SGER: Holocene and Modern Climate Change in the High Arctic: Evaluating the Feasibility of Running an REU site on Svalbard.

[0221199.00]这项建议是作为探索性研究（SGER）的小额资助。这是麻省大学和伊利诺伊大学芝加哥分校、贝茨学院和霍利奥克山学院的主要研究人员合作提出的一项建议。首席研究员将确定在斯瓦尔巴群岛建立本科生研究经验（REU）站点的可行性，该站点侧重于研究冰川、湖泊、峡湾和近岸海洋环境中全新世环境变化的现代物理过程和代理记录。斯瓦尔巴群岛是了解全球尺度气候和地球物理反馈的重要地点，在20世纪，由于大气变暖，海冰和冰川边缘急剧减少。代用记录表明，斯瓦尔巴群岛在全新世晚期经历了显著的气候波动，并在19世纪末的小冰河期达到顶峰。该地区具有良好的晚全新世气候记录，为海洋和陆地古环境研究提供了在不同时空尺度上了解海洋/大气系统的绝佳机会。目前北极地区还没有专门研究晚全新世环境变化的REU站点。首席研究员预计学生将在几个地点参与模块或项目，并且所承担的项目将在下一学年成为高级论文项目。他们将举办一年一度的研讨会，学生们将在会上展示他们的研究成果。一个重要的目标是激励不同群体的本科生（特别是女性、未被充分代表的少数民族，如果可能的话，还有残疾人）在北极进行气候变化研究的回报和挑战。

0221199WernerThis recommendation for an award is being made as a Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER). This is a collaborative proposal among Principal Investigators at the Universities of Massachusetts and Illinois at Chicago, Bates College, and Mt. Holyoke College. The Principal Investigators will determine the feasibility of establishing an Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site in Svalbard that focuses on studying modern physical processes and proxy records of Holocene environmental change in glacial, lacustrine, fjord, and near shore marine environments. Svalbard is an important location for understanding climate and geophysical feedbacks on global scales where, in the 20th century, there have been profound reductions in sea ice and retreating glacier margins associated with atmospheric warming. Proxy records indicate that Svalbard experienced significant climatic fluctuations during the Late Holocene, culminating with the Little Ice Age at the end of the 19th century. This area should offer excellent opportunities for marine and terrestrial paleoenvironmental research to understand the ocean/atmosphere system on a variety of spatial and temporal timescales due to its excellent record of Late Holocene climate. There are currently no REU Sites in the Arctic that focus on Late Holocene environmental change. The Principal Investigators anticipate that students will participate in modules or projects at several sites and that the projects undertaken will become senior thesis projects during the subsequent academic year. They will conduct an annual symposium where the students will present their research results. An important goal is to inspire a diverse group of undergraduate students (especially women, underrepresented minorities, and if possible, persons with disabilities) to the rewards and challenges of conducting climate change research in the Arctic.