering strong feedbacks on ocean-atmospheric processes and affecting the global cycling of the world's oceans. Glacier-fed ocean currents such as the Alaska Coastal Current are important sources of freshwater for the Bering Sea shelf, and may also influence the Arctic Ocean freshwater budget. Instrumental data indicate a multiyear freshening episode of the Alaska Coastal Current in the early 21st century. It is uncertain whether this freshening is part of natural multidecadal climate variability or a unique feature of anthropogenically induced warming. In order to answer this, a better understanding of past variations in the Alaska Coastal Current is needed. However, continuous long-term high-resolution observations of the Alaska Coastal Current have only been available for the last 2 decades. In this study, specimens of the long-lived crustose coralline alga Clathromorphum nereostratum were collected within the pathway of the Alaska Coastal Current and utilized as archives of past temperature and salinity. Results indicate that coralline algal Mg/Ca ratios provide a 60 year record of sea surface temperatures and track changes of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, a pattern of decadal-to-multidecadal ocean-atmosphere climate variability centered over the North Pacific. Algal Ba/Ca ratios (used as indicators of coastal freshwater runoff) are inversely correlated to instrumentally measured Alaska Coastal Current salinity and record the period of freshening from 2001 to 2006. Similar multiyear freshening events are not evident in the earlier portion of the 60 year Ba/Ca record. This suggests that the 21st century freshening of the Alaska Coastal Current is a unique feature related to increasing glacial melt and precipitation on mainland Alaska.

Der Kampf um den Besitz Palästinas in ältester Zeit : (3400 - 1450 v. d. g. Z.)

J. Zlocisti

Beiträge zur Entwicklungsgeschichte des Judentums, von ca. 400 v. Chr. bis ca. 1000 n. Chr.

von D. Chwolson

Josef Kainz als Hamlet, Statue, Denkmal, in: William Shakespeare: Hamlet, Wien: Sternwartepark, ca. 1910

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F04850

Ausstellung "Das Theater im Freien", Frankfurt a. M. - Die Stadt des deutschen Handwerks in Verbindung mit dem Reichsbund der deutschen Freilicht- und Volksschauspiele E. V. : Frederick van Valckenborch (ca. 1570-1623): Trionfo und Bühne. Museum Wallraf-Richartz Köln

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F07994

W. A. Mozart nach dem Originale seines Schwagers Hofschauspieler Lange im Juli 1791 [ca 5 Monate vor Beginn der Zauberflöte]

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F09329

Aloys Altmayer, Brustbild, Profil, ca. 1939

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F10577

Aloys Altmayer, Brustbild, ca. 1939

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F10578

Opernhaus, Frankfurt a. M., ca. 1890

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F10551

{[N.N.], Szenenfoto, Gruppenbildnis, in: Gustav Lazarus: Mandainka, Frankfurt a. M.: Opernhaus, ca. 1901

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F11977

{[N.N.], Szenenfoto, Gruppenbildnis, in: Gustav Lazarus: Mandainka, Frankfurt a. M.: Opernhaus, ca. 1901

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F11978

{[N.N.], Szenenfoto, Gruppenbildnis, in: Pe͏̈tr Il Čajkowskij: Jolanthe, Frankfurt a. M.: Opernhaus, ca. 1901

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F11996

Kaiserlich-Osmanische Palast-Kapelle, Gruppenbildnis, Benefizkonzert zugunsten des Roten Kreuzes, Berlin, ca. 1918

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F12190