My Sediments Exactly - The Lost Nile Pathway Behind Egypt's Pyramid Clusters: An Interview with Joe Aslin, Deputy Editor, Communications Earth & Environment

The Lost Nile Pathway Behind Egypt's Pyramid Clusters: An Interview with Joe Aslin, Deputy Editor, Communications Earth & Environment

06/02/24 • 25 min

In this episode, we are speaking to Dr. Joe Aslin, Deputy Editor Communications Earth & Environment, an open access journal from the Nature Portfolio publishing high-quality research, reviews and commentary in all areas of the earth, environmental and planetary sciences. We are talking about a fascinating paper published in this journal discussing the discovery of an extinct branch of Nile which would explain the reasons for the location of the Pyramids as they stand. The paper is cited as:

Ghoneim, E., Ralph, T.J., Onstine, S. et al. The Egyptian pyramid chain was built along the now abandoned Ahramat Nile Branch. Commun Earth Environ 5, 233 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01379-7

Summary
A groundbreaking study uncovers the significance of an extinct Nile branch in the construction of ancient Egyptian pyramids. The discovery sheds light on transportation routes, environmental changes, and cultural heritage conservation. The research aligns with Sustainable Development Goal No. 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities, and demonstrates the use of modern technologies in preserving cultural heritage sites.

Keywords
ancient Egypt, pyramid construction, extinct Nile branch, transportation logistics, environmental changes, cultural heritage conservation, sustainable cities, modern technologies, ancient civilizations

Takeaways

The discovery of an extinct Nile branch provides insights into the transportation routes and environmental changes that shaped the construction of ancient Egyptian pyramids.
The research contributes to the conservation of cultural heritage sites and aligns with Sustainable Development Goal No. 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities.
Modern technologies, such as satellite radar imagery and ground-penetrating radar, have played a crucial role in uncovering the secrets of ancient landscapes and historical sites.

Check out the latest insights on Communications Earth and Environment here.

My Sediments Exactly. Follow us at @SpringerGeo and Springer Environmental Sciences at @SpringerEnviro on X , formerly known as Twitter. We would love to hear from you. If you have questions, comments or would like to be featured on this podcast, please send your feedback to [email protected]

Send us a text

Takeaways

The discovery of an extinct Nile branch provides insights into the transportation routes and environmental changes that shaped the construction of ancient Egyptian pyramids.
The research contributes to the conservation of cultural heritage sites and aligns with Sustainable Development Goal No. 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities.
Modern technologies, such as satellite radar imagery and ground-penetrating radar, have played a crucial role in uncovering the secrets of ancient landscapes and historical sites.

Check out the latest insights on Communications Earth and Environment here.

Previous Episode

Tree Rings to Understand Climate Extremes and Ecosystem Changes: An Interview with Prof. Zhihong Xu, Griffith University Australia

Send us a text

Tree rings serve as a natural archive for studying past climate conditions. By analyzing the tree rings, researchers can date the year the tree was growing and reconstruct past droughts, floods, and wildfires. Nitrogen is a critical element for forest ecosystems and its availability affects forest health and productivity. Climate extremes like droughts, floods, and wildfires have a significant impact on forest ecosystems and the nitrogen cycle. The use of isotopic markers, such as N15, can help understand climate change impacts on extreme weather and future climate projections. The research aims to influence public awareness and policy regarding forest conservation and climate change mitigation. Challenges include verifying the technology globally and expanding the research to explore other isotopic markers. The goal is to develop climate mitigation strategies and achieve sustainable development goals related to climate action and life on land.

Keywords
tree rings, climate conditions, past droughts, floods, wildfires, nitrogen, forest ecosystems, climate extremes, isotopic markers, N15, climate change impacts, future climate projections, public awareness, policy, forest conservation, climate change mitigation, sustainable development goals

Takeaways
Tree rings provide a historical record of past climate conditions, including droughts, floods, and wildfires.

Nitrogen is a critical element for forest ecosystems and its availability affects forest health and productivity.
Climate extremes disrupt the nitrogen cycle and have a significant impact on forest ecosystems.
Isotopic markers, such as N15, can help understand climate change impacts on extreme weather and future climate projections.
The research aims to influence public awareness and policy regarding forest conservation and climate change mitigation.
Challenges include verifying the technology globally and exploring other isotopic markers.
The goal is to develop climate mitigation strategies and achieve sustainable development goals related to climate action and life on land.

If you have feedback about this episode or would like to be featured on this podcast, we'd like to hear from you. Contact us on [email protected] with your ideas. Follow and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, one episode every two weeks and some special episodes periodically.
Check out the Journal of Soils and Sediments here for more insights.

Next Episode

JpGU 2024: Biggest Geosciences themes in Japan and beyond

Send us a text

Summary
This special episode is to highlight the Japan Geoscience Union (JPGU) as a seismic force in geoscience, which offers a forum for the exchange of earth-shattering ideas and groundbreaking discoveries. Their annual meeting in Chiba, Japan this year brought together researchers from various geoscience disciplines and explored a wide range of topics. Climate change, use of AI and solar events were identified as important themes for the future among others. The JPGU aims to establish a more inclusive and diverse scientific community for scholars in the Asian region and beyond and being one of the youngest regional union of this nature, it is growing rapidly. Open science, including open access publishing and data sharing, is a key focus for the JpGU with their own Open Access journal - Progress in Earth and Planetary Science which was launched in 2014 and is published by Springer Nature. This year's conference provided a platform for international collaboration and knowledge dissemination and brought together respresentatives from various other regional organisations along with universities and research institutions from all across the world.
#JpGU2024 #EGU #AGU #SpringerNature #Geoscience
Keywords
JpGU, Japan Geoscience Union, geoscience, climate change, solar events, open science, open access, international collaboration
We would love to hear from you. If you have questions, comments or would like to be featured on this podcast, please send your feedback to [email protected]

My Sediments Exactly - The Lost Nile Pathway Behind Egypt's Pyramid Clusters: An Interview with Joe Aslin, Deputy Editor, Communications Earth & Environment

Transcript

Medha Chaturvedi (00:00.046)
What did the Pharaoh say to the pyramid salesman?
Shut up and take my mummy.
Medha Chaturvedi (00:26.158)
Welcome to My Sediments Exactly, where we take nothing for granite. I'm your host Medha Chaturvedi and today we will be taking a trip down the old and middle Egyptian kingdom in search of some answers. The largest pyramid field in modern-day Egypt is clustered along a narrow desert strip near Lysht and Giza. But no one has Pharaoh-ciously explained