Impacts of abrupt glacial and deglacial climate events on vegetation and fire regime in the Middle Atlas, Morocco
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Manchester
Department Name: Environment, Education and Development
Abstract
The lakes of the Middle Atlas have provided several valuable records of Holocene environmental change. Their potential to elucidate the timing and impacts of abrupt climate changes and millennial-scale climate variability prior to the Holocene has been little exploited, however. In a recent review of vegetation records of millennial-scale variability during the last glacial (73,500 - 14,700 calendar years ago, 73.4-14.7 ka BP), the paucity of records from North African Mediterranean borderlands was identified as a major limitation to the understanding of spatial variability in past climate dynamics associated with abrupt climate events evident in marine and ice core records (Dansgaard-Oeschger and Heinrich variability). Research from the Alboran Sea raises several questions regarding the phasing of climate variability between the mountains of Northwest Africa and southwestern Europe, in particular regarding moisture availability during high-latitude cooling events, with important implications for the understanding of past air mass trajectories in the subtropics. New data are required to resolve the nature of the hydrological regime and the role of fire during abrupt climate events. This project will undertake high-resolution palaeoecological investigation of new deep-lake cores retrieved from Middle Atlas lakes. The coring mission, fully funded by the DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft), is scheduled for September 2012. In this project, analysis of vegetation change and fire regime will be undertaken at centennial-scale resolution, supported by the development of a robust AMS radiocarbon chronological framework, in the framework of an international collaborative approach incorporating sedimentological, palaeolimnological, palaeohydrological and geochemical investigation. This project will advance the understanding of climate-vegetation-fire interactions in the Mediterranean region and the sensitivity of montane ecosystems to abrupt climate forcing. It will also contribute to the understanding of climate dynamics, notably air mass movements and hydrological regime, in the region of Atlantic-Mediterranean-Saharan climatological interaction.
Planned Impact
Beneficiaries of the research:
1. International conservation and ecosystem management
Improved understanding of the long-term resilience and vulnerability of dryland mountain ecosystems is of key relevance to conservation and management efforts in North Africa and the Mediterranean region. A targeted beneficiary of the research is the IUCN-Med (International Union for Conservation of Nature - Mediterranean Commission). Through collaboration in the activities of the IUCN-Med, conservation and management practitioners will benefit from the exchange of knowledge, perspectives and expertise from the academic community.
2. UK-based geotourism
Geotourism is an important sector in the Moroccan and other Mediterranean economies. Several UK-based companies (e.g. Discover Ltd, Greentours, Naturetrek) run educational trekking and nature tours in the Atlas mountains. Issues of long-term environmental change and the sensitivity of montane vegetation and landscapes to rapid climatic change need to be incorporated within these tours. The principal investigator is in contact with one company (Discover Ltd) that organises walking holidays in Morocco (www.discover.ltd.uk) and hosts educational fieldcourses in Morocco. Engagement with the UK geotourism sector will enhance competiveness in the global tourism market.
3. UK public
Given current concern over climate change and habitat/biodiversity loss, the project will be of interest to the general public. In light of the polemical treatment of climate change in much of the media, there is a duty to convey in an accessible and engaging way the methods and findings of scientific projects investigating the impacts of past climatic changes.
4. Education
The aims and activities of scientists also need to be communicated to the educational sector in inspiring and informative ways. The Widening Participation activities of the University of Manchester provide avenues for engaging with local schools. Through the New Academics Programme at Manchester University, links have already been established between new members of staff and the Widening Participation programme, facilitating outreach activities in the Manchester area.
Impact milestones:
- Membership of the IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management within IUCN-Med
- Publication of an accessible, illustrated booklet, "History of the landscape and vegetation of the Middle Atlas" for geotourism sector
- Publication of a popular science article in Geographical Magazine or newspaper broadsheet magazine supplement for the general public
- National Science Week and Manchester Science Festival displays
- Sixth form lectures for schools in the Manchester area as part of Widening Participation program at the University of Manchester
1. International conservation and ecosystem management
Improved understanding of the long-term resilience and vulnerability of dryland mountain ecosystems is of key relevance to conservation and management efforts in North Africa and the Mediterranean region. A targeted beneficiary of the research is the IUCN-Med (International Union for Conservation of Nature - Mediterranean Commission). Through collaboration in the activities of the IUCN-Med, conservation and management practitioners will benefit from the exchange of knowledge, perspectives and expertise from the academic community.
2. UK-based geotourism
Geotourism is an important sector in the Moroccan and other Mediterranean economies. Several UK-based companies (e.g. Discover Ltd, Greentours, Naturetrek) run educational trekking and nature tours in the Atlas mountains. Issues of long-term environmental change and the sensitivity of montane vegetation and landscapes to rapid climatic change need to be incorporated within these tours. The principal investigator is in contact with one company (Discover Ltd) that organises walking holidays in Morocco (www.discover.ltd.uk) and hosts educational fieldcourses in Morocco. Engagement with the UK geotourism sector will enhance competiveness in the global tourism market.
