In the DEEP core from the Lake Ohrid ICDP drilling project, the carbon isotope composition of bulk organic matter (δ13CTOC) over the last 516 ka shows a negative correlation with total organic carbon ...(TOC) and total inorganic carbon (TIC). This relationship is marked by periods of lower δ13CTOC values corresponding to higher TIC and TOC. Along with TOC/TN, the correlation between δ13CTOC and δ13CTIC suggests that most of the organic matter in the core is from aquatic primary production within the lake. The combination of TOC, TIC, and δ13CTOC is able to disentangle long-term glacial/interglacial cycles and, to a lesser extent, millennial scale climate variability. Over the longer term, δ13CTOC shows modest variability, indicating that the δ13C of the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) pool is stabilised by the supply of karst spring water characterised by δ13CDIC influenced by the bedrock δ13C value, and the long residence time of the lake water and well mixed upper water column promoting equilibration with atmospheric CO2. However, comparison between arboreal pollen (AP%), TIC and TOC data indicates that the δ13CTOC signal is modulated by the leaching of soil CO2 through runoff and spring discharge, changes in primary productivity, and recycling of organic matter within the lake, all affecting δ13CDIC. Exceptionally low δ13CTOC during some interglacial periods (e.g. MIS7 and MIS9) possibly indicate rapid intensification of organic matter recycling and/or increasing stratification and enhanced methanogenesis, even if the latter process is not supported by the sedimentological data.
•The organic matter δ13C in Lake Ohrid's DEEP core is most from primary productivity.•DIC from the karst springs and atmospheric CO2 equilibration dominate Lake Ohrid.•Soil CO2 drives of the organic matter δ13C over interglacial/glacial periods.
Palynological long sequences offer a unique possibility to study the effect of pronounced climate change on vegetation dynamics over several glacial-interglacial cycles. Such long sequences are rare, ...especially outside of the Mediterranean realm. Additionally, they often lack robust chronologies, which are a precondition for comparisons across records and proxies. In this study we present a refined chronology of the Velay pollen sequence (0–423 ka) from south-central France by tuning it to the recently published Lake Ohrid pollen sequence from the southern Balkans, which itself has a vegetation-independent, numerical chronology. Furthermore, we use ordination techniques in combination with independent palaeo-temperature proxies and seasonality as explanatory variables for both sites. This allows us to infer climatic responses of interglacial vegetation over a broad ecological gradient, i.e., from a cool-temperate to a submediterranean site. Our analysis shows that temperature is a significant determinant for interglacial vegetation composition at both sites but explains slightly more variance at cool-temperate Velay compared to submediterranean Lake Ohrid, where precessional-driven moisture availability might have had a greater influence. Temperate oceanic taxa such as Abies and Taxus were most affected by comparably cool or warm interglacials at Velay, whereas at Lake Ohrid, the same accounts for Mediterranean taxa such as Quercus ilex, Q. cerris, or Ostrya/Carpinus orientalis. Responses of single taxa and vegetation groups to seasonality changes over the last five interglacials suggest that species-specific niche preferences have remained stable since 423 ka. Additionally, we suggest that unless a future climate exceeds the MIS 5e anomaly of c. +1.3 °C (if compared to the Holocene), evergreen Mediterranean taxa such as Quercus ilex will not expand into temperate biomes north of the Alps. However, even temperature rises below +1.3 °C will cause a restructuring of the current vegetation in both areas.
•We present a novel age-depth model for the palynological long sequence of Velay, Massif Central, France.•We use climate proxy data to quantify the impact of temperature on interglacial vegetation across two biomes.•Temperate oceanic vegetation was most affected interglacial intensity in the Massif Central.•Our results suggest that species-specific responses to seasonality have remained constant since 423 ka.
