Late Quaternary Vegetation and Climate in the Eastern Caribbean

这项研究的长期目标是重建过去2万年来东加勒比海岛屿上植被、湖泊条件和气候的变化。沉积在多明卡两个火山湖的沉积物将被分析其物理特性、化学成分和生物残留物。该项目的第一阶段将测试一种在湖泊沉积物中探测史前飓风的新方法，该方法基于被冲进湖泊的大量植被碎片。这些地层将通过铅-210测定年代，并与同一地区的飓风历史记录进行比较。有人提出，飓风的强度和频率将随着气候变化而增加，使热带海面温度升高。了解过去飓风的性质、范围和时间，以及植物群落对飓风的反应，将为未来可能的反应提供指导。

The long-term goals of this research are to reconstruct the changes in vegetation, lake conditions, and climate that occurred over the past 20,000 years on islands of the eastern Caribbean. Sediment deposited in two volcanic lakes on Dominca will be analyzed for physical characteristics, chemical contents, and biological remains. The first phase of this project will test a new method for detecting prehistoric hurricanes in lake sediment based on the large amounts of debris from vegetation that is washed into the lakes. These layers will be dated by lead-210 and compared with historical records of hurricanes in the same area. It has been proposed that hurricane intensity and frequency will increase in response to climate change that warms tropical sea surface temperatures. An understanding of the nature, ranges, and timing of past hurricanes and the responses of the plant communities to hurricanes will provide a guide to responses that are possible in the future.