Ok, so its not quite a three-month archaeological field season in Dhofar, but it made a nice change from the Research Commons Seminar Room at OSU and we even got to spend some time in the Forbidden Desert!!
We got together at Tabletop Café to select a board game to ‘deconstruct’ at the upcoming PAST Foundation Agent-Based Modelling Summer Camp. We will be picking apart the game into various components, just as scientists do with complex socio-ecological systems.
We decided on Qwirkle!
We have compiled a collection of geospatial datasets for the Central South Arabian mountains (CSAM) in Al Mahra, Yemen and Dhofar, Oman. They are stored in the Pangaea data repository and can be accessed here https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.902295
Included are vegetation indices, topographic variables, geomorphology metrics and a layer of fog density. The latter was calculated using a novel fog detection method, shows the average spatial variability in fog and will help improve our understanding of how fog influences vegetation patterns in the region. Vector layers of roads, places and waterpoints are also included.
The datasets can be utilized by researchers from a range of disciplines whom are conducting research in the CSAM region. More specifically, use of the datasets in the fields of geography, anthropology, archaeology, ecology and conservation is encouraged. The datasets could be used in a range of analytical and modelling techniques or utilized early in the research process to inform research design, fieldwork logistics and/or sampling strategies.
The Paleoethnobotany Laboratory Arabian Herbarium is receiving a facelift after new samples arrived from the Oman Botanic Garden this past spring. The Arabian Herbarium has been one of Dr. Joy McCorriston’s many projects. This extensive collection of plants from the Mediterranean to the southern coasts of Yemen have proven to be indispensable as it assists many researchers with plant identification of macro, photolith, pollen, and charcoaled remains.
Ohio State Senior, Jackie Stewart, has been leading the crusade to update the collection to include the new samples from the recent 2018 Autumn Field Season. Stewart is a Biology major minoring in Physical Anthropology and History. She will be graduating in December 2019. Her and Annalee Sekulic’s work mainly focuses on the data organization of the diverse range of plants being entered and mounted in the herbarium. Stewart is passionate about the breadth and immense diversity of knowledge which is found in Arabia.
Hi, I’m Lawrence and I’ve recently joined the ASOM team as a post-doctoral researcher within the Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology. I am joining the team to assist with the agent-based modelling – specifically to inform a model of the present-day pastoral system.
I have been conducting research in Dhofar for a few years. Initially, I was involved in research expeditions to study the biodiversity in a wadi system in western Dhofar. Our Anglo-Omani team worked their socks off and were rewarded with this stunning footage of several large mammal species including the critically endangered Arabian leopard. Read about the expeditions here.
For my MSc and PhD my research addressed the issue of overstocking of camels, cattle and goats – the impacts of which are apparent throughout Dhofar. More specifically, I looked at the socio-ecological system driving overstocking, and its impacts on the drought deciduous cloud forest habitat.
It’s great to be surrounded by so many enthusiastic individuals involved in research in Dhofar, and I look forward to my time here at OSU (provided Arctic blasts are limited to one per year, brrr).