U.S.- Federal Republic of Germany Cooperative Research on Paleoclimates

这一微不足道的奖项帮助罗德岛大学的保罗·I·阿贝尔教授与德国柏林自由大学自然地理研究所的汉斯-约阿希姆·帕丘尔教授在古气候学研究方面进行合作。他们目前的研究目的是评估Abell博士对古代淡水腹足类贝壳的稳定同位素分析在多大程度上与Pachur博士使用的地质学/古生物学方法对古气候做出相同的解释。这些贝壳是帕丘尔博士从苏丹北部中全新世撒哈拉河床沿线的地点收集的，他一直在那里应用各种技术来描绘古代气候条件。贝壳材料将从他的收藏中共同挑选，阿贝尔博士和他的学生将沿着生长螺旋以较短的间隔测量这些贝壳上的稳定同位素比率。人类在赤道非洲进化的环境一直是人类学家、考古学家、古生物学家和气候学家广泛关注和研究的主题。很明显，气候可能是引导进化变化的一个重要因素，无论是在形态上还是在社会上。淡水腹足类贝壳中稳定同位素比率的测量可能会为那些对上新世-更新世-全新世感兴趣的科学家提供一个有价值的新工具。对这个合作项目中产生的同位素与地质和古生物数据进行全面的比较和解释，将检验稳定同位素方法的有效性，并为几名美国本科生和研究生提供有用的研究经验。

This modest award assists Professor Paul I. Abell of the University of Rhode Island to collaborate in paleoclimatology research with Professor Hans-Joachim Pachur of the Institute for Physical Geography of the Free University of Berlin, FRG. The objective of their current research is to assess the degree to which stable isotope analyses of the shells of ancient freshwater gastropods by Dr. Abell give the same interpretation of paleoclimates as the geological/paleon- tological approach used by Dr. Pachur. The shells were collected by Dr. Pachur from sites along a mid-Holocene Saharan river bed in the northern Sudan, where he has been applying a variety of techniques to the delineation of ancient climatic conditions. Shell material will be jointly selected from his collections, and Dr. Abell and his students will measure stable isotope ratios on these shells at short intervals along the growth spirals. The environment in which man evolved in Equatorial Africa has been the subject of extensive interest and study by anthropologists, archeologists, paleontologists and climatologists. It has become evident that climate may have been a significant factor in directing evolutionary change, both morphologically and socially. The measurement of stable isotope ratios in freshwater gastropod shells may provide a valuable new tool in the armory of those scientists interested in the Pliocene-Pleistocene-Holocene world. Comprehensive comparison and interpretation of the isotope and geological and paleontological data produced in this collaborative project will test the validity of the stable isotope approach and provide useful research experience for several U.S. undergraduate and graduate students.