3. UK public
Given current concern over climate change and habitat/biodiversity loss, the project will be of interest to the general public. In light of the polemical treatment of climate change in much of the media, there is a duty to convey in an accessible and engaging way the methods and findings of scientific projects investigating the impacts of past climatic changes.
4. Education
The aims and activities of scientists also need to be communicated to the educational sector in inspiring and informative ways. The Widening Participation activities of the University of Manchester provide avenues for engaging with local schools. Through the New Academics Programme at Manchester University, links have already been established between new members of staff and the Widening Participation programme, facilitating outreach activities in the Manchester area.
Impact milestones:
- Membership of the IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management within IUCN-Med
- Publication of an accessible, illustrated booklet, "History of the landscape and vegetation of the Middle Atlas" for geotourism sector
- Publication of a popular science article in Geographical Magazine or newspaper broadsheet magazine supplement for the general public
- National Science Week and Manchester Science Festival displays
- Sixth form lectures for schools in the Manchester area as part of Widening Participation program at the University of Manchester
Organisations
- University of Manchester (Lead Research Organisation)
- Universite Moulay Ismail De Meknes (Collaboration)
- University of Leipzig (Collaboration)
- Multidisciplinary Faculty of Nador (Collaboration)
- University of Potsdam (Collaboration)
- Leipzig University (Project Partner)
- University of Potsdam (Project Partner)
People |
ORCID iD |
William Fletcher (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Zielhofer C
(2019)
Western Mediterranean hydro-climatic consequences of Holocene ice-rafted debris (Bond) events
in Climate of the Past
Campbell J
(2017)
Environmental Drivers of Holocene Forest Development in the Middle Atlas, Morocco
in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Fletcher W
(2017)
AMS radiocarbon dating of pollen concentrates in a karstic lake system
in Quaternary Geochronology
Zielhofer C
(2017)
Millennial-scale fluctuations in Saharan dust supply across the decline of the African Humid Period
in Quaternary Science Reviews
Zielhofer C
(2017)
Atlantic forcing of Western Mediterranean winter rain minima during the last 12,000 years
in Quaternary Science Reviews
Title | Pollen sculptures |
Description | Wooden sculptures of pollen grains for outreach and education activities, created by local artist Tim Burgess. |
Type Of Art | Artwork |
Year Produced | 2012 |
Impact | The artwork has been used in outreach activities during Manchester Science Festival at the Manchester Museum. They caused a lot of interest and positive comment from members of the public, and also from visitors from the Royal Society during their Public Engagment Launch visit to the Museum. I have also been contacted subsequently by the artist with requests for further information about science and research activities at the University of Manchester. |
Description | Through this NERC New Investigator Award and ensuing Anglo-German-Moroccan collaborations, my research has provided new insights into the ecological impacts of past rapid climate change events in the Middle Atlas, Morocco. Successful recovery of new, high-quality, deep-lake sediment cores spanning the last 25,000 years from the Middle Atlas in the framework of a co-funded NERC and DFG (German Science Foundation) underpins the findings. Specifically, by significantly enhancing temporal resolution of the new palaeoecological records, my research has provided the first evidence of impacts of early Holocene climate anomalies, such as the North Atlantic cooling episodes at 8200 and 10300 years ago, on terrestrial ecosystems and fire regime in Northwest Africa on sub-centennial timescales. Compared with previous research in this geographical and thematic context, the research has taken robust steps to improve chronological uncertainties about the timing of key events. In particular, this necessitated the novel application of AMS radiocarbon dating to pollen concentrates from lake sediments. This approach has been possible through cooperation with the NERC Radiocarbon Facility at East Kilbride, and three Radiocarbon Dating Awards. The research provides critical insights into the climatic sensitivity and resilience of the emblematic Atlantic cedar (Cedrus atlantica) forests of the Middle Atlas, with important consequences for the understanding of this species' fragility in the face of current global change. The New Investigator Award has cemented a multilateral international partnership between the Universities of Manchester, Leipzig and Potsdam, as well as collaborations with Moroccan scientists. The findings of the research were communicated at five international conferences in 2013-2014 including both interdisciplinary congresses and specialist meetings in the USA, Europe and Africa. Four papers have been published in discipline-leading journals. The research enabled the PI to establish an active research group at Manchester including two funded PhD students. |
