@article{Ungelenk2020, author = {Ungelenk, Johannes}, title = {{\´E}mile Zola's Climate History of the Second Empire}, series = {Ecozon@: European Journal of Literature, Culture and Environment}, volume = {11}, journal = {Ecozon@: European Journal of Literature, Culture and Environment}, number = {1}, publisher = {Alcal{\´a} de Henares}, address = {Instituto Universitario de Investigaci{\´o}n en Estudios Norteamericanos "Benjam{\´i}n Franklin", Universidad de Alcal{\´a}}, issn = {2171-9594}, doi = {10.37536/ECOZONA.2020.11.1.3181}, pages = {9 -- 26}, year = {2020}, abstract = {This article looks at {\´E}mile Zola's novel cycle Les Rougon-Macquart and argues that it describes its subject, the Second Empire, as a warming climate tending toward climate catastrophe. Zola's affinity to the notion of climate is shown to be linked to his poetic employment of the concept of 'milieu', inspired by Hippolyte Taine. Close readings of selected passages from the Rougon-Macquart are used to work out the climatic difference between 'the old' and 'the new Paris', and the process of warming that characterises the Second Empire. Octave Mouret's department store holds a special place in the article, as it is analysed through what the article suggests calling a 'meteorotopos': a location of intensified climatic conditions that accounts for an increased interaction between human and non-human actors. The department store is also one of the many sites in the novel cycle that locally prefigure the 'global' climate catastrophe of Paris burning, in which the Second Empire perishes.}, language = {en} } @article{RohrmannHeermanceKappetal.2013, author = {Rohrmann, Alexander and Heermance, Richard and Kapp, Paul and Cai, Fulong}, title = {Wind as the primary driver of erosion in the Qaidam Basin, China}, series = {Earth \& planetary science letters}, volume = {374}, journal = {Earth \& planetary science letters}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0012-821X}, doi = {10.1016/j.epsl.2013.03.011}, pages = {1 -- 10}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Deserts are a major source of loess and may undergo substantial wind-erosion as evidenced by yardang fields, deflation pans, and wind-scoured bedrock landscapes. However, there are few quantitative estimates of bedrock removal by wind abrasion and deflation. Here, we report wind-erosion rates in the western Qaidam Basin in central China based on measurements of cosmogenic Be-10 in exhumed Miocene sedimentary bedrock. Sedimentary bedrock erosion rates range from 0.05 to 0.4 mm/yr, although the majority of measurements cluster at 0.125 +/- 0.05 mm/yr. These results, combined with previous work, indicate that strong winds, hyper-aridity, exposure of friable Neogene strata, and ongoing rock deformation and uplift in the western Qaidam Basin have created an environment where wind, instead of water, is the dominant agent of erosion and sediment transport. Its geographic location (upwind) combined with volumetric estimates suggest that the Qaidam Basin is a major source (up to 50\%) of dust to the Chinese Loess Plateau to the east. The cosmogenically derived wind erosion rates are within the range of erosion rates determined from glacial and fluvial dominated landscapes worldwide, exemplifying the effectiveness of wind to erode and transport significant quantities of bedrock.}, language = {en} } @misc{EgholmAndersenFaurschouKnudsenetal.2015, author = {Egholm, David L. and Andersen, Jane Lund and Faurschou Knudsen, Mads and Jansen, John D. and Nielsen, S. B.}, title = {The periglacial engine of mountain erosion}, series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {552}, issn = {1866-8372}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-40971}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-409718}, pages = {20}, year = {2015}, abstract = {There is growing recognition of strong periglacial control on bedrock erosion in mountain landscapes, including the shaping of low-relief surfaces at high elevations (summit flats). But, as yet, the hypothesis that frost action was crucial to the assumed Late Cenozoic rise in erosion rates remains compelling and untested. Here we present a landscape evolution model incorporating two key periglacial processes - regolith production via frost cracking and sediment transport via frost creep - which together are harnessed to variations in temperature and the evolving thickness of sediment cover. Our computational experiments time-integrate the contribution of frost action to shaping mountain topography over million-year timescales, with the primary and highly reproducible outcome being the development of flattish or gently convex summit flats. A simple scaling of temperature to marine delta O-18 records spanning the past 14 Myr indicates that the highest summit flats in mid-to high-latitude mountains may have formed via frost action prior to the Quaternary. We suggest that deep cooling in the Quaternary accelerated mechanical weathering globally by significantly expanding the area subject to frost. Further, the inclusion of subglacial erosion alongside periglacial processes in our computational experiments points to alpine glaciers increasing the long-term efficiency of frost-driven erosion by steepening hillslopes.