Abstract

Cultural heritage is extremely vulnerable to natural phenomena and manmade interventions to our environment. The Mediterranean as the cradle of monuments and ideas of worldwide interest has been identified as the hot spot in a manmade destabilized climate. Exposure to changes is extreme events such as gale force winds, floods, landslides and sea level rise on top of a threatened by seismologically unstable soils threaten the Mediterranean with emphasis on the eastern part of this closed sea. Global warming has effects on ecosystems and is threatening agriculture and heritage areas in the long shorelines in Greece, Italy and elsewhere caused by intrusion of salt water in the groundwater table particularly near the shoreline. Cultural heritage may influence also religious culture in view of the expected large changes not only in air temperatures but also in humidity and comfort. Cultural heritage is more than ever threatened by the synergistic effects of global warming, forest fires and seismicity in large parts of the Globe. Examples of observed and expected changes will be discussed.

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Abstract

Historical Climatology as an important discipline to study past climate, extremes and natural hazards and their impact on society and cultural heritage

Historical climatology is the use of documentary and written evidence to study historical changes in climate, extremes and their effect on human history and development. Historical Climatology follows two main goals:

1. reconstructing temporal and spatial patterns of weather and climate including natural disasters and hazards (floods, storms, drought, heatwaves, earthquakes, fires, etc.) for the period prior to national meteorological networks,
2. investigating the vulnerability of past societies and economies to climate variations, climate extremes and natural disasters.

Historical Climatology can contribute to the current debate on the long-term impacts of adverse climate conditions, extremes and natural hazards from a historical point of view. For instance, the study of historical flooding with respect to meteorological causes, frequency, severity and human impacts and damages on cultural heritage and historical monuments provides important information in developing future flood risk management strategies.
The talk presents the tools used by historical climatologist and shows different examples of past natural disasters and extremes from Europe and the Mediterranean and how they have affected human affairs and led to material damage.

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Abstract

Regional climate models (RCMs) are well established tools for the application of dynamical downscaling methods to enhance the regional information provided by Global Climate Models (GCMs) or by the large scale reanalysis. The added value of using RCMs is their ability to simulate atmospheric processes at a wide range of spatial and temporal scales because they represent topographical features in more detail due to their higher resolution. The Mediterranean region is characterized by complex mountain topographies, coastlines, small islands and peninsulas and hence downscaling to higher resolution is necessary for regional climate change impact studies. Reliable and user friendly open access of ensembles of future climate change data from high resolution RCM projections are essential to support decision makers, stakeholders, intermediary users and end-users for climate change impacts, mitigation and adaptation. The need of user friendly interactive web application tools for data extraction from RCMs is discussed.

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Abstract

Research of Climate Change (CC) impacts on Cultural Heritage (CH) has mostly focused on land CH or CH located along coastlines, with little concern being placed on Underwater Cultural Heritage (UCH). However, it is said that there is more history underwater than in all the museums of the world combined, especially in the Mediterranean Region. The geographical particularities of this region, and the commercial and cultural interaction through Mediterranean sea-roads have strongly affected maritime traditions that go back at least 5,000 years. These traditions can, among others, be identified in sunken shipwrecks and their contents located at the sea bottom, which are unique in the sense that they encapsulate a single moment in time, and are comparable to rare land examples such as Pompeii or Thera. CC impacts on the sea, i.e. warming of oceans, changing of its chemical composition (acidity and salinity), shifting of currents’ pattern etc., places UCH at yet unidentified risks. The presentation will attempt to explore potential CC-related risks of UCH in the Mediterranean scenery, while highlighting the need for baseline research of UCH made from different materials in order to better assess these impacts and make more informed and sustainable management plans for UCH from different periods.