Exploitation Route | The findings of the research will be of value to the wide multidisciplinary academic community engaged in the study of palaeoclimates and palaeoenvironments. Specifically, the findings relating to rapid climate events during the early Holocene will be of value to forthcoming climate modelling efforts to understand the nature, scale, spatial patterns and drivers of change for these events. Links with the climate modelling community engaged in this activity have been successfully made, for example through participation in the INTIMATE EU COST Action. The novel application of pollen concentrate dating has received significant interest following the conference presentations, and the method will be put to use by other researchers, particularly working in dryland and mountain environments where traditional methods may not be applicable. Beyond academia, the information on long-term vegetation history and sensitivity to climate changes will be of value to present-day ecologists and of significance for informing conservation and management practice of cedar forests in the Atlas region. Steps have been taken to facilitate the transfer of knowledge in this direction, specifically by establishing a partnership with the ecology unit at Moulay-Ismail University (Meknes) and membership of the IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management (Mediterranean Ecosystems). |
Sectors | Environment |
Description | As a New Investigator Award, it is only possible to present an incipient narrative impact around the research that has been initiated through the Award. However, key steps have been taken in line with proposed Pathways to Impact, notably in terms of achieving membership of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Commission on Ecosystem Management, disseminating information about the project via publication in the foremost global dissemination resource (International Innovation), engaging with the local to regional public via activity sessions organised as part of Manchester Science Festival at the Manchester Museum, and working with a local artist to create sculptures for educational activities such as the Science Festival. The activities at the Manchester Museum were very well received by the public and the Museum invited further activity sessions in 2015. The NERC award can be understood to have planted the seeds of an impact case relating to public engagement in research and enrichment of cultural life in the Manchester area. |
First Year Of Impact | 2014 |
Sector | Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
Impact Types | Cultural |
Description | DFG funding |
Amount | € 19,436 (EUR) |
Funding ID | ZI 721/9-1 |
Organisation | German Research Foundation |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | Germany |
Start | 09/2012 |
End | 09/2013 |
Description | NERC Radiocarbon Dating Award |
Amount | £6,400 (GBP) |
Funding ID | Allocation 1809.0414 |
Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
Department | NERC Radiocarbon Facility (Environment) |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 06/2014 |
End | 03/2015 |
Description | NERC Radiocarbon Dating Award |
Amount | £2,900 (GBP) |
Funding ID | Allocation 1765.1013 |
Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
Department | NERC Radiocarbon Facility (Environment) |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 12/2013 |
End | 02/2014 |
Description | PhD Studentship (B. Bell) |
Amount | £54,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2014 |
End | 08/2017 |
Description | PhD Studentship (J. Campbell) |
Amount | £54,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Manchester |
Department | School of Environment, Education and Development |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2013 |
End | 08/2016 |
Description | UK-German research partnership |
Organisation | University of Leipzig |
Country | Germany |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Specialist analytical capability (palaeoecological analyses and radiocarbon dating). Scientific contribution in conference presentations and manuscript preparation. Organisation of three progress meetings with the two partners and the PDRA on the project (March and July, 2013; July 2014). |
Collaborator Contribution | Specialist analytical capability (sedimentology, palaeohydrology). Access to field equipment during the field season in autumn 2012. The partners are responsible for core sample storage (Leipzig) and have provided access to core sample material for the project. The partners have acted as co-authors on international conference presentations, and have contributed data from their specialist analyses for the manuscripts in preparation. |
Impact | -DFG Award for Fieldwork: German Science Foundation DFG (ZI 721/9-1) - Late Quaternary geomorphological and environmental response to rapid hydrological cycles in the Atlas Mountains, Morocco (€19,436, International Project Partner) -Core sampling visit to Leipzig (PI and PDRA) - Leipzig, March 2013 -Progress meeting with project partners - Leipzig, July 2013 -Manuscript preparation meeting - Leipzig, July 2014 (two key papers in preparation for submission January 2015) -Co-authored conference presentations (5 in total) - 9th European Palaeobotany and Palynology Conference, Padua, Italy (2014); INTIMATE (EU Cost Action ES0907) Open Workshop, Zaragoza, Spain (2014); AGU Annual Meeting, San Francisco, USA (2013); RQM7 (7th Meeting of the Moroccan Quaternarists), Agadir, Morocco (2013); German Working Group for Geomorphology, Weihenstephan, Germany (2012). |
Start Year | 2012 |
Description | UK-German research partnership |
Organisation | University of Potsdam |
Country | Germany |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Specialist analytical capability (palaeoecological analyses and radiocarbon dating). Scientific contribution in conference presentations and manuscript preparation. Organisation of three progress meetings with the two partners and the PDRA on the project (March and July, 2013; July 2014). |
Collaborator Contribution | Specialist analytical capability (sedimentology, palaeohydrology). Access to field equipment during the field season in autumn 2012. The partners are responsible for core sample storage (Leipzig) and have provided access to core sample material for the project. The partners have acted as co-authors on international conference presentations, and have contributed data from their specialist analyses for the manuscripts in preparation. |
