Jakarta –
Humans are considered to have a significant impact on the environment global and climate since the beginning of the industrial era in the 18th century. But recent research points to the unexpected contribution of humans in ancient times.
Scientists analyzing Antarctic ice cores found an increase in the amount of black carbon from the early soot around the late 1200s. This unexpected increase can be traced to New Zealand, where the Maori at the time practiced burning as a land clearing practice.
“Compared to natural burning in places like the Amazon, or South Africa, or Australia, you wouldn’t expect the Maori burning in New Zealand to have such a big impact, but it’s happening in the Southern Ocean and the Antarctic Peninsula,” Nathan said. Chellman of the Desert Research Institute, quoted from Cnet, Thursday (14/10/2021).
“Using the ice core record to demonstrate the impact on atmospheric chemistry spanning the entire Southern Ocean, and linking it to the arrival and settlement of the Maoris in New Zealand 700 years ago, is simply amazing.”
Black carbon is produced by burning biomass. This pollution absorbs light and can contribute to global warming and the melting of ice sheets that can contribute to sea level rise.
Chellman’s colleague, Joe McConnell, who led the research, was surprised that humans had such a significant influence on the atmosphere since centuries before the modern era.
“Obviously from study This is that humans have had an impact on the environment in the Southern Ocean and the Antarctic Peninsula, for at least the last 700 years,” he said.
The findings could help reshape how we understand the atmosphere and climate, as current climate models use information from past climates to predict the future.
The study suggests that human-caused combustion may have a longer-lasting impact on the atmosphere, and possibly climate, and on a much larger scale than previously thought.
“From this research and previous work our team has done such as 2,000-year-old lead pollution in the Arctic from ancient Rome, it is clear that the ice core record is invaluable for studying past human impacts on environment. Even the most remote parts of the Earth weren’t necessarily ‘virgin’ in pre-industrial times,” McConnell concluded.
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