Charcoal analysis for paleoenvironmental interpretation: a chemical assay
A nitric acid digestion and ignition technique developed to measure relative frequencies of charcoal in lake and bog sediments measures the weight of charcoal relative to the dry weight of the sample (percentage charcoal) and gives results
A 560-year record of Santa Ana fires reconstructed from charcoal deposited in the Santa Barbara Basin, California
California ; Charcoal ; Climatic variation ; Dendroclimatology ; Dendrology ; Fire ; Palaeogeography ; Palynology ; Quaternary ; United States of America ; Varves
This paper presents new charcoal evidence from the Santa Barbara Basin and represents the first high-resolution charcoal study spanning the prehistoric and historic periods in southern California. The AA. compare the charcoal record with a climate
Particle motion and the theory of charcoal analysis : source area, transport, deposition, and sampling
The A. presents a theory of charcoal transport from fires and recently burned areas, and of charcoal deposition in lakes. It is a first approximation, this theory is not intended to be predictive for any particular fire. Rather, the A. seeks
to explain in general terms why stratigraphic charcoal data have not produced the record of past fire expected from the physical processes presumed to be important by paleoecologists. He shows that results obtained by the two methods are reasonable in view
of the physics of particle motion. He focuses on eolian processes, because surface runoff is not an important process for charcoal transport to lakes.
Tracking recorded fires using charcoal morphology from the sedimentary sequence of Prosser Lake, British Columbia (Canada)
British Columbia ; Canada ; Charcoal ; Forest fire ; Lacustrine sediment ; Morphometry ; Palaeo-ecology ; Palaeo-environment ; Quantitative analysis
Quantitative analyses of variations in morphological features of charcoal were undertaken in a Pb-dated sediment core from Prosser Lake, British Columbia. Seven morphological types of charcoal were defined by particle shape, major-minor axis ratio
, apparent porosity and progradation to unburned material. Charcoal morphotypes showed distinct relationships to recorded area burned by fires. Finally, the AA. speculate about the relationships between the various charcoal morphotypes and their relationship
to fire type, the mechanisms of charcoal transportation and burial in lake sediments.
Stratigraphic charcoal analysis on petrographic thin sections : application to fire history in northwestern Minnesota
Results of stratigraphic charcoal analysis from thin sections of varved lake sediments have been compared with fire scars on red pine trees in northwestern Minnesota to determine if charcoal data accurately reflect fire regimes. Pollen and opaque
spherule analyses were completed from a short core to confirm that laminations were annual over the last 350 yr. A good correspondence was found between fossil-charcoal and fire-scar data.
Characterization and palaeoecological significance of archaeological charcoal assemblages during Late and Post-Glacial Phases in southern France
C 14 dating ; Charcoal ; France ; Holocene ; Human impact ; Lateglacial ; Mediterranean area ; Multivariate analysis ; Palaeo-ecology ; Quaternary ; Southern France ; Taxonomy ; Vegetation
Archaeological sites at Abeurador and Font-Juvénal have produced extensive charcoal-rich horizons. The results of the charcoal analysis, based on the identification of woody species from anatomical features, contribute to the elaboration of plain
significance of the charcoal assemblages the AA. have used multivariate analysis.
