Le Petit Âge Glaciaire en milieu semi-aride : le bassin versant du Gialias (Chypre) et ses relations avec l'occupation des sols

• Main Authors: Devillers, Benoît, Lecuyer, Nolwenn
• Other Authors: Archéologie des Sociétés Méditerranéennes (ASM), Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Ministère de la Culture (MC), Laboratoire d'archéologie médiévale méditerranéenne (LAMM), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Provence - Aix-Marseille 1
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: French
• Published: HAL CCSD 2008
• Subjects: Holocene; Cyprus; Geoarchaeology; detritism; erosion; water resources; river landscapes; Little Ice Age; semi-arid environment; flooding; alluvial paleosol; environmental crisis; Ottoman; Franc; flash flood; crue éclair; Petit Âge Glaciaire; environnement semi aride; inondation; alluvion; paléosol; crise environnementale; Détritisme; ressources en eau; Géoarchéologie; Chypre; paysages fluviaux; envir; geo; Bolle; North Atlantic; North Atlantic oscillation
• Online Access: https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00803770/file/08_dev_pag2.pdf; https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00803770

International audience Historical and geological data have revealed a fresh and humid climatic phase between ca. A.D. 1550 and A.D.1850 (Lamb 1977, 1979, Grove 1988, Le Roy Ladurie 1983, 2003, Bond et al. 1997), linked to the North Atlantic Oscillation. This period, known as the Little Ice Age (LIA) has had a strong influence on the Mediterranean basin. The Eastern Mediterranean and more particularly the Near East is however the boundary area of the NAO influence (Bolle 2003). From a geomorphologic aspect, the LIA in Europe can be characterised by high flood frequency, intense detrital activity, and fluvial metamorphosis (Bravard 1989, Salvador et al. 1993, Huhmann et Brückner 2002, Pichard 1995, Zielhofer et al. 2002, Faust et al. 2004, Thorndycraft et Benito 2006). Agricultural activities and land use have probably enhanced its impact (Le Roy Ladurie 1983, Bravard 2000, 2002) maybe causing famine in some areas(Xoplaki et al. 2001). On the other hand, the LIA geomorphological impact in Eastern Mediterranean is poorly known. Some authors describe a similar evolution to the European one (Vita Finzi 1968, 1969, Lespez 2003, Issar 2003). Others show a decrease in flood frequency during the LIA and link this event to a diminution of the monsoon's influence (Laronne 1990). Arid hydrosystems are characterised by sporadic and violent flood events (flash floods) known to have the highest sedimentation rates of all floods (Karcz 1972, Phillips 2002). At first, flash flood could be suspected to be less frequent during the humid period of the LIA. This led us to examine the morphogenic potential of the LIA in semi-arid areas. The aim of this paper is to estimate if and how the climatic variations of the LIA have affected the fluvial system of the Cyprus island. Chronology and nature of flooding episodes are measured in order to understand interactions between fluvial dynamics, demography and land-use. The Gialias is a 936 km² watershed located within eastern Mesaoria (fig. 1A), the semi-arid central plain of Cyprus. This ...