The African Neogene - Climate, Environments and People

The African Neogene - Climate, Environments and People PDF Author: Jürgen Runge
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1351666401
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
During the Neogene – covering the last 23 Million years – the evolution of the environmental setting in Africa was subject to considerable changes. Natural shifts, slow and rapid, evidenced by modifications in palaeogeography, geodynamics, climate, and vegetation have caused repeated and strong changes of ecosystems in the lower latitudes. Using a variety of proxy data – researched and applied by many authors from numerous disciplines – an attempt is made to reconstruct African landscapes over space and time. Besides such spatio-temporal oscillations in recently humid, semi-humid, and dry areas of Africa, this volume of Palaeoecology of Africa (PoA) focuses on long term interrelationships between ecosystem dynamics and climate change, not ignoring the ever growing and ongoing influence of humans on natural ecosystems since the Quaternary. Regionally, this volume lays a strong focus on Nigeria (Niger Delta). Facing the omnipresent challenges of Global Change, an increasing number of African scientists is involved in palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic research, both theoretical and applied. PoA systematically supports established as well as junior African scientists in the field of sustainable cooperation and academic capacity building. This book will be of interest to all concerned with or interested in up-to-date research on Neogene to Quaternary low latitudes ecosystem changes and their respective interpretation in the framework of natural climate and vegetation change evidenced by a variety of methods that allow to read and learn from the past by following the motto, "The geologic foretime as the key to the present, and possibly to the future." Palynologists, Geologists, Geographers, Archaeologists, and Geomorphologists will find this edition equally useful for their work.

The African Neogene - Climate, Environments and People

The African Neogene - Climate, Environments and People PDF Author: Jürgen Runge
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1351666401
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 224

Get Book

Book Description
During the Neogene – covering the last 23 Million years – the evolution of the environmental setting in Africa was subject to considerable changes. Natural shifts, slow and rapid, evidenced by modifications in palaeogeography, geodynamics, climate, and vegetation have caused repeated and strong changes of ecosystems in the lower latitudes. Using a variety of proxy data – researched and applied by many authors from numerous disciplines – an attempt is made to reconstruct African landscapes over space and time. Besides such spatio-temporal oscillations in recently humid, semi-humid, and dry areas of Africa, this volume of Palaeoecology of Africa (PoA) focuses on long term interrelationships between ecosystem dynamics and climate change, not ignoring the ever growing and ongoing influence of humans on natural ecosystems since the Quaternary. Regionally, this volume lays a strong focus on Nigeria (Niger Delta). Facing the omnipresent challenges of Global Change, an increasing number of African scientists is involved in palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic research, both theoretical and applied. PoA systematically supports established as well as junior African scientists in the field of sustainable cooperation and academic capacity building. This book will be of interest to all concerned with or interested in up-to-date research on Neogene to Quaternary low latitudes ecosystem changes and their respective interpretation in the framework of natural climate and vegetation change evidenced by a variety of methods that allow to read and learn from the past by following the motto, "The geologic foretime as the key to the present, and possibly to the future." Palynologists, Geologists, Geographers, Archaeologists, and Geomorphologists will find this edition equally useful for their work.

The African neogene : climate, environments and people

The African neogene : climate, environments and people PDF Author: Jürgen Runge, 1962- [VNV]
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781315161808
Category : Africa
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
During the Neogene – covering the last 23 Million years – the evolution of the environmental setting in Africa was subject to considerable changes. Natural shifts, slow and rapid, evidenced by modifications in palaeogeography, geodynamics, climate, and vegetation have caused repeated and strong changes of ecosystems in the lower latitudes. Using a variety of proxy data – researched and applied by many authors from numerous disciplines – an attempt is made to reconstruct African landscapes over space and time. Besides such spatio-temporal oscillations in recently humid, semi-humid, and dry areas of Africa, this volume of Palaeoecology of Africa (PoA) focuses on long term interrelationships between ecosystem dynamics and climate change, not ignoring the ever growing and ongoing influence of humans on natural ecosystems since the Quaternary. Regionally, this volume lays a strong focus on Nigeria (Niger Delta). Facing the omnipresent challenges of Global Change, an increasing number of African scientists is involved in palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic research, both theoretical and applied. PoA systematically supports established as well as junior African scientists in the field of sustainable cooperation and academic capacity building. This book will be of interest to all concerned with or interested in up-to-date research on Neogene to Quaternary low latitudes ecosystem changes and their respective interpretation in the framework of natural climate and vegetation change evidenced by a variety of methods that allow to read and learn from the past by following the motto, "The geologic foretime as the key to the present, and possibly to the future." Palynologists, Geologists, Geographers, Archaeologists, and Geomorphologists will find this edition equally useful for their work.

