Mark Macklin - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Mark Macklin

Current assessment of flood risk in New Zealand is compromised by short instrumental flow records... more Current assessment of flood risk in New Zealand is compromised by short instrumental flow records (less than 50 yr) in most large river catchments. These typically do not include the largest floods that have occurred in the past and which would cause the most damage to life, property and infrastructure. This paper reports the first Late Holocene palaeoflood reconstruction in the North Island of New Zealand within the Manawatu river (c.5950 km2), based on a coring campaign to examine the sedimentary infill of oxbow lakes ('lagoons') in the lower part of the catchment. Study reaches are fully alluvial, with an extensive suite of infilled palaeochannels developed on a series of low elevation cut-terraces and on very low-gradient fluvial plains. The geochemical proxies for the grain-size of individual flood units, recovered by percussion and piston coring, were compared with modelled overtopping discharges for each study site, and the monitored discharge record in order to corre...

Geography of the Physical Environment, 2019

In this chapter, we discuss recent developments in paleoflood hydrology that are specific to the ... more In this chapter, we discuss recent developments in paleoflood hydrology that are specific to the collection of high-resolution records from alluvial settings. We describe how to develop and analyze alluvial paleoflood records, including (i) the identification of suitable depositional niches in valley environments and the mechanisms of overbank deposition that lead to flood deposit accumulation at those locations, (ii) approaches for sample material collection and methods to measure the coarseness of individual flood units, (iii) data assessment and reconstruction of absolute and relative flood magnitudes from sedimentary information, and (iv) developing flood chronologies with a discussion of available dating techniques. We argue that alluvial paleoflood archives hold enormous potential for flood hazard assessments in densely populated low-lying areas despite the challenge of quantitative discharge reconstructions in dynamic floodplain settings.

Flood frequency estimates are an essential part of flood risk management. They are an important i... more Flood frequency estimates are an essential part of flood risk management. They are an important ingredient of many important decisions, informing the cost-effectiveness, design and operation of flood defences, flood mapping and planning decisions in flood risk areas. They also inform the National Flood Risk Assessment, the setting of insurance premiums and long-term investment planning. Methods described in the Flood Estimation Handbook (FEH) published in 1999, and many subsequent updates, are considered the industry standard for flood estimation in the UK. They are used extensively by hydrologists from both the public and private sectors. Flood frequency estimates – also known as design flood estimates – are associated with many sources of uncertainty. These hydrological uncertainties often constitute the most uncertain component in any flood study. Uncertainty can lead to difficulty in having confidence in the outputs of studies, whether these are for investment planning, insuranc...

&lt;p&gt;The Aral Sea basin in Central Asia and its major rivers the Amu Darya an... more &lt;p&gt;The Aral Sea basin in Central Asia and its major rivers the Amu Darya and Syr Darya were the center of advanced river civilizations, and a principal hub of the Silk Roads trade network. The region&amp;#8217;s decline has been traditionally attributed to the Mongol invasion of the early-13&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; century CE. In this study, we demonstrate the role of changing hydroclimatic conditions on the development of these culturally influential potamic societies that were depending on floodwater farming. Radiometric dating of irrigation canal abandonment and an investigation of regional river channel dynamics at Otr&amp;#257;r oasis, a UNESCO World Heritage site located at the confluence of the Syr Darya and Arys rivers in southern Kazakhstan, revealed that major phases of fluvial aggradation occurred between the 7&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; to early-9&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; century CE and the mid-14&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; to mid-16&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; century CE. These periods coincide with economic flourishing of the oasis, facilitated by NAO-induced wet climatic conditions and higher river flows that favored floodwater farming. Periods of abandonment of the irrigation network and cultural decline primarily correlate with fluvial entrenchment during periods of drought. As the decline of the region seems to have initiated before the arrival of Ghenghis Khan and his armies, climate change has to be considered as a pivotal factor in the region's final demise. &amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;

IMPACT Printmaking Journal

One of the most enduring and culturally vibrant potamic societies in the world are the Māori peo... more One of the most enduring and culturally vibrant potamic societies in the world are the Māori peoples of Aotearoa/New Zealand. The creation of the prints featured in this article have emerged from a long-term and ongoing trans-disciplinary art-science project – Te Awa Rio/the River’s voicen– that has for the first time brought together river scientists, visual artists and the Te Atihaunui- a-Paparangi people or iwi (kin groups) of the Whanganui River of the North Island. Offered, with much humility, these works show how indigenous knowledge, an understanding of deep time human- environment entanglements, and a reconnection with the watery realm, can offer society a way to rethink how best to navigate through and beyond our current planetary crisis. Planetary wellbeing, in the past as well as in the present era of anthropogenic climate weirding, pandemics and environmental breakdown, has often been measured by the health of our rivers and by the partnerships, formal or informal, that...

This paper presents new research in an alluvial basin of the Lower Danube Valley between Turnu Mă... more This paper presents new research in an alluvial basin of the Lower Danube Valley between Turnu Măgurele and Zimnicea in southern Teleorman County. In terms of archaeology, the area had not been previously systematically investigated. During the twentieth century, and especially before the late 1960s to early 1970s, there were major landscape changes as result of massive desiccation and impoundment. Most prehistoric and ancient archaeological finds were previously discovered incidentally. The earliest traces of human activity were identified on the loess terraces bordering the north of the Danube floodplain. Noteworthy is the research focused on the Upper Palaeolithic at Ciuperceni, first carried out in the late 1970s, and then, more recently, between 2006 and 2008. Other prehistoric evidence has been discovered during systematic research around Poiana village (formerly Flămânda)on former Danube terraces and the northern bank of former Lake Bercelui. Importantly, the oldest evidence ...

