Climate changes during the Holocene and their impact on Hydrological systems

1 Climate changes in the Levant during the Late Quaternary Period 1 1.1 Contemporary climate 1 1.2 The climate during the Late Pleistocene 3 1.3 Climate changes during the Holocene in the Levant 6 1.4 Correlation between climate changes and historical events in the Levant 12 1.4.1 The Neolithic period, c. 10ka to c. 7 ka BP 12 1.4.1.a The Lower Neolithic period, c. 10 ka to 8 ka BP (Pre-pottery Neolithic) 13 1.4.1.b The Middle and Upper Neolithic period, c. 8 ka to c. 7 ka BP (Pottery Neolithic) 14 1.4.2 The Chalcolithic period, c. 7 ka to c. 5 ka BP 16 1.4.3 The Early Bronze Age c. 5 ka to c. 4 ka BP 17 1.4.4 The Middle Bronze Age c. 4 ka to 3.5 ka BP 21 1.4.5 The Late Bronze Age and Iron Age, 3.5 ka to 2.6 ka BP 22 1.4.6 The Roman–Byzantine period (2.3/2.2 ka to 1.3 ka BP), including the Roman–Byzantine transition period (1.7 ka to 1.6 ka BP) 25 1.4.7 The Moslem–Arab period, c. 1.3 ka to 1.0 ka BP 27 1.4.8 The Crusader period and Little Ice Age, 1.0 ka to 0.4 ka BP 28 1.4.9 The Moslem–Ottoman period, 0.4 ka to 0.1 ka BP 28 1.4.10 The Industrial period, 0.1 ka BP to the present 29 2 Climate changes during the Holocene Epoch in Europe 31 2.1 Climate 31 2.1.1 Contemporary climate 31 2.1.2 The Pleistocene–Holocene transition period 31 2.2 The Mediterranean region 31 2.2.1 The Balkan peninsula 31 2.2.2 The Italian peninsula and the French Mediterranean coast 34 2.2.2.a The island of Malta 35 2.2.3 The Iberian peninsula 35 2.2.3.a Contemporary climate 35 2.2.3.b Paleo-geomorphology 36 2.2.3.c Palynological time series 37 2.2.3.d Regional correlation 44 2.3 The Alps 45 vii viii CONTENTS 2.4 Western and northwestern Europe 45 2.4.1 The Netherlands 47 2.4.1.a Contemporary climate 47 2.4.1.b Climate changes during the Upper Pleistocene 47 2.4.1.c Climate changes during the Holocene 47 2.4.2 The British Isles 53 2.4.3 Scandinavia and the northern Atlantic 53 2.4.3.a Scandinavia 53 2.4.3.b The northern Atlantic 57 2.4.3.c Greenland 57 2.5 Central and eastern Europe 59 2.5.1 Poland 59 2.5.2 The Caspian Sea 59 3 Climate changes during the Holocene in east Asia (China, Korea and Japan) 61 3.1 China 61 3.1.1 Contemporary climate 61 3.1.2 Climate changes during the Upper Pleistocene and Holocene transition period 61 3.1.2.a The loess plateau 61 3.1.2.b The Tibetan plateau and western China 63 3.1.2.c Eastern China 63 3.1.3 Climate changes during the Holocene 64 3.1.3.a The loess plateau 64 3.1.3.b The Tibetan plateau and western China 64 3.1.3.c Central and eastern China 65 3.1.4 Korea 74 3.1.5 Conclusions 74 3.2 Japan 75 3.2.1 Contemporary climate 75 3.2.2 The climate of Japan during the Last Glacial and Post Glacial Periods 75 3.2.3 Climate during the Holocene 76 3.2.3.a Palynological time series 76 3.2.3.b Geomorphological observations 79 3.2.3.c General conclusions 80 4 Climate changes during the Holocene in Africa 81 4.1 Egypt 81 4.1.1 Contemporary climate and hydrological regime of the Nile 81 4.1.2 Climate during the Upper Pleistocene and Holocene 81 4.2 The Sahara and the Sahel belt 84 4.2.1 Contemporary climate 84 4.2.2 Climate during the Upper Pleistocene and Holocene 85 4.2.3 Lakes of eastern Africa 89 4.3 Tropical Africa 89 4.3.1 Climatic changes during the Upper Pleistocene and the Holocene 89 4.3.1.a Tropical east Africa 90 4.3.1.b Tropical west Africa 90 4.4 South Africa 91 4.4.1 Contemporary climate 91 4.4.2 Climate conditions during the Upper Pleistocene and Holocene 92 CONTENTS ix 5 Climate changes over western USA and Mexico during the Holocene 97 5.1 Southwestern USA 97 5.1.1 Contemporary climate 97 5.1.2 Climate changes during the Upper Pleistocene and Holocene 97 5.2 Central USA and Canada 102 5.3 Mexico 102 5.3.1 Contemporary climate 102 5.3.2 Climate changes during the Holocene 102 6 General conclusions 105 6.1 Climate changes during the Holocene: global correlation 105 6.2 The cause of the climate changes during the Holocene 105 References 109 Index 123