Late Quaternary Vegetation History and Depositional Environment of the Yedoma Sections of the Lower Kolyma; Northeast Siberia - Feasibility Study

该奖项支持对西伯利亚东北部全新世泥炭中古植物物质的研究。目前，关于俄罗斯这一地区过去的气候和环境条件的信息很少。这项工作的重点是来自Kolyma河下游阶地沉积物的样本，称为Yedoma沉积物，这些沉积物已被热岩溶活动和河流侵蚀所解剖。矿床由中更新世至晚更新世粉砂层组成，由全新世泥炭覆盖在洼地上。目的是测试这些沉积物的效用，以获得古气候和古环境条件的代用记录。如果成功，这项工作将产生关于俄罗斯东北部气候敏感地区环境历史的重要信息。这项工作构成了由国家地理学会资助的一个野外项目的古植物学分析。这项工作将包括分析花粉和孢子，以及分析真菌和藻类遗骸。这些信息将成为重建该地区晚更新世和全新世沉积环境条件的重要组成部分。此外，这项工作具有扩大对高纬度植被-景观-气候耦合系统的理解的巨大潜力。

This award supports a study of paleobotanical material in Holocene peat from northeastern Siberia. At present, there is little information about past climatic and environmental conditions in this part of Russia. This work focuses on samples from the lower Kolyma River terrace deposits, called Yedoma deposits, which have been dissected by thermokarst activity and river erosion. The deposits consist of mid to late Pleistocene silt layers capped in depressions by Holocene peat. The goal is to test the utility of these deposits for yielding proxy records of paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental conditions. If successful this work will yield important information on the environmental history of a climatically sensitive region of the Russian northeast. This work constitutes the paleobotanical analyses of a field program funded by the National Geographic Society. This work will include analysis of pollen and spores in addition to the analysis of fungal and algal remains. This information will be a key component in reconstructing the late Pleistocene and Holocene depositional and environmental conditions of this region. In addition, this work has substantial potential for expanding understanding of a coupled high-latitude vegetation-landscape-climate system.