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Abstract

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Abstract

Climate change is one of the most important global challenges of our time. Although many studies have been conducted to explore its impact on e.g. biodiversity and agriculture, little is known as to whether and to what extent climate change influences cultural heritage assets. Against this background, the EU-funded "Climate for Culture" project (2009-2014) has investigated the potential impact of changing climate conditions on historic buildings and the collections they contain as well as on the future energy demand in Europe and the Mediterranean. Art objects are often very sensitive to variations in humidity and temperature. The main innovation was to use a combination of simulation and modelling tools to predict more accurately the influence of changing outdoor climate on the indoor and microclimate in historic buildings until 2100. Further, future energy demand for climatisation of historic buildings was calculated. By using an automated procedure an assessment of the damage potential in various climate zones was performed. In order to assess the damage potential of these future climatic conditions, a set of damage functions has been applied to four categories of objects (sculptures, panel paintings, furniture and paper manuscripts). Furthermore, sensitive glass sensors developed within the EU project AMECP (1993-1996) have been used in “Climate for Culture” to assess the corrosive damage potential of current outdoor and indoor climates at the case study sites. Glass sensors act in an integrating way as dosimeters, i.e. they monitor the combined corrosive effects (in the present case, of temperature and humidity) on a longer time scale as well as daily fluctuations.

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Abstract

Anthropogenic activities and their impact on monuments: The case of the Acropolis.

The phenomenon of climate change, the occurrence of extreme weather phenomena and the degradation of the environment, especially in the urban centers, also affects the monuments which have stood for centuries. Indeed, many claim that the damage suffered in recent decades far exceeds the damage of the past. Our speech attempts to illustrate the data as well as measures to address the adverse effects of human activities on monuments, with particular reference to the emblematic monuments of the Acropolis.

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Abstract

Notable is the effect of climate changes on preservation of historical monuments in last decades. That so very urgent is the update of documentary information of the case. The State of the Art are the damages and deterioration noticed   because of new natural-climatic conditions. The main problem of the research is the fixation and stabilization of the changes occurred. The objectives include:  1. The definition of the climatic impacts, 2. Beside soil media reactions concentration on  of “ Mitis” type layered masonry technique in Armenia and its notable behavior towards new changes, 3. Hasty Diagnosis and mapping on three case studies carried out. Methodology is the qualitative study and comparative analysis of the damages in behalf of back weathering, dilapidation and condensation or desalination aspects noticed on newly treated parts.

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Abstract

Greece and the broader Easter Mediterranean have very dynamic geomorphological, environmental and geodynamic regime, that provided a very unique landscape to its inhabitants since prehistoric times. The scenic landforms that were shaped by the constant natural processes and the abundance of hazardous phenomena of the region, such as floods, earthquakes, volcanos, were to a degree part to the ancient societies and their heritage. Their symbiosis, one that lasts for thousands of years, has transferred to our modern societies the responsibility to protect the remnants of this heritage. In the Greek landscape, natural disasters are looming over numerous invaluable cultural sites. Using modern tools we are in the process of understanding the natural risks that threaten cultural sites, especially from new challenges arising from climate change and the associated the intensification of hydro-meteorological and climate-related hazards.

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Abstract

Lezha region is situated on the coastal zone of Adriatic Sea, a cross road to north of Albania. It is rich in historical sites and cultural heritage with castles and sites from medieval age. Due to climate changes and alteration of the landscape by human settlements and tourism development, it is facing frequently flood events due to torrential storms. Furthermore, the nearby Kune-Vain lagoon, a nature touristic site, very rich on birds and other animal habits, is threatened by sea level raise and habitat loss. A number of adaptive measures and interventions are made based on ecosystem services such as reforestation, dune restorations, maintain the water communication flow with the sea, as well as community involvement and education.

