@jhaue from the article Charcoal deposited on the dune surface by past fires collects in sediment layers at the base of the dune. Patton et al 2023/Quaternary Research. “.. newly published research focuses on four well-dated sand dunes. Unlike previous studies that extracted fire histories from sediment cores from lakes, bogs and other organic sediments, we extracted fire records from these dunes. We believe this is a breakthrough that will greatly expand the areas for which we can extract fire histories….
For the first 1,000 years after the dunes stabilised, frequent but minor flows of sand grains down the front face of the dune slowly built up sediments at the foot of the dune. The sand deposited at the base includes the remnants of charcoal from local fires that deposited on the dune’s surface. This sediment builds up over time, preserving layers of charcoal from fires..”
#fire #CarbonDating #FireHistory #Holocene

The artist James Montgomery Flagg, who had created the famous Uncle Sam, WWI recruiting poster in 1917, also created a fire prevention poster in 1937. Smokey Bear was created in 1944 as the benevolent protector of forests from carelessly-set wildfires. Finally in 1985 the Ad Council invoked Flagg’s appeal to conscience again, this time with Smokey pointing his finger at the viewer. So familiar was the imagery and the slogans, that “ONLY YOU” was necessary. #smokeybear #firehistory #wildfire