Goldschmidt Abstracts, 2020

Journal of Islamic Archaeology, 2020

Quaternary Science Reviews, 2002

Water History, 2021

People and water intersect in the movement of sediment downstream in rivers. Social processes and... more People and water intersect in the movement of sediment downstream in rivers. Social processes and geomorphological processes become entangled as each system moves in ways that trigger corresponding responses from the other. Long-term dialectical relationships emerge that span multiple human generations. The power of sediment and water to change physical environments is in constant tension with the power of human actions informed by social, cultural, legal, economic and engineering imperatives. The Pacific Rim gold rushes that began in the mid-nineteenth century provide an opportunity to examine how the interplay of people, water and sediment unfolds over historic time. The mass discharge of mining sediment in California and Victoria that began over 150 years ago was a catastrophic human alteration of river systems. Subsequently, mining sediment has had a long and complex entanglement with society and rivers in both regions and continues to be an active agent in reshaping riparian environments. Mining sediments also have a toxic legacy as associated contaminants, including mercury and arsenic, that are discharged into waterways and dispersed in windblown dust. The changes to river systems caused by gold mining committed societies and rivers to new trajectories of mutual engagement. Anthropogenically induced sedimentation that resulted from mining is an issue that will continue to impact watersheds for generations to come.

Series of Geology and Technical Sciences, 2021

The article examines the effectiveness of GIS-technologies in Kazakhstan for determining and clar... more The article examines the effectiveness of GIS-technologies in Kazakhstan for determining and clarifying hydrographic characteristics (e.g. catchment area, river length, location, lakes and reservoirs), the analysis of hydrological processes and phenomena, as well as the creation of a cartographic and attributive database of water bodies. Yesil River, the main waterway of the central and northern part of Kazakhstan, is one of the least hydro- logically studied catchments in the region. To address this research and information gap data was obtained from remote sensing and runoff depth based on the Kazhydromet network for the period 1945 to 2016. A topographic and river network map (1:1,000,000) of the Yesil River basin, including locations of gauging stations as well as depth and runoff coefficient maps were created using ArcGIS software. These maps provide a very useful tool for water resource management and economic policy decision making.

Additional file 2: Figure S1. Maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree of cytochrome c oxidase I (COI... more Additional file 2: Figure S1. Maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree of cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) sequences from Anopheles larvae sampled in western Zambia.

Additional file 1: Table S1. Cytochrome c oxidase 1 (COI) sequences for unknown Anopheles species... more Additional file 1: Table S1. Cytochrome c oxidase 1 (COI) sequences for unknown Anopheles species. Table S2: second internal transcribed spacer region (ITS2) sequences for unknown Anopheles species.

The Physical Geography of the Mediterranean, 2009

Linking river behaviour and drainage basin evolution to Quaternary environmental change, most not... more Linking river behaviour and drainage basin evolution to Quaternary environmental change, most notably the effects of climatic variability, tectonics, and human activity on runoff and sediment delivery, has a long history of research in the Mediterranean areas of Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. This field of research was initially stimulated by the (re)discovery at the beginning of the twentieth century of many Classical Period remains buried by river alluvium; perhaps the best known of which is the site of Olympia in western Greece (Huntington 1910). The widespread evidence for large-scale shifts in river channel positions and the rapid growth of deltas and coastal alluvial plains in historical times (Judson 1963; Raphael 1973; Kraft et al. 1980; and Chapter 13) also provided much impetus for this research. In addition, archaeological investigations carried out soon after the Second World War in Algeria (Gaucher 1947), Italy (Selli 1962), Libya (McBurney and Hey 1955) and S...

The arid environment and lack of modern develop-ment around Amara West has preserved distinctive ... more The arid environment and lack of modern develop-ment around Amara West has preserved distinctive and high-resolution records of changing Holocene river behaviour, both in a palaeochannel immediately adja-cent to the town, and in one 2km further north. Com-bining optically stimulated luminescence and 14C dating, alongside investigation of channel morphology and reach-scale flood inundation simulation, a chronologi-cal framework for the dynamic riverine environment in this part of the Nile Valley is reconstructed for the 2nd and 1st millenniums BC. The palaeogeographical setting of Amara West changed dramatically and rapidly after the founding of the town as channels dried out and the riparian zone contracted. Evidence from excavations in the town and cemeteries, alongside micromorphological analyses of sedimentary deposits from the settlement and bioarchaeological study of the human remains, is deployed to explore how the ancient inhabitants experienced, and sought to mitigate the ef...

In the last decade new archaeological and geomorphological research in the lower Danube catchment... more In the last decade new archaeological and geomorphological research in the lower Danube catchment (LDC) has transformed our understanding of prehistoric river-society interactions, particularly with respect to the environmental context in which farming first developed in Southeast Europe at around 6100 cal. BC. This paper critically reviews these recent developments and using a new Late Pleistocene and Holocene fluvial chronology from the Teleorman Valley (TV), southern Romania, examines the interplay between river dynamics and the Neolithic archaeological record.