School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China; Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China; International Center for Isotope Effect Research, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
Laboratory for Marine Geology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266061, China; Key Laboratory of Submarine Geosciences and Prospecting Techniques, Ministry of Education of China, College of Marine Geosciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China.
Sci Total Environ. 2022 Jan 15;804:150209. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150209. Epub 2021 Sep 8.
The signals of fire activity induced from climate and ancient human activities could be recorded in sedimentary strata. We examined a 6000-year black‑carbon (BC) record-including char and soot-of a sediment core from the South Yellow Sea. The climate change had a threshold effect on the fire regime, and dominated the char emissions. The soot/BC signals depicted that the anthropogenic emissions related to the evolution of the Chinese civilization since the Early Bronze Age (~4 ka) have overwhelmed natural soot emissions. The soot variation in the record closely matched periods when there was large-scale use of coal or charcoal after the Han Dynasty and when indigenous coking technology was promoted after the Tang Dynasty; low soot-abundance in the record coincided with periods of social unrest. This work illustrates how soot signals can be a robust tracer of civilization evolution.
火活动的信号可以从气候和古人类活动中记录在沉积地层中。我们检查了来自南黄海的一个沉积岩芯的 6000 年黑碳（BC）记录，包括炭和烟尘。气候变化对火灾发生有阈值效应，并主导了炭的排放。烟尘/BC 的信号表明，自青铜时代早期（约 4000 年前）以来与中华文明演进有关的人为排放已经超过了自然烟尘排放。记录中的烟尘变化与汉代以后大规模使用煤或木炭以及唐代以后推广本土炼焦技术的时期密切相关；记录中烟尘丰度较低与社会动荡时期相对应。这项工作说明了烟尘信号如何成为文明演进的有力示踪剂。