We investigate the modern hydrology of Lake Ohrid (Macedonia/Albania) using a combined hydrological and isotope-based modelling approach and present a new evaluation of contemporary water balance and ...palaeoclimate estimates. The combined model is able to estimate hydrological components that cannot be directly measured, and indicates that sublacustrine spring inflow is in the order of 50% higher than previous estimates and groundwater outflow comprises approximately a third of overall water outflow. In combination with sediment core oxygen isotope data, we used the combined model to quantitatively reconstruct past climate, in particular precipitation, during the early Holocene and last glacial period. Calculated precipitation in the early Holocene was higher than the value for present day and was approximately 44% lower than present during the last glacial, assuming the majority of precipitation fell as snow. The estimated amount of precipitation in the last glacial would have been high enough to provide refugial conditions at Lake Ohrid and to support the continuous existence of arboreal vegetation in the catchment. The improved understanding of the modern isotope hydrology of Lake Ohrid is fundamental for explaining the systematics of past isotope variation and providing context for extended sediment records from the lake, which will provide longer-term palaeoclimate reconstructions covering multiple glacial-interglacial cycles.
•We provide a new evaluation of contemporary water balance for Lake Ohrid.•Sublacustrine spring inflow is 50% higher than previous estimates, groundwater outflow comprises a third of total output.•Early Holocene precipitation is calculated to have been 26% higher than present, and 44% lower during the last glacial.•Last glacial precipitation was high enough to support arboreal vegetation in the catchment and provide refugial conditions.
Mediterranean climates are characterized by strong seasonal contrasts between dry summers and wet winters. Changes in winter rainfall are critical for regional socioeconomic development, but are ...difficult to simulate accurately
and reconstruct on Quaternary timescales. This is partly because regional hydroclimate records that cover multiple glacial-interglacial cycles
with different orbital geometries, global ice volume and atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations are scarce. Moreover, the underlying mechanisms of change and their persistence remain unexplored. Here we show that, over the past 1.36 million years, wet winters in the northcentral Mediterranean tend to occur with high contrasts in local, seasonal insolation and a vigorous African summer monsoon. Our proxy time series from Lake Ohrid on the Balkan Peninsula, together with a 784,000-year transient climate model hindcast, suggest that increased sea surface temperatures amplify local cyclone development and refuel North Atlantic low-pressure systems that enter the Mediterranean during phases of low continental ice volume and high concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases. A comparison with modern reanalysis data shows that current drivers of the amount of rainfall in the Mediterranean share some similarities to those that drive the reconstructed increases in precipitation. Our data cover multiple insolation maxima and are therefore an important benchmark for testing climate model performance.
After 1018/1019, the organization of Byzantine rule in the interior regions of the Balkans rested on the administration that John I Tzimiskes established in the areas taken from Bulgaria after 971 ...and the experience Basil II acquired during the war of 976-1018/1019 against Samuel and his successors. The sources attest that the struggle for Bulgarian independence relied on a dense network of fortresses in the interior of the Balkans. Accounts of the war of 976-1018/1019 by Byzantine authors show that, based on certain criteria, we can identify the dominant fortresses that served as the centers of Bulgarian resistance. Basil took control of most of those fortresses by their surrender. The way in which the Balkan interior was subdued led to Byzantium?s reliance on church organization to establish its rule in the post-1018/1019 period. During the reign of Basil II and shortly after his death, the Archbishopric of Ohrid had a twofold role. This institution, on the one hand, ensured lasting peace in the Balkans and, on the other, remained the only guardian of the subjugated people?s identity. However, in the mid-11th century, Byzantium already began to openly pursue a policy that almost exclusively favored Constantinople?s interests in the Balkans.
The lakes Ohrid and Prespa are located on the Balkan Peninsula, at the border between Albania, North Macedonia and Greece. They are separated by the high mountain chain of the Mali Thate-Galičica, ...which consist of highly karstified rocks, through which water from Lake Prespa drains into Lake Ohrid. This area has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1979. A very rapid decrease of the level of the big Prespa Lake was observed during the period 1963–2020. There are different explanations and hypotheses in an attempt to explain the decrease of lake levels. These are: (a) an increase of transmissibility of the karst aquifer separating these lakes, caused by geologic–tectonic reasons and resulting in intensification of drainage; (b) the increased use of lake water by the local population for agricultural, industrial and other purposes, and (c) the effects of recent climate changes. The paper presents information about the hydrogeology of the region for the purpose of better understanding the formation of the karst water resources and the characteristics of their circulation. Analysing a large number of investigations which unevenly covering the investigated area, the authors concluded that the current catastrophic decrease of the level of Lake Prespa is largely the result of climate changes that have occurred in the last 60 years, as well as the non-effective management of the water resources. The severity of the problem, reflected directly in the well-being of the local population, requires cooperation of the scientists of the three countries in question with respect to the realisation of the goal of the investigation and the protection of water resources of Lake Prespa.
