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

这个不起眼的奖项帮助保罗教授。大学的阿贝尔 罗得岛的一个研究所， 自然地理研究所的Hans-Joachim Pachur教授 德国柏林自由大学教授。 目标的事业中 目前的研究是评估稳定同位素 阿贝尔博士对古代淡水腹足类贝壳的分析 对古气候的解释与地质/古气候相同- Pachur博士使用的拓扑学方法。 这些贝壳是由 Pachur博士从沿着一个中全新世撒哈拉河床的遗址， 在苏丹北方，他一直在应用各种技术， 对古代气候条件的描述 外壳材料将 从他的收藏中共同挑选，阿贝尔博士和他的 学生们将在短时间内测量这些壳上的稳定同位素比率， 沿着生长螺旋的间隔。 赤道非洲人类进化的环境 这是人类学家广泛关注和研究的课题， 考古学家，古生物学家和气候学家 它已成为 很明显，气候可能是一个重要因素， 进化的变化，包括形态和社会。 的 淡水腹足类贝壳中稳定同位素比率的测量 可能会为那些科学家的武器库提供一个有价值的新工具， 对上新世-更新世-全新世世界感兴趣。 全面 同位素与地质、地质、 在这个合作项目中产生的古生物学数据将测试 稳定同位素方法的有效性，并提供有用的 为多名美国本科生和研究生提供研究经验 学生

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.