HESCOR - Human & Earth System Coupled Research

@hescor.bsky.social

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Our interdisciplinary, pioneering HESCOR project at the #UniCologne combines Earth system science, human system modelling, and humanities to explore nature-culture interactions shaping our past, present, and future world. https://hescor-project.com

The picture shows the different connections between the Biosphere, Anthroposphere, Hydrosphere, Atmosphere and the Geosphere.
Tree cover fraction in the MPI-ESM simulation (upper row), pollen-based REVEALS reconstructions (second row) and tree cover difference between MPI-ESM and REVEALS (last row) for selected time-slices.
Example of sites and Human Existence Potential (HEP) calculations in the western distribution of the earliest Linearbandkeramik culture (LBK). Regions with higher potential (higher HEP values) are indicated in red tones, ranging from light to dark. Black dots mark sites of the earliest LBK occupation (after Fischer & Hilpert). The background map is the EMODnet World Base Map.
The image shows co-author of the related paper Minassie Girma Tekelemariam and a colleague at an archaeological excavation in the Ethiopian highlands. Photo Credit: Götz Ossendorf
Maps of the Bale Mountains region illustrating key archaeological and environmental archives discussed in the paper. Figure Credit: Alexander R. Groos
Diagram illustrating transfer learning with a CNN. A model is first trained on ImageNet for image classification, then its architecture is reused and fine-tuned on an archaeological data set for period and site classification.
Scientific coring campaigns in the Chew Bahir basin. Drilling pilot core CB-01-2009 close to the western basin margin in 2009, using a rotary single tube drill, with the cored sediment segments in the transport crate with a core diameter of 91 mm. Transect short cores across the basin were collected with a vibro-corer and smaller diameter liners. HSPDP deep-drilling campaign in November–December 2014, ∼ 3 km away from the western margin using duplicate coring strategy and soft-sediment coring tools (left: alien corer; right: extended nose corer, with non-rotating shoe). Six small ponds were excavated to store the daily required 40 000 L of drilling fluid per day. Recovered core segments were processed, weighed, measured and sealed for transport in the nearby science tent. Photos by the CHB science team.
Displayed are the MP (blue triangle), AUR-P1 (solid red circle), and AUR-P2 sites (open red circle). Three special Aurignacian sites — Cardina-Salto do Boi, Abrigo de la Malia, and Lapa do Picareiro — are also indicated. The last Neanderthal (NEA) refugia are primarily located in coastal areas, delineated by a dashed blue circle. The initial expansion routes of anatomically modern humans (AMHs) associated with AUR-P1 are shown with thick solid red arrows. The subsequent Duero route, extending from Cantabria into inland Iberia, is represented by thick dashed red arrows. The expansion pathways of AMHs linked to AUR-P2 are marked by thin dashed red arrows. A potential zone of admixture between NEAs and AMHs is identified along the northern Iberian coast, enclosed by a white dashed circle.
A topographical map of Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Levant showing the chronological expansion of modern humans. Colored contour lines (blue to green) represent arrival times in thousands of years ago (ka), moving from the Levant (older dates) into Western Europe (younger dates). Red dots identify key archaeological sites with specific date ranges.
A view of Earth from space against a starry background with a bright sun flare. Large white text on the right asks: 'IS CLIMATE CHANGE NATURAL?'
An illustration of a vast grassland filled with a large herd of American bison, while in the foreground two Indigenous North American hunters disguised under white wolf skins crouch low in the grass, each holding a bow and arrows as they wait to attack the animals under a hazy, open sky. Mary Evans, ›Native American Indian Buffalo hunt under the White Wolf Skin. An Indian stratagem on the level prairies‹ (c. 1858). Museum of the City of New York.
Different measurements from Lake Nakuru through time. This includes diatoms that represent at least 10% in one sample ; T. Index which shows potential depth; conductivity (amount of salts in the lake); aridity (Dim1 and K/Ti); biological productivity (Dim2, Ca/Mg, Si/Zr, Sr/Ti, and inc/coh); and anoxia (Dim3, Mo, and Fe/Mn). Global climate phases are highlighted with the anticipated dry phase (Last Glacial Maximum, LGM) in brown and the anticipated wet phase in blue (Bølling–Allerød interstadial, B-A).
Examples of contact networks for a) the Magdalenian period, b) the earliest LBK, and c) younger LBK phases. The size of each circle (node) shows its degree — how many connections it has to other places. A higher degree means more links and more contact; a lower degree means fewer connections.
User interface of the PALVEG app. In the panel on the left hand side, various options such as the desired time interval, specific (groups of) taxa, and different display options can be selected. On the right hand side, maps are dynamically generated based on the user input.
Graphical summary of differences between disciplinarity, multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity and some key conditions to achieve the latter.
Slide showing name and date of the workshop and logos of the projects as well as of the University of Cologne and RWTH Aachen University.
The figure depicts the four ways that Machine Learning can benefit archaeology: feature detection, site identification, chronological modelling, and artifact classification.
Visualization of the least-cost path between three points, calculated using Dijkstra's algorithm. The route successfully circumvents major topographical obstacles like the Alps and the Pyrenees, while also finding optimal passages through the mountains where necessary. (copyright: Lena Perlberg).
The map shows population shifts from south-western to north-eastern Europe during the last cold phase of the Ice Age. Photo: Isabell Schmidt, University of Cologne.
Diagram showing a virtual machine running a Docker environment. Inside Docker are four isolated containers: NGINX proxy, CKAN application, PostgreSQL (metadata), and SOLR search—representing the HESCOR database components running separately.
View from the Afroalpine Plateau into the lowlands (Bale Mountains, SE Ethiopia).
The figure contains graphical, iconic (human and animal icons) and textual elements. They are horizontally arranged to form three separate compartments, each of which is populated by a different configuration of humans and animals, accompanied by a symbolic and descriptive qualification of the associated learning mode. On the left, humans learn to think about themselves and their worlds through other animals (for example a raven), exemplified by the question “Who am I in this world?” (learning through). In the middle, humans take inspiration from other animals (for example beavers) in how to manipulate their environments, exemplified by the realization “Ah, this is how it works!” (learning from). On the right, humans make themselves at home in the world in such a way that they can coinhabit their environments with other animals (for example wolves), thereby co-learning how to live effectively in these environments with the respective animals (learning with). The framing arrows on the top and bottom indicate that human cultural frameworks can be expected to shape these modes of learning to various degrees and that their behavioural integration can be expected to differ across spatiotemporal scales.