Publications by authors named "M Finkenbinder"
Substantial amounts of mercury (Hg) are projected to be released into Arctic watersheds as permafrost thaws amid warmer and wetter conditions. This may have far-reaching consequences because the highly toxic methylated form of Hg biomagnifies rapidly in ecosystems. However, understanding how climate change affects Hg dynamics in permafrost regions is limited due to the lack of long-term Arctic Hg records.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOur understanding of the climatic teleconnections that drove ice-age cycles has been limited by a paucity of well-dated tropical records of glaciation that span several glacial-interglacial intervals. Glacial deposits offer discrete snapshots of glacier extent but cannot provide the continuous records required for detailed interhemispheric comparisons. By contrast, lakes located within glaciated catchments can provide continuous archives of upstream glacial activity, but few such records extend beyond the last glacial cycle.
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- Drought may have contributed to the abandonment of pre-Columbian Native American settlements in the midcontinental U.S. between 1350 and 1450 CE.
- A detailed oxygen isotope record from Horseshoe Lake in Illinois shows increased evaporation and lower effective moisture during this time, correlating with the decline of Cahokia.
- This research underscores the significant impact of climate and drought on ancient agricultural societies in the region, indicating current vulnerabilities to similar hydroclimatic extremes.
Article Synopsis
- Early industrial activities have significantly contributed to trace metal pollution in southwestern Pennsylvania, and these historical impacts are often overlooked.
- An analysis of sediment cores reveals that land use and industrial practices from the 19th and 20th centuries led to varying concentrations of trace metals like arsenic, barium, zinc, cadmium, and lead.
- Understanding these legacy sources is crucial for modern assessments of environmental contamination, as they pose risks for ecosystem and human health due to the potential remobilization of these metals.