Our study aims to reconstruct climate changes that occurred at Lake Ohrid
(south-western Balkan Peninsula), the oldest extant lake in Europe, between
160 and 70 ka (covering part of marine isotope ...stage 6, MIS 6; all of MIS 5;
and the beginning of MIS 4). A multi-method approach, including the “Modern
Analog Technique” and the “Weighted Averaging Partial Least-Squares Regression”, is
applied to the high-resolution pollen sequence of the DEEP site, collected
from the central part of Lake Ohrid, to provide quantitative estimates of
climate and bioclimate parameters. This allows us to document climatic change
during the key periods of MIS 6 and MIS 5 in southern Europe, a region where
accurate climate reconstructions are still lacking for this time interval. Our results for the penultimate glacial show cold and dry conditions, while the onset of
the “last interglacial” is characterized by wet and warm conditions, with temperatures
higher than today (by ca. 2 ∘C). The Eemian also shows the well-known climatic
tri-partition in the Balkans, with an initial pre-temperate phase of abrupt warming
(128–121 ka), a central temperate phase with decreasing temperatures associated with
wet conditions (121–118 ka), followed by a post-temperate phase of progressive change
towards cold and dry conditions (118–112 ka). After the Eemian, an alternation of four warm/wet periods with cold/dry
ones, likely related to the succession of Greenland stadials and cold events
known from the North Atlantic, occurred. The observed pattern is also
consistent with hydrological and isotopic data from the central
Mediterranean. The Lake Ohrid climate reconstruction shows greater similarity with climate
patterns inferred from northern European pollen records than with southern
European ones, which is probably due to its intermediate position and the
mountainous setting. However, this hypothesis needs further testing as very
few climate reconstructions are available for southern Europe for this key
time period.
Basil from Ohrid and his circle Sijakovic, Jovana
Zbornik radova Vizantološkog instituta,
2023, Letnik:
2023, Številka:
60-2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The paper explores biographical assumptions about Basil from Ohrid, who became the metropolitan of Thessalonike by October 1154 and met his end after 1160. He had a friendly relationship with John ...Tzetzes and Leo Charsianites, metropolitan of Dristra. It is possible that Leo and Basil served together as deacons in the patriarchal chancellery sometime between 1140 and 1146. Many issues remain unclear, including the question whether Michael, the Master of the Rhetors, was indeed Basil?s nephew. Michael and a circle of like-minded church dignitaries came under scrutiny in the Synods of 1156 and 1157 regarding their understanding of Christ?s sacrifice. Basil?s personal ties with this group might account for his initially reticent stance in this matter. It seems unlikely that he subscribed to their views. The tenor in his description of the Paschal Service in a later speech before the emperor appears motivated to demonstrate this.
In the period between 16th and 18th of June 2016 year, Macedonian association of special educators and rehabilitators in cooperation with the Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje and the Institute of ...Special Education and Rehabilitation held an international conference in Ohrid, on the topic: Contemporary theoretical and practical trends in special education and rehabilitation. Beside the domestic participants there were a lot of guests from many different countries: Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Great Britain, as well as representatives from the Ministry of education and science, Agency for international development of the USA (USAID) and European council in the Republic of Macedonia. The event was opened by the Honorary president of the Macedonian association of special educators and rehabilitators Prof. Dr. Ljupcho Ajdinski and on behalf of the dean of the Faculty of philosophy in Skopje, Prof. Dr. Goran Ajdinski, a welcoming speech to the audience addressed assistant Prof. Dr. Olivera Rashikj-Canevska, followed by promotion of the book of papers by the editor in chief Prof. Dr. Risto Petrov.
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