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Macaulay2013, author = {Macaulay, Euan Angus}, title = {The orogenic evolution of the Central Kyrgyz Tien Shan}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-68985}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Intra-continental mountain belts typically form as a result of tectonic forces associated with distant plate collisions. In general, each mountain belt has a distinctive morphology and orogenic evolution that is highly dependent on the unique distribution and geometries of inherited structures and other crustal weaknesses. In this thesis, I have investigated the complex and irregular Cenozoic orogenic evolution of the Central Kyrgyz Tien Shan in Central Asia, which is presently one of the most active intra-continental mountain belts in the world. This work involved combining a broad array of datasets, including thermochronologic, magnetostratigraphic, sediment provenance and stable isotope data, to identify and date various changes in tectonic deformation, climate and surface processes. Many of these changes are linked and can ultimately be related to regional-scale processes that altered the orogenic evolution of the Central Kyrgyz Tien Shan. The Central Kyrgyz Tien Shan contains a sub-parallel series of structures that were reactivated in the late Cenozoic in response to the tectonic forces associated with the distant India-Eurasia collision. Over time, slip on the various reactivated structures created the succession of mountain ranges and intermontane basins which characterises the modern morphology of the region. In this thesis, new quantitative constraints on the exhumation histories of several mountain ranges have been obtained by using low temperature thermochronological data from 95 samples (zircon (U-Th)/He, apatite fission track and (U-Th)/He). Time-temperature histories derived by modelling the thermochronologic data of individual samples identify at least two stages of Cenozoic cooling in most of the region's mountain ranges: (1) initially low cooling rates (<1°C/Myr) during the tectonic quiescent period and (2) increased cooling in the late Cenozoic, which occurred diachronously and with variable magnitude in different ranges. This second cooling stage is interpreted to represent increased erosion caused by active deformation, and in many of the sampled mountain ranges, provides the first available constraints on the timing of late Cenozoic deformation. New constraints on the timing of deformation have also been derived from the sedimentary record of intermontane basins. In the intermontane Issyk Kul basin, new magnetostratigraphic data from two sedimentary sections suggests that deposition of the first Cenozoic syn-tectonic sediments commenced at ~26 Ma. Zircon U-Pb provenance data, paleocurrent and conglomerate clast analysis reveals that these sediments were sourced from the Terskey Range to the south of the basin, suggesting that the onset of the late Cenozoic deformation occurred >26 Ma in that particular range. Elsewhere, growth strata relationships are used to identify syn-tecotnic deposition and constrain the timing of nearby deformation. Collectively, these new constraints obtained from thermochronologic and sedimentary data have allowed me to infer the spatiotemporal distribution of deformation in a transect through the Central Kyrgyz Tien Shan, and determine the order in which mountain ranges started deforming. These data suggest that deformation began in a few widely-spaced mountain ranges in the late Oligocene and early Miocene. Typically, these earlier mountain ranges are bounded on at least one side by a reactivated structure, which probably corresponds to the frictionally weakest and most suitably orientated inherited structures for accommodating the roughly north-south directed horizontal crustal shortening of the late Cenozoic. Moreover, tectonically-induced rock uplift in the Terskey Range, following the reactivation of the bounding structure before 26 Ma, likely caused significant surface uplift across the range, which in turn lead to enhanced orographic precipitation. These wetter conditions have been inferred from stable isotope data collected in the two magnetostratigraphically-dated sections in the Issyk Kul basin. Subsequently, in the late Miocene (~12‒5 Ma), more mountain ranges and inherited structures appear to have started actively deforming. Importantly, the onset of deformation at these locations in the late Miocene coincides with an increase in exhumation of ranges that had started deforming earlier in the late Oligocene‒early Miocene. Based on this observation, I have suggested that there must have been an overall increase in the rate of horizontal crustal shortening across the Central Kyrgyz Tien Shan, which likely relates to regional tectonic changes that affected much of Central Asia. Many of the mountain ranges that started deforming in the late Miocene were associated with out-of-sequence tectonic reactivation and initiation, which lead to the partitioning of larger intermontane basins. Moreover, within most of the intermontane basins in the Central Kyrgyz Tien Shan, this inferred late Miocene increase in horizontal crustal shortening occurs roughly at the same time as an increase in sedimentation rates and a significant change sediment composition. Therefore, I have suggested that the overall magnitude of deformational processes increased in the late Miocene, promoting more flexural subsidence in the intermontane basins of the Central Kyrgyz Tien Shan.