Publications

The tyrolean iceman and his glacial environment during the holocene

Author(s)
Walter Kutschera, Gernot Patzelt, Peter Steier, Eva Maria Wild
Abstract

This paper summarizes the present knowledge on the variation of summer temperatures in the European Alps throughout the Holocene by combining the results of an extraordinary archaeological find with the information gathered from glacier and tree-line movements. As it turns out, there were several distinct periods were the glaciers were smaller than today, allowing in some periods the growth of trees in areas, which even now are still covered with ice. On average, the first half of the Holocene was warmer than the second half, with temperatures starting to decrease around the time of the Iceman some 5000 yr ago. One of the coldest periods during the Holocene, the so-called Little Ice Age (LIA), lasted from about AD 1300 to 1850. It is well known that since then the Alpine glaciers have been receding, most likely amplified by anthropogenic impact. The study of temperature variations before human influence may help to eventually disentangle natural and anthropogenic causes for the global warming of our time.

Organisation(s)
Isotope Physics
External organisation(s)
Independent researcher
Journal
Radiocarbon
Volume
59
Pages
395-405
No. of pages
11
ISSN
0033-8222
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2016.70
Publication date
04-2017
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
103014 Nuclear physics, 105205 Climate change
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Earth and Planetary Sciences(all), Archaeology
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG 13 - Climate Action
Portal url
https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/the-tyrolean-iceman-and-his-glacial-environment-during-the-holocene(c6f2aea3-a39a-4d79-b3de-f2380f77f2ab).html