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Of time and tide: the complex impacts of climate change on coastal and underwater cultural heritage

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 November 2022

David Gregory*
Affiliation:
Department of Research, Collections and Conservation, National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
Tom Dawson*
Affiliation:
School of History, University of St Andrews, UK
Dolores Elkin
Affiliation:
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) and Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Pensamiento Latinoamericano, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Hans Van Tilburg
Affiliation:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office for National Marine Sanctuaries, Pacific Island Region, Honolulu, USA
Chris Underwood
Affiliation:
ICOMOS International Committee on the Underwater Cultural Heritage, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Vicki Richards
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Conservation, Western Australian Museum, Fremantle, Australia
Andrew Viduka
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, Classics and History, University of New England, Armidale, Australia
Kieran Westley
Affiliation:
School of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Ulster University, UK
Jeneva Wright
Affiliation:
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, Abess Center for Environmental Science and Policy, University of Miami, USA
Jørgen Hollesen
Affiliation:
Department of Research, Collections and Conservation, National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
*
*Authors for correspondence ✉ david.john.gregory@natmus.dk & tcd@st-andrews.ac.uk
*Authors for correspondence ✉ david.john.gregory@natmus.dk & tcd@st-andrews.ac.uk
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Abstract

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has documented wide-ranging changes to the world's coasts and oceans, with significant further change predicted. Impacts on coastal and underwater heritage sites, however, remain relatively poorly understood. The authors draw on 30 years of research into coastal and underwater archaeological sites to highlight some of the interrelated processes of deterioration and damage. Emphasising the need for closer collaboration between, on one hand, archaeologists and cultural resource managers and, on the other, climate and marine scientists, this article also discusses research from other disciplines that informs understanding of the complexity of the interaction of natural and anthropogenic processes and their impacts on cultural heritage.

Information

Type
Research Article
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antiquity Publications Ltd
Figure 0

Figure 1. Regional sea-level change for RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 in metres for extreme sea-level (ESL) events. RCP = representative concentration pathway (after IPCC 2019: fig. 4.10).

Figure 1

Figure 2. Major settlements dating to the Greek, Roman and Byzantine periods that are at risk along the eroding coastline of eastern Libya: A) Apollonia (photograph taken November 2019 by S. Buyadem); B) Tocra (photograph taken November 2019 by S. Alaurfi).

Figure 2

Figure 3. Sediment dynamics at different timescales around the wreck of the SS WM Barkley (torpedoed and sunk October 1917 in the Irish Sea): a) bathymetry showing the wreck lying in a scour pit amidst a field of sand waves; b–d) difference model created from MBES surveys: b) one week apart in 2019, c) nine years apart (2010 and 2019) and d) one year apart (2015 and 2016). DoD = difference in seabed elevation between surveys (image created by J. Majcher, Ulster University).

Figure 3

Figure 4. X-ray of modern wooden pine blocks after submergence for one year in the Atlantic estuarine waters of the Bou Regreg River, Morocco, showing tunnelling by Teredo navalis (large tunnels) and Lyrodus pedicellatus (smaller and more abundant tunnelling) (photographs by M. Taube, National Museum of Denmark).

Figure 4

Figure 5. Daihatsu landing craft in Saipan in 2012 vs 2017 (after super typhoon Soudelor hit the Philippines and Saipan in 2015) (photographs by J. Carpenter, Western Australian Museum).

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