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Thiede2005, author = {Thiede, Rasmus Christoph}, title = {Tectonic and climatic controls on orogenic processes : the Northwest Himalaya, India}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-2281}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2005}, abstract = {The role of feedback between erosional unloading and tectonics controlling the development of the Himalaya is a matter of current debate. The distribution of precipitation is thought to control surface erosion, which in turn results in tectonic exhumation as an isostatic compensation process. Alternatively, subsurface structures can have significant influence in the evolution of this actively growing orogen. Along the southern Himalayan front new 40Ar/39Ar white mica and apatite fission track (AFT) thermochronologic data provide the opportunity to determine the history of rock-uplift and exhumation paths along an approximately 120-km-wide NE-SW transect spanning the greater Sutlej region of the northwest Himalaya, India. 40Ar/39Ar data indicate, consistent with earlier studies that first the High Himalayan Crystalline, and subsequently the Lesser Himalayan Crystalline nappes were exhumed rapidly during Miocene time, while the deformation front propagated to the south. In contrast, new AFT data delineate synchronous exhumation of an elliptically shaped, NE-SW-oriented ~80 x 40 km region spanning both crystalline nappes during Pliocene-Quaternary time. The AFT ages correlate with elevation, but show within the resolution of the method no spatial relationship to preexisting major tectonic structures, such as the Main Central Thrust or the Southern Tibetan Fault System. Assuming constant exhumation rates and geothermal gradient, the rocks of two age vs. elevation transects were exhumed at ~1.4 \&\#177;0.2 and ~1.1 \&\#177;0.4 mm/a with an average cooling rate of ~50-60 \&\#176;C/Ma during Pliocene-Quaternary time. The locus of pronounced exhumation defined by the AFT data coincides with a region of enhanced precipitation, high discharge, and sediment flux rates under present conditions. We therefore hypothesize that the distribution of AFT cooling ages might reflect the efficiency of surface processes and fluvial erosion, and thus demonstrate the influence of erosion in localizing rock-uplift and exhumation along southern Himalayan front, rather than encompassing the entire orogen.Despite a possible feedback between erosion and exhumation along the southern Himalayan front, we observe tectonically driven, crustal exhumation within the arid region behind the orographic barrier of the High Himalaya, which might be related to and driven by internal plateau forces. Several metamorphic-igneous gneiss dome complexes have been exhumed between the High Himalaya to the south and Indus-Tsangpo suture zone to the north since the onset of Indian-Eurasian collision ~50 Ma ago. Although the overall tectonic setting is characterized by convergence the exhumation of these domes is accommodated by extensional fault systems.Along the Indian-Tibetan border the poorly described Leo Pargil metamorphic-igneous gneiss dome (31-34\&\#176;N/77-78\&\#176;E) is located within the Tethyan Himalaya. New field mapping, structural, and geochronologic data document that the western flank of the Leo Pargil dome was formed by extension along temporally linked normal fault systems. Motion on a major detachment system, referred to as the Leo Pargil detachment zone (LPDZ) has led to the juxtaposition of low-grade metamorphic, sedimentary rocks in the hanging wall and high-grade metamorphic gneisses in the footwall. However, the distribution of new 40Ar/39Ar white mica data indicate a regional cooling event during middle Miocene time. New apatite fission track (AFT) data demonstrate that subsequently more of the footwall was extruded along the LPDZ in a brittle stage between 10 and 2 Ma with a minimum displacement of ~9 km. Additionally, AFT-data indicate a regional accelerated cooling and exhumation episode starting at ~4 Ma. Thus, tectonic processes can affect the entire orogenic system, while potential feedbacks between erosion and tectonics appear to be limited to the windward sides of an orogenic systems.