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Abstract
Athanasios T. Vafeidis & Lena Reimann

Climate-induced sea-level rise is exacerbating the risk of coastal hazards, such as flooding and erosion, directly threatening UNESCO World Heritage sites (WHS) located in coastal areas. The Mediterranean region has a particularly high concentration of cultural WHS in coastal locations as several ancient civilisations have developed in the region. This study presents an index-based approach that allows for assessing and forecasting WHS at risk from coastal flooding and erosion in the Mediterranean under four sea-level rise scenarios, until 2100. We show that, already today, 37 out of 49 cultural WHS located in low-lying coastal areas of the Mediterranean are at risk from a 100-year flood and 42 from coastal erosion. Until 2100, flood risk may increase by 50% and erosion risk by 13% across the region, with considerably higher increases at individual sites. Most affected countries include Italy, Croatia, Greece and Tunisia. These results provide a first-order assessment of where adaptation is most urgently required. Our findings can be used by policymakers to steer detailed research at local-scale, which can provide the necessary information for devising innovative adaptation strategies particularly suited to the characteristics of each specific WHS.

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Abstract

The climate change is always a major concern because it can cause natural disasters and serious damage to World Cultural Heritage. This is particularly so today because many natural disasters are brought about, or increased, by climate change throughout the world. The extreme weather conditions cause drought, fires, flooding from rivers and lakes and affect the natural and cultural environments in Greece.
Reducing and managing the risk of natural disasters are significant challenges before the world community. Climate change and natural disasters are the consequences of uncontrolled human activity and poor environmental management, bringing damage to World Heritage monuments.

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The Fifth IPCC report makes no mention of cultural heritage in its appraisal of the impacts of climate change or in its discussion of adaptation to climate change. The academic literature on climate change and cultural heritage is very young and limited, though growing. No paper on this theme has been published in an economics journal. Economists, however, have been engaged in issues of culture and cultural heritage. This presentation will attempt to outline some key conceptual challenges and issues that one would expect from what might be entitled The climate economics of cultural heritage. Three broad questions will be briefly considered: Why would an economy fail to provide the level of protection needed? How can we set priorities in distributing resources for protection of cultural heritage from climate change impacts? What tools or instruments for cultural heritage sustainability can we envisage?

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Abstract

In October 2018 the IPCC special report on “Global Warming of 1.5 ºC” warned that there are only a dozen years for global warming to be kept  to a maximum of 1.5C, beyond which, even half a degree will  significantly worsen the risks of drought, floods, extreme heat and  poverty for hundreds of millions of people around the globe. Urgent  and unprecedented changes are needed to reach the target. Such a  transition can be achieved by developing structured and  methodologically sound approaches to recognizing, demonstrating and   capturing the Total Economic Value of resources.

Although research on the economic and social effects of climate change  on cultural resources and services, is not extensive, my contribution  will focus on the methods available to estimate and monetize these  effects and understand the social value of conserving culture. Central  to my speech will be the concept of the ‘total economic value' and in  particular the value humans derive from cultural resources, within a  framework of climate change, uncertainty and ambiguity. The estimation  of this value is crucial for understanding how much it should be  invested in order to conserve cultural goods and services, as well as  develop efficient policies for sustainable cultural management.

The speech will present my research on refining theoretical models and  empirical methods used in the field of economics, towards: (a) better  understanding of the concept and determinants of the total economic
value of cultural goods and services, (b) more accurate modelling of  this value, (c) more robust estimation of this value, (d) more  efficient integration of this value in interdisciplinary cultural  management and policy-making, while (e) incentivizing the development  of technological and social innovations that integrate this value and  accelerate these innovations in the market.

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Abstract

In Greek Mythology, several plants and animals were considered sacred and were protected. The Presocratic philosophers, who taught that we all belong to a “Cosmic Ensemble”, paved the way for the respect to Nature. During the classical period, Plato himself was very much concerned with the damaging effects of mountain deforestation on the distribution of rainwater that would, as a consequence, flow rapidly to the sea and be wasted. Aristotle supported the idea of a “common substance” of all living species. He also predicted, in his Meteorologika, the risk of some humid regions becoming arid. Finally, it is remarkable that, thanks to their correct heliocentric beliefs and their knowledge of the Earth’s sphaerical form, the Greeks undermined the anthropocentric view of a flat Earth, centre of the universe, offered by the Gods to the humans as a gift to be exploited unconditionally.

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