Pliocene and Pleistocene Climatic Change in South-Central Colorado

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The history of climate above the continental regions of the earth's surface is less well-known than above oceanic regions. Discontinuities in sedimentation limit our ability to acquire records of climate on the continents. Long records of past continental climate are particularly rare. This proposal requests support to reconstruct the history of climate for the last 5 Ma in south-central Colorado. Using samples from a 130 meter drill core, the PIs will use paleomagnetics and ash layers to provide chronologic control for the core and will reconstruct past climate from palynological and paleontological proxy indicators. The goal of the project is to correlate the climatic changes observed in this region with the history of climate as it is recorded in the oxygen isotopic composition of marine sediments. This research is important because it will link the marine and terrestrial records of climate from the Pliocene and Pleistocene intervals of earth history. This project is being supported under the ROW/RIA program.