}, language = {en} } @misc{PaulyHelleMiramontetal.2018, author = {Pauly, Maren and Helle, Gerhard and Miramont, C{\´e}cile and B{\"u}ntgen, Ulf and Treydte, Kerstin and Reinig, Frederick and Guibal, Fr{\´e}d{\´e}ric and Sivan, Olivier and Heinrich, Ingo and Riedel, Frank and Kromer, Bernd and Balanzategui, Daniel and Wacker, Lukas and Sookdeo, Adam Sookdeo and Brauer, Achim}, title = {Subfossil trees suggest enhanced Mediterranean hydroclimate variability at the onset of the Younger Dryas}, series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {1135}, issn = {1866-8372}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-45916}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-459169}, pages = {10}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Nearly 13,000 years ago, the warming trend into the Holocene was sharply interrupted by a reversal to near glacial conditions. Climatic causes and ecological consequences of the Younger Dryas (YD) have been extensively studied, however proxy archives from the Mediterranean basin capturing this period are scarce and do not provide annual resolution. Here, we report a hydroclimatic reconstruction from stable isotopes (delta O-18, delta C-13) in subfossil pines from southern France. Growing before and during the transition period into the YD (12 900-12 600 cal BP), the trees provide an annually resolved, continuous sequence of atmospheric change. Isotopic signature of tree sourcewater (delta O-18(sw)) and estimates of relative air humidity were reconstructed as a proxy for variations in air mass origin and precipitation regime. We find a distinct increase in inter-annual variability of sourcewater isotopes (delta O-18(sw)), with three major downturn phases of increasing magnitude beginning at 12 740 cal BP. The observed variation most likely results from an amplified intensity of North Atlantic (low delta O-18(sw)) versus Mediterranean (high delta O-18(sw)) precipitation. This marked pattern of climate variability is not seen in records from higher latitudes and is likely a consequence of atmospheric circulation oscillations at the margin of the southward moving polar front.}, language = {en} } @article{Streck2021, author = {Streck, Charlotte}, title = {Strengthening the Paris Agreement by holding non-state actors accountable}, series = {Transnational environmental law}, volume = {10}, journal = {Transnational environmental law}, number = {3}, publisher = {Cambridge Univ. Press}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {2047-1025}, doi = {10.1017/S2047102521000091}, pages = {493 -- 515}, year = {2021}, abstract = {While the intergovernmental climate regime increasingly recognizes the role of non-state actors in achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement (PA), the normative linkages between the intergovernmental climate regime and the non-state dominated 'transnational partnership governance' remain vague and tentative. A formalized engagement of the intergovernmental climate regime with transnational partnerships can increase the effectiveness of partnerships in delivering on climate mitigation and adaptation, thereby complementing rather than replacing government action. The proposed active engagement with partnerships would include (i) collecting and analyzing information to develop and prioritize areas for transnational and partnership engagement; (ii) defining minimum criteria and procedural requirements to be listed on an enhanced Non-state Actor Zone for Climate Action platform; (iii) actively supporting strategic initiatives; (iv) facilitating market or non-market finance as part of Article 6 PA; and (v) evaluating the effectiveness of partnerships in the context of the enhanced transparency framework (Article 13 PA) and the global stocktake (Article 14 PA). The UNFCCC Secretariat could facilitate engagement and problem solving by actively orchestrating transnational partnerships. Constructing effective implementation partnerships, recording their mitigation and adaptation goals, and holding them accountable may help to move climate talks from rhetoric to action.}, language = {en} } @article{HanRydinBolinderetal.2016, author = {Han, Fang and Rydin, Catarina and Bolinder, Kristina and Dupont-Nivet, Guillaume and Abels, Hemmo A. and Koutsodendris, Andreas and Zhang, Kexin and Hoorn, Carina}, title = {Steppe development on the Northern Tibetan Plateau inferred from Paleogene ephedroid pollen}, series = {Grana}, volume = {55}, journal = {Grana}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Oslo}, issn = {0017-3134}, doi = {10.1080/00173134.2015.1120343}, pages = {71 -- 100}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Steppe vegetation represents a key marker of past Asian aridification and is associated with monsoonal intensification. Little is, however, known about the origin of this pre-Oligocene vegetation, its specific composition and how it changed over time and responded to climatic variations. Here, we describe the morphological characters of Ephedraceae pollen in Eocene strata of the Xining Basin and compare the pollen composition with the palynological composition of Late Cretaceous and Paleocene deposits of the Xining Basin and the Quaternary deposits of the Qaidam Basin. We find that the Late Cretaceous steppe was dominated by Gnetaceaepollenites; in the transition from the Cretaceous to the Paleocene, Gnetaceaepollenites became extinct and Ephedripites subgenus Ephedripites dominated the flora with rare occurrences of Ephedripites subgen. Distachyapites; the middle to late Eocene presents a strong increase of Ephedripites subgen. Distachyapites; and the Quaternary/Recent is marked by a significantly lower diversity of Ephedraceae (and Nitrariaceae) compared to the Eocene. In the modern landscape of China, only a fraction of the Paleogene species diversity of Ephedraceae remains and we propose that these alterations in Ephedreaceae composition occurred in response to the climatic changes at least since the Eocene. In particular, the strong Eocene monsoons that enhanced the continental aridification may have played an important role in the evolution of Ephedripites subgen. Distachyapites triggering an evolutionary shift to wind-pollination in this group. Conceivably, the Ephedraceae/Nitrariaceae dominated steppe ended during the Eocene/Oligocene climatic cooling and aridification, which favoured other plant taxa.