Mountains World Research Articles

Mountain and Wilderness Medicine World Congress 2007, October 3–7, Aviemore, Scotland

Mountain and Wilderness Medicine World Congress 2007, October 3–7, Aviemore, Scotland

The Response of Aboriginal Burning 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

Pollen and macroscopic charcoal have been analysed from a sedimentary sequence representing approximately 6100 years from a site within Wollemi National Park. This is located to the north-west of Sydney and forms a part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. The overall aim of the work was to examine the prehistoric interrelationships between vegetation, fire and human activity. There were relatively minor changes in the vegetation over the last ∼6000 years, perhaps reflecting the climate- and fire-resilient nature of the sclerophyllous vegetation found on Hawkesbury Sandstone throughout the Sydney Basin. Casuarinaceae declined in the late Holocene, a trend that has been detected in numerous palaeoecological studies throughout south-eastern Australia. This decline was unrelated to fire, which has been a persistent feature at the site over the entire analysed sequence. The fire regime at the site changed from 5.7 ka, which is interpreted as reflecting the onset of increased climatic variability associated with El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. Another dramatic change in the fire regime occurred at 3 ka, which was coeval with archaeological changes in the region. It is possible that the change in fire activity from 3 ka represented an alteration to Aboriginal management strategies associated with an increasing population and/or the increased risk of conflagrations in an ENSO-dominated climate.

Resilience of agri‐industries neighbouring the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area

Systems Research and Behavioral ScienceVolume 24, Issue 2 p. 249-252 Notes and Insights Resilience of agri-industries neighbouring the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area† Roger Attwater, Corresponding Author Roger Attwater r.attwater@bmwhi.org.au Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute, Katoomba, and the Graduate Research Program in Environmental Policy and Management, University of New South Wales, Sydney, AustraliaBlue Mountains World Heritage Institute, Research Program in Environmental Policy and Management, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.Search for more papers by this authorJohn Merson, John Merson Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute, Katoomba, and the Graduate Research Program in Environmental Policy and Management, University of New South Wales, Sydney, AustraliaSearch for more papers by this author Roger Attwater, Corresponding Author Roger Attwater r.attwater@bmwhi.org.au Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute, Katoomba, and the Graduate Research Program in Environmental Policy and Management, University of New South Wales, Sydney, AustraliaBlue Mountains World Heritage Institute, Research Program in Environmental Policy and Management, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.Search for more papers by this authorJohn Merson, John Merson Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute, Katoomba, and the Graduate Research Program in Environmental Policy and Management, University of New South Wales, Sydney, AustraliaSearch for more papers by this author First published: 02 May 2007 https://doi.org/10.1002/sres.815Citations: 2 † Views expressed in this document are not necessarily those of the Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute (BMWHI). The BMWHI does not accept responsibility for any advice or information in relation to this material. AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume24, Issue2March 2007Pages 249-252 RelatedInformation

Holocene fire history from the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, New South Wales, Australia: the climate, humans and fire nexus

This study presents a reconstruction of the fire activity of the last ~14,200 cal. years BP (before AD 1950) from Gooches Crater Right, located on the Newnes Plateau, approximately 150 km to the west of Sydney (~33°27′S, 150°16′E) within the Blue Mountains National Park. Charcoal analysis and palynology were undertaken with the aim of untangling any inter-relationship between climate, humans and fire. A chronology of the site was provided by radiocarbon dating. The dominant control on fire in this environment during the Holocene appears to be climate. Periods of climate change, identified in previous studies, are associated with higher levels of fire activity. Fire was less ubiquitous between ~9,000 and 6,000 years BP, a period normally described as having a higher effective moisture in south-eastern Australia. The mid-Holocene fluctuations in charcoal may reflect anthropogenic fire, climate forcing or alternatively human responses to any climate change. Coeval changes in palaeoclimatic sequences elsewhere and palynology at the site support a climatic explanation or that Aboriginal people used fire within a climatic framework.

Historical pollution variability from abandoned mine sites, Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, New South Wales, Australia

Core and surface sediments from the Tonalli River, a tributary of the artificial lake, Lake Burragorang, in the Blue Mountains National Park, New South Wales, Australia, were studied to evaluate the spatio-temporal distribution of pollutants from the Yerranderie silver–lead–zinc mine site, abandoned in the late 1920s. A sediment core was collected in the mouth of the Tonalli River, at its junction with Lake Burragorang, and surface sediment samples were collected in the Tonalli River and its tributaries. The concentrations of Pb, As, Zn, Cu, Cd, Hg and Ag in the sediments were determined by ICP-MS and ICP-AES techniques. Temporal variability of metal concentrations was established through 210Pb dating of the core sediments and compared with published historical records, rainfall records and bushfire data. Metal concentrations in core sediments showed an overall increase around the year 1950 as well as increases coincident with heavy rainfall. Spatially, metal concentrations were up to 400 times the guideline limit around mine sites but decreased rapidly with distance downstream of the mines.