The African Neogene - Climate Environments and People

The African Neogene - Climate Environments and People PDF Author: JRGEN. RUNGE
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 9780367572914
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
Volume 34 (2017) of the internationally recognized and acclaimed yearbook series 'Palaeoecology of Africa' publishes 10 new interdisciplinary scientific papers on former and recent landscape evolution and on past environments of the African continent (e.g. climate change, vegetation dynamics and growing impact of humans on ecosystems).

The African Neogene - Climate, Environments and People

The African Neogene - Climate, Environments and People PDF Author: Jürgen Runge
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1351666398
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 327

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Book Description
During the Neogene – covering the last 23 Million years – the evolution of the environmental setting in Africa was subject to considerable changes. Natural shifts, slow and rapid, evidenced by modifications in palaeogeography, geodynamics, climate, and vegetation have caused repeated and strong changes of ecosystems in the lower latitudes. Using a variety of proxy data – researched and applied by many authors from numerous disciplines – an attempt is made to reconstruct African landscapes over space and time. Besides such spatio-temporal oscillations in recently humid, semi-humid, and dry areas of Africa, this volume of Palaeoecology of Africa (PoA) focuses on long term interrelationships between ecosystem dynamics and climate change, not ignoring the ever growing and ongoing influence of humans on natural ecosystems since the Quaternary. Regionally, this volume lays a strong focus on Nigeria (Niger Delta). Facing the omnipresent challenges of Global Change, an increasing number of African scientists is involved in palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic research, both theoretical and applied. PoA systematically supports established as well as junior African scientists in the field of sustainable cooperation and academic capacity building. This book will be of interest to all concerned with or interested in up-to-date research on Neogene to Quaternary low latitudes ecosystem changes and their respective interpretation in the framework of natural climate and vegetation change evidenced by a variety of methods that allow to read and learn from the past by following the motto, "The geologic foretime as the key to the present, and possibly to the future." Palynologists, Geologists, Geographers, Archaeologists, and Geomorphologists will find this edition equally useful for their work.

Understanding Climate's Influence on Human Evolution

Understanding Climate's Influence on Human Evolution PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309148383
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Book Description
The hominin fossil record documents a history of critical evolutionary events that have ultimately shaped and defined what it means to be human, including the origins of bipedalism; the emergence of our genus Homo; the first use of stone tools; increases in brain size; and the emergence of Homo sapiens, tools, and culture. The Earth's geological record suggests that some evolutionary events were coincident with substantial changes in African and Eurasian climate, raising the possibility that critical junctures in human evolution and behavioral development may have been affected by the environmental characteristics of the areas where hominins evolved. Understanding Climate's Change on Human Evolution explores the opportunities of using scientific research to improve our understanding of how climate may have helped shape our species. Improved climate records for specific regions will be required before it is possible to evaluate how critical resources for hominins, especially water and vegetation, would have been distributed on the landscape during key intervals of hominin history. Existing records contain substantial temporal gaps. The book's initiatives are presented in two major research themes: first, determining the impacts of climate change and climate variability on human evolution and dispersal; and second, integrating climate modeling, environmental records, and biotic responses. Understanding Climate's Change on Human Evolution suggests a new scientific program for international climate and human evolution studies that involve an exploration initiative to locate new fossil sites and to broaden the geographic and temporal sampling of the fossil and archeological record; a comprehensive and integrative scientific drilling program in lakes, lake bed outcrops, and ocean basins surrounding the regions where hominins evolved and a major investment in climate modeling experiments for key time intervals and regions that are critical to understanding human evolution.

Quaternary Vegetation Dynamics

Quaternary Vegetation Dynamics PDF Author: Jürgen Runge
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1000431150
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 412