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Hanschmann2019, author = {Hanschmann, Raffael Tino}, title = {Stalling the engine? EU climate politics after the 'Great Recession'}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-44044}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-440441}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {XXVIII, 303}, year = {2019}, abstract = {This dissertation investigates the impact of the economic and fiscal crisis starting in 2008 on EU climate policy-making. While the overall number of adopted greenhouse gas emission reduction policies declined in the crisis aftermath, EU lawmakers decided to introduce new or tighten existing regulations in some important policy domains. Existing knowledge about the crisis impact on EU legislative decision-making cannot explain these inconsistencies. In response, this study develops an actor-centred conceptual framework based on rational choice institutionalism that provides a micro-level link to explain how economic crises translate into altered policy-making patterns. The core theoretical argument draws on redistributive conflicts, arguing that tensions between 'beneficiaries' and 'losers' of a regulatory initiative intensify during economic crises and spill over to the policy domain. To test this hypothesis and using social network analysis, this study analyses policy processes in three case studies: The introduction of carbon dioxide emission limits for passenger cars, the expansion of the EU Emissions Trading System to aviation, and the introduction of a regulatory framework for biofuels. The key finding is that an economic shock causes EU policy domains to polarise politically, resulting in intensified conflict and more difficult decision-making. The results also show that this process of political polarisation roots in the industry that is the subject of the regulation, and that intergovernmental bargaining among member states becomes more important, but also more difficult in times of crisis.}, language = {en} } @misc{ZimmermannRaschkeEppetal.2017, author = {Zimmermann, Heike Hildegard and Raschke, Elena and Epp, Laura Saskia and Stoof-Leichsenring, Kathleen Rosemarie and Schwamborn, Georg and Schirrmeister, Lutz and Overduin, Pier Paul and Herzschuh, Ulrike}, title = {Sedimentary ancient DNA and pollen reveal the composition of plant organic matter in Late Quaternary permafrost sediments of the Buor Khaya Peninsula (north-eastern Siberia)}, series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {670}, issn = {1866-8372}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-41713}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-417130}, pages = {22}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Organic matter deposited in ancient, ice-rich permafrost sediments is vulnerable to climate change and may contribute to the future release of greenhouse gases; it is thus important to get a better characterization of the plant organic matter within such sediments. From a Late Quaternary permafrost sediment core from the Buor Khaya Peninsula, we analysed plant-derived sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) to identify the taxonomic composition of plant organic matter, and undertook palynological analysis to assess the environmental conditions during deposition. Using sedaDNA, we identified 154 taxa and from pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs we identified 83 taxa. In the deposits dated between 54 and 51 kyr BP, sedaDNA records a diverse low-centred polygon plant community including recurring aquatic pond vegetation while from the pollen record we infer terrestrial open-land vegetation with relatively dry environmental conditions at a regional scale. A fluctuating dominance of either terrestrial or swamp and aquatic taxa in both proxies allowed the local hydrological development of the polygon to be traced. In deposits dated between 11.4 and 9.7 kyr BP (13.4-11.1 cal kyr BP), sedaDNA shows a taxonomic turnover to moist shrub tundra and a lower taxonomic richness compared to the older samples. Pollen also records a shrub tundra community, mostly seen as changes in relative proportions of the most dominant taxa, while a decrease in taxonomic richness was less pronounced compared to sedaDNA. Our results show the advantages of using sedaDNA in combination with palynological analyses when macrofossils are rarely preserved. The high resolution of the sedaDNA record provides a detailed picture of the taxonomic composition of plant-derived organic matter throughout the core, and palynological analyses prove valuable by allowing for inferences of regional environmental conditions.}, language = {en} }