Autosonntag (Switzerland, 1930) -- A Film Safari in the Swiss Alps

Two couples discover the attractions of the mountain world. With the cine camera they bring along, they record domestic animals and farmers, vegetation and impressive views. The result is a five-and-a-half minute amateur travel film documenting their excursion. In Autosonntag ( A Sunday Drive , Switzerland, 1930), the amateur film intersects with the genre of the travel film to form a kind of "safari to the Swiss interior" Between spontaneous observation, playful staging, and photographic posing, a specific tourist gaze emerges. Through the filming process, the mountain people are turned into trophies to be brought home from the "film safari"

Walter Abbott Wood (1907-1993)

Approximately 70 years ago a young man developed a deep and very personal relationship with the mountain world and a keen interest in the scientific investigation of its natural wonders. ... His successful academics and his mountain prowess led Wood to the American Geographical Society in New York City, where in the 1930s he directed the Society's Department of Exploration and Field Research. It was at the AGS that he conceived of and developed a program of exploration and scientific research that was to evolve during the rest of his life. ... During World War II, Walter Wood played a leadership role in the development of military logistic support techniques in the high mountains and participated in the training of mountain troops, first while at the U.S. Army's Arctic, Desert, Tropic Information Center in Minneapolis and later in cooperation with Canadian military personnel, .... The Wood Yukon expeditions of the 1930s had been forerunners to a far more sophisticated scientific examination of the St. Elias Mountains in the decades following World War II. ... Project Snow Cornice encompassed four field seasons: 1948, 1949, 1950 (winter) and 1951. ... Wood in 1961 founded the Icefield Ranges Research Project (IRRP), again under the auspices of the Arctic Institute of North America together with the American Geographical Society. ... In recalling and recounting the highlights of these expeditions and field research programs, it is easy to take their success for granted. At the same time, we should be very much aware that although the successes shine brightly, they came as the result of not only a great amount of hard work, but most especially because of the extraordinary vision, organizational ability and leadership of Walter Wood. Wood, as a geographer, was a great believer in coordination and cooperation among sciences and scientists. ... He was a marvellous leader of both his scientific and his mountaineering companions. ...

Mountain World in Danger: Climate Change in the Mountains and Forests of Europe

Mountain World in Danger: Climate Change in the Mountains and Forests of Europe

Landscape Change and Man-Accelerated Soil Loss: The Case of the Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park, Khumbu, Nepal

Popular and policy-influencing hypotheses concerning historical, post-1950, and current landscape degradation within the Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park, Khumbu, Nepal, were tested through a number of complementary measures. Historical perspectives were provided by the assessment of soil profiles, pollen analysis of stratified soil samples, and the identification and 14C dating of charcoal samples found at various soil depths. Repeat photography, combined with ground-truth verification, enabled an assessment of existing claims that large-scale vegetation and geomorphic change had occurred in the Park during the past 29-34 years. Soil-loss study plots were installed on a stratified and replicated basis throughout the Imja Khola valley and monitored on a weekly basis between 6 April and 1 November 1984. Results suggested that man may have been frequenting and modifying the Khumbu landscape for considerably longer than the 400-year period generally assumed, and that substantial climatic change has occurred during the past 4,000 years. Since the 1950s, far less forest removal and geomorphic damage has occurred in the Khumbu than has been hitherto assumed; most shrub/grassland and forested slopes below 4,000 m are surficially stable, but high soil loss occurs in certain degraded alpine summer settlement areas because of continued shrub harvesting for fuelwood, grazing pressures, and natural freeze-thaw processes. Project results suggest that previous claims of serious landscape degradation in the Khumbu have been overstated. Similar mis- understandings are likely to exist for other regions of Nepal and contain the potential for adversely affecting development and land management policies there. Long-term, region-specific, and quantitative research is suggested to facilitate the better understanding, and thus better management, of the diverse environments characteristic of Nepal, the Himalaya, and the mountain world in general.

The Mountain World by David F. Costello

Book Review| July 01 1976 The Mountain World by David F. Costello The Mountain World. By Costello, David F.. New York: Thomas Crowell, 1975. Pp. 305. $7.95. Peter E. Scott Peter E. Scott Zion National Park, Utah Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google South Atlantic Quarterly (1976) 75 (3): 399–400. https://doi.org/10.1215/00382876-75-3-399a Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation Peter E. Scott; The Mountain World by David F. Costello. South Atlantic Quarterly 1 July 1976; 75 (3): 399–400. doi: https://doi.org/10.1215/00382876-75-3-399a Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search Books & JournalsAll JournalsSouth Atlantic Quarterly Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. Copyright © 1976 by Duke University Press1976 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

The Mountain World [English versions edited by Malcolm Barnes] George Allen & Unwin Ltd. London 1958 – 59: 280 p., illus.— 1960–61: 262 p., illus., map. 25s. and 32s. respectively.

The Mountain World [English versions edited by Malcolm Barnes] George Allen & Unwin Ltd. London 1958 – 59: 280 p., illus.— 1960–61: 262 p., illus., map. 25s. and 32s. respectively. - Volume 4 Issue 31