Impact | -DFG Award for Fieldwork: German Science Foundation DFG (ZI 721/9-1) - Late Quaternary geomorphological and environmental response to rapid hydrological cycles in the Atlas Mountains, Morocco (€19,436, International Project Partner) -Core sampling visit to Leipzig (PI and PDRA) - Leipzig, March 2013 -Progress meeting with project partners - Leipzig, July 2013 -Manuscript preparation meeting - Leipzig, July 2014 (two key papers in preparation for submission January 2015) -Co-authored conference presentations (5 in total) - 9th European Palaeobotany and Palynology Conference, Padua, Italy (2014); INTIMATE (EU Cost Action ES0907) Open Workshop, Zaragoza, Spain (2014); AGU Annual Meeting, San Francisco, USA (2013); RQM7 (7th Meeting of the Moroccan Quaternarists), Agadir, Morocco (2013); German Working Group for Geomorphology, Weihenstephan, Germany (2012). |
Start Year | 2012 |
Description | UK-Morocco (Meknes) partnership |
Organisation | Moulay Ismail University |
Country | Morocco |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Access to literature and publication resources; training in use of field equipment for palaeoecological research |
Collaborator Contribution | Specialist expertise in ecology and botany of the Middle Atlas region; field knowledge and linguistic support. |
Impact | Visit to scientific research facilities in Meknes; exchange of knowledge and best practice between palaeoecology (PI) and modern ecology (partner). |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | UK-Morocco (Nador) partnership |
Organisation | Multidisciplinary Faculty of Nador |
Country | Morocco |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Access to sediment samples from lake drilling in Morocco (funded by German Research Foundation, DFG) |
Collaborator Contribution | Specialist analytical capability (diatom analysis) |
Impact | Conference presentation at INQUA Nagoya (July 2015) and subsequent publication of findings. |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Dissemination article in International Innovation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | In 2013 I worked with the a team from International Innovation, the leading global dissemination resource, to publish a dissemination article about the NERC project entitled "Digging Deep" with the sub-title "Engaged in a project of longstanding and far-reaching relevance, Dr William Fletcher reveals his diverse passions in the field of Physical Geography and discusses his current research into the prehistoric impacts of abrupt climate change in the Middle Atlas region of Morocco". Following publication of the dissemination article, I received several emails and telephone calls from other organisations involved in the dissemination of scientific findings to government and policymakers in the UK and EU, particularly in the area of environment and climate change, requesting further information about the project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | https://www.escholar.manchester.ac.uk/api/datastream?publicationPid=uk-ac-man-scw:216879&datastreamI... |
Description | Manchester Science Festival Activity |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The outreach activity was very popular with the visitors, and raising questions and initiating many interesting discussions regarding the research process, the role of the university, and the Ice Ages with the parents. The activities were enjoyed by the children who attended, with responses to the following questions: -What did you enjoy the most today? The glacier Microscopes Top trumps! Cormac Thomas The mammoth drawing - Seth Thomas Enjoyed drawing a mammoth with charcoal. I enjoyed drawing the pollen seeds - Eleanor ( Age 8) I enjoyed the top trumps the best The microscopes James - making mammoth Ailsa - using microscopes -What do you know now that you didn't know before? James - I know more about Ice age mammals That charcoal even existed for drawing. That there are lots of different pollen in the world. There are triangle seeds with groves doen the side Eleanor (Age 8) I didn't know the Woolly Rhino existed The museum has invited me to undertake a similar activity session in January 2015. During the Manchester Science Week, we shared our activity to session to visitors from the Royal Society Public Engagement Launch Day, and received positive feedback from this group. Fostering strong links with the Manchester Museum is a key avenue for outreach and impact. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://events.manchester.ac.uk/event/event:r2o-hyr9opob-o61vg1/ice-age-science-mammoths-mega-boulder... |
Description | Scientific Drilling News Release |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Publication of a news release in Scientific Drilling (Volume 15, News and Views, p80), an open-access multi-disciplinary program journal delivering peer-reviewed reports on science, technology, and engineering from ocean, continental, lake and ice drilling scientific research projects. Scientific Drilling is designed to enhance communication between and among IODP, the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program, and other scientific drilling communities. Following publication, I was contacted via email by researchers in Spain (IPE-CSIC) expressing interest in establishing a partnership to explore findings from the NERC project in a wider regional (Western Mediterranean) context. Further to meeting at the INTIMATE COST Action Open Meeting in Zaragoza in 2014, a collaborative project has been developed which is under review for funding at the British Ecological Society. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://www.iodp.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=3657 |