Particle-size evidence for source areas of charcoal accumulation in Late Holocene sediments of eastern North American lakes
Charcoal ; Grain size distribution ; Great Lakes ; Holocene ; Lacustrine sediment ; Methodology ; Minnesota ; New York State ; Ontario ; Palaeo-ecology ; Palaeoclimatology ; Palynology ; Pennsylvania ; Quaternary ; United States of America
Two methods of analyzing charcoal in sediment reveal changes in charcoal accumulation across temperate eastern North America during the last several hundred years. The AA. used these methods to compare charcoal accumulation at 14 lakes from
Differences in radiocarbon age between shell and charcoal from a Holocene shellmound in Northern California
Archeological site ; Bay ; C 14 dating ; California ; Charcoal ; Coastal environment ; Geochronology ; Holocene ; Mollusca ; Quaternary ; San Francisco ; United States of America
The A. presents a new chronology for the West Berkeley shellmound, based on radiocarbon measurements of organic carbon (charcoal) and inorganic carbon (mollusk shells) collected from 15 stratigraphic intervals within the mound. In addition
to providing a detailed chronology of the mound, the radiocarbon age differences between shell and charcoal pairs collected from the same stratigraphic level suggest secular changes in the radiocarbon reservoir age of surface water along the eastern Pacific
Bronze Age ; C 14 dating ; Charcoal ; Deforestation ; Geochronology ; Human impact ; Ireland ; Karst ; Lacustrine sediment ; Mass movement ; Soil erosion
This paper reports on an investigation of diamicton at a terrestrial Burren site located outside a lake catchment and of charcoal which unexpectedly was recovered from within it. An AMS radiocarbon date places the formation of this charcoal
in the Bronze Age, contemporary with exceptionally high rates of soil erosion and forest clearance in a nearby lake catchment. Results of analyses of diamictons present in the vicinity of the charcoal support the view that the pattern of occurrence of diamictons
Vegetational history of a site in the central Amazon Basin derived from phytolith and charcoal records from natural soils
Amazon Basin ; Brazil ; C 14 dating ; Charcoal ; Forest ; Holocene ; Methodology ; Palaeo-environment ; Quaternary ; Tropical zone
Analysis of phytoliths and macroscopic charcoal from natural soils near Manaus, Brazil shows that the central Amazonian terra firme forest has not been stable during the Holocene. Because phytoliths survive over long periods in soils, they can
Correlations among charcoal records of fires from the past 16,000 years in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Central and South America
Atmospheric circulation ; Central America ; Charcoal ; Climatic variability ; El Niño ; Fire ; Human impact ; Indonesia ; Ocean atmosphere interaction ; Palaeo-ecology ; Papua New Guinea ; Quaternary ; South America ; Stratigraphic correlation
In this paper the AA. use a zonal intertropical comparison of long-term cumulative charcoal records from the Indonesian and Papua New Guinea region and Central and South American region to evaluate the role of climate and other factors
The response of aboriginal practices to population levels and El Niño-Southern Oscillation events during the mid- to late-Holocene : a case study from the Sydney Basin using charcoal and pollen analysis
Aborigines ; Australia ; C 14 dating ; Charcoal ; Fire ; Holocene ; Human impact ; New South Wales ; Palaeo-environment ; Palynology ; Pollen diagram
Pollen and macroscopic charcoal have been analysed from a sedimentary sequence representing approximately 6100 years from a site within Wollemi National Park, a part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. The aim was to examine
A comparison of charcoal and archaeological information to address the influences on Holocene fire activity in the Sydney Basin
Aborigines ; Archaeology ; Australia ; Charcoal ; Fire ; Holocene ; Human impact ; New South Wales ; Palaeo-ecology ; Quaternary
The archaeological evidence was used as an index of human activity through time to assess anthropogenic influences on fire activity. Charcoal was quantified in a radiocarbon-dated sediment core from Griffith Swamp covering 6000 calibrated years BP
C 14 dating ; Canada ; Charcoal ; Deciduous forest ; Forest ; Forest fire ; Holocene ; Palaeo-ecology ; Palaeo-environment ; Quebec ; Vegetation dynamics
The AA. used botanically identified and radiocarbon-dated charcoal macrofossils in mineral soils as a paleoecological tool to reconstruct past fire activity at the stand scale. Charcoal macrofossils buried in podzolic soils by tree uprooting were
analyzed to reconstruct the long-term fire history of an old-growth deciduous forest in southern Québec. AMS radiocarbon dates from 16 charcoal fragments indicated that forest fires were widespread during the early Holocene, whereas no fires were recorded
Bioclimatology ; Charcoal ; Cultural geography ; Disease ; Human bioclimatology ; India ; Jammu and Kashmir ; Medical geography ; Tradition ; Valley
In this region of India people carry earthenware pots of charcoal under their loose clothing to stay warm in the cold winters. A form of cancer results from the injurious effects of heat from these portable braziers on the abdomen and thighs.―(DWG)
The ubiquitous occurrence of charcoal in the forest soils of the Upper Rio Negro region of Colombia and Venezuela indicates the presence of frequent and widespread fires in the Amazon Basin possibly associated with extremely dry periods or human
disturbances. Charcoal dates range from 6260 yr B.P. to the present. Ceramic shards were found at several sites.
The AA. investigated soil samples of 4 burnt slopes in the Karwendel Mountains of varying age after fire (wildfires occurred in 2003, 1962, 1946, and in 1250 AD) as well as of the surrounding soils that were not affected by combustion. Charcoal
content of the O and A horizons was determined as well as pH, soil organic matter content and C/N ratio. It is highlighted that charcoal distribution followed a spatial and temporal pattern. The results also demonstrate that Alpine regions react