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Book Description
This book celebrates the relaunch of the African Pollen Database, presents state-of-the-art of modern and ancient pollen data from sub-Saharan Africa, and promotes Open Access science. Pollen grains are powerful tools for the study of past vegetation dynamics because they preserve well within sedimentary deposits and have a huge diversity in ornamentation that allows different taxa to be determined. The reconstruction of past vegetation from the examination of ancient pollen records thus can be used to characterize the nature of past landscapes (e.g. abundance of forests vs. grasslands), provide insights into changes in biodiversity, and gain empirical evidence of vegetation response to climatic change and human activity. In this, the 35th Volume of "Palaeoecology of Africa", we bring together new data and extensive synthetic reviews to provide novel insights into the relationships between human evolution, human activity, climate change and vegetation dynamics during the Quaternary, the last 2.6 million years. Current and ongoing climate and land-use change is exerting pressure on modern vegetation formations and threatening the livelihoods and wellbeing of many peoples in Africa. In this book the focus is on the Quaternary because it is during this geological period that the modern vegetation formations developed into their current configurations against a backdrop of high magnitude global climate change (glacial-interglacial cycles), human evolution, and a growing human land-use footprint. In this book the latest information is presented and collated from around the African continent to parameterize past vegetation states, identify the drivers of vegetation change, and assess the vegetation resilience to change. To achieve this research from two broad themes are covered: (i) the present is the key to the past (i.e. studies which improve our understanding of modern environments so that we can better interpret evidence from the past), and (ii) the past is the key to the future (i.e. studies which unlock information on how and why vegetation changed in the past so one can better anticipate trajectories of future change). This Open Access book will provide a strong foundation for future research exploring past ecological, environmental and climatic change within Africa and the surrounding islands. The book is organized regionally (covering western, eastern, central, and southern Africa) and it contains specialized articles focused on particular topics (such as modern pollen-vegetation relationships and fire as a driver of vegetation change), as well as regional and pan-African syntheses drawing together decades of research to assess key scientific questions (including the role of climate in driving vegetation change and the role of vegetation change in human evolution). These articles will be useful to students and teachers from high school to the highest level of university who are interested in the origins and dynamics of vegetation in Africa. Furthermore, it is also meant to provide societally relevant information that can act as an inspiration for the development of sustainable management practices for the future.

Climate Change and Africa

Climate Change and Africa PDF Author: Pak Sum Low
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521029953
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 413

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Book Description
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, no environmental issue is of such truly global magnitude as the issue of climate change. The poorer, developing countries are the least equipped to adapt to the potential effects of climate change, although most of them have played an insignificant role in causing it. African countries are amongst the poorest of the developing countries. This book presents the issues of most relevance to Africa, such as past and present climate, desertification, biomass burning and its implications for atmospheric chemistry and climate, energy generation, sea-level rise, ENSO-induced drought and flood, adaptation, disaster risk reduction, the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol (especially the Clean Development Mechanism), capacity-building, and sustainable development. It provides a comprehensive and up-to-date review of these and many other issues, with chapters by the leading experts from a range of disciplines. Climate Change and Africa will prove to be an invaluable reference for all researchers and policy makers with an interest in climate change and Africa.

Quaternary Environmental Change in Southern Africa

Quaternary Environmental Change in Southern Africa PDF Author: Jasper Knight
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107055792
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 465

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Book Description
This book provides a benchmark study of southern African landscape evolution during the Quaternary, for researchers, professionals and policymakers.

East Africa's Human Environment Interactions

East Africa's Human Environment Interactions PDF Author: Rob Marchant
Publisher:
ISBN: 9783030889883
Category : Africa
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
East Africa is characterised by extreme social and environmental contrasts that has undergone transformative changes over the past 300,000 years - the era of modern humans. People have left increasingly deep and pervasive footprints across the region, resulting in the anthropogenically crafted landscape of the present. The book shows how understanding contemporary issues, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, conservation, agricultural development, and achieving the sustainable development agenda, all require an appreciation of the past. The volume explore these interactions from the origins of human species with a particular focus on the last 500 years the Anthropocene. As trade, particularly of ivory, maize, and munitions, expanded with the Asia, Europe and the Americas this shaped many of the current issues in East Africa's society, economy, and environment. These trade links paved the way for the colonial era that started at an atypical moment in East African environmental history. The colonial impacts on society, ecosystems, Protected Areas, biodiversity conservation, and the ensuing legacy through the independent states of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are explored. Given this rich, diverse, and connected past, what the future will be like for East African societies, ecosystems, and landscapes under climate change, high population growth, and rapid development? Rob Marchant is Professor of Tropical of Ecology at the University of York, UK. Much of his research is focused on East Africa, where over the past thirty years of working in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania he has developed close collaborations with the numerous University, NGO, UN and Governmental institutions that, alongside multiple conversations with individuals, have profoundly influenced and shaped the perspectives presented here. The interplay between the climate, ecosystems, cultures, livelihoods, and land uses are explore to document how the massive challenges facing the region have been created, are being addressed and future opportunities maximized.

Climate Change in Africa

Climate Change in Africa PDF Author: Camilla Toulmin
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1848134614
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 187

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Book Description
Climate change is a major challenge for us all, but for African countries it represents a particular threat. This book outlines current thinking and evidence and the impact such change will have on Africa's development prospects. Global warming above the level of two degrees Celsius would be enormously damaging for poorer parts of the world, leading to crises with crops, livestock, water supplies and coastal areas. Within Africa, it's likely to be the continent's poorest people who are hit hardest. In this accessible and authoritative introduction to an often-overlooked aspect of the environment, Camilla Toulmin uses case studies to look at issues ranging from natural disasters to biofuels, and from conflict to the oil industry. Finally, the book addresses what future there might be for Africa in a carbon-constrained world.