Current Research Projects
Coupling and Cohesion as vulnerability factors in socio-climatic networks: the case of agro-ecology in the Chicama Valley
With support from the National Science Foundation, researchers from this lab, the University of Florida, the Proyecto Arqueologico Complejo el Brujo, and the University at Albany-SUNY are carrying out a long-term project to examine how the way agricultural production strategies are organized may make them susceptible or resilient to changes in hydroclimate. This is a multidisplinary project that integrates archaeological work, radiocarbon analysis and modeling, geospatial ecological modeling, high-resolution paleoclimate reconstructions, and biogeochemical analyses. This project is actively ongoing, and various collaborative opportunities are available.
High resolution mapping of the effects of the 2016-2017 el Niño on vegetation and groundwater in coastal Peru.
Between January and April 2017, large amounts of rainfall caused by a coastal el Niño fell on Northern Peru. This caused catastrophic flooding, extensive damage to infrastructure, and loss of life. The el Niño rains also catalyzed dramatic ecological transformations in Peru’s coastal desert regions. Multispectral remote sensing of vegetation and soil moisture reveal that desert areas became highly productive environments, with increased vegetation growth. Groundwater and surface water features also appeared. Both enhanced vegetation growth and greater groundwater available at the surface lasted late into 2017. Remote sensing tracks the development of these desert oases and suggests such post-el Niño resources may be critical for ecological function and offsetting negative impacts. This work is ongoing.
Reconstructing late Holocene paleoclimate and anthropogenic environments in northern Peru based on sediment cores from Lakes Sausacocha, Yawacocha, and Huaylillas
Beginning in 2017, we began a collaborative project with U. Louisiana-Lafayette to begin coring high elevation lakes in the Departments of La Libertad and Cajamarca, Peru. To date, we’ve cored four lakes. Collectively, these provide a composite history of Holocene neo-glaciation, reconstructed hydroclimate, and high resolution data on anthropogenic environmental impacts. In particular, we have evidence of increased erosion as well as atmospheric pollution from prehispanic activities. This work is ongoing.
Remote sensing of late prehispanic settlement in the Chicama Valley, including evaluating the impacts of ancient land use on modern industrial agriculture
The Chicama Valley in northern Peru has been an important cultural and agricultural region, hosting the Cupisnique, Moche, Sican, and Chimu civilizations. Since the 19th century, it has become a major industrial agriculture landscape focused on growing sugarcane. Remote sensing shows that industrial agriculture has impacted archaeological settlements. It also reveals, however, that the archaeological sites continue to affect agricultural productivity. Ongoing remote sensing work is important for reconstructing pre-industrial settlement patterns and understanding how past land use continues to impact agricultural potentials.
During the Middle Holocene, a severe arid phase affected the central Andes between approximate 8,000 – 5,00 years ago. Sediment cores from Lake Suches suggest that lake levels were at or near modern ones throughout this arid period. Archaeological settlement patterns also suggest that foraging populations migrated into the region. Lake Suches appears to have provided a refugium for early foraging populations, likely reflecting that other biota benefited from microclimates in this region.
Modeled P/E balance in the central Andes
Lake Suches Core C09 proxies
Modeling the economic and ecological effects of intensified inter-Andean mobility during the Tiwanaku period with geospatial approaches.
The Tiwanaku state developed in the highland central Andes during the Middle Horizon, ca. 500 – 1000 AD. Tiwanaku’s rise catalyzed many social, economic, and ecological changes through expansive migration and interaction networks. Trade and mobility corridors that were established prior to the Tiwanaku period likely intensified, formalized, and ultimately provided a foundation for later socio-cultural and environmental interactions. Geospatial models help to identify corridors of movement that were likely used by Tiwanaku and affiliated groups. Remote sensing analysis indicates there is an anomalously-high percentage of perennially-green vegetation within one of the main corridors Tiwanaku used to reach colonies on the Pacific coast. This macro-regional vegetation pattern likely provided a critical resource to llama caravans. It may also have resulted in part from Tiwanaku and later groups efforts to enhance important resources along an important central Andean mobility corridor.
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Testing the effects of climate and economic incentives on Tiwanaku pastoral decision-making with geospatial and Agent-based models
The high elevation Andes were areas of specialized camelid herding. During the Tiwanaku period, there was a dramatic change in the structure of pastoral communities in Suches. Nucleated villages occupied during the preceding Formative Period were abandoned, and herders relocated to scattered residences close to highly productive pastures. Remote sensing of vegetation dynamics in relation to climate, GIS analysis, and spatially-explicit agent based models test whether this was a response to climatic conditions or may reflect economic motivations. These models suggest that the fragmentation of rural communities was the result of economic intensification, potentially driven by increased demand for meat and high-quality wool by urban Tiwanaku consumers.
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