Magnetic Studies of Cores from Lakes in Taylor Valley, Antarctica

该奖项由极地方案办公室提供，支持一个项目，该项目将对麦克默多干谷冰盖湖泊的沉积物进行磁性调查，同时对沉积物岩芯进行其他古环境研究。智力成就该奖项提供了一次非同寻常的机会，对来自干燥山谷的一套岩心进行古地磁和环境研究。这些岩心是彼得·多兰博士和他的同事们于2002年11月收集的，作为美国国家科学基金会资助的项目的一部分：从南极洲泰勒河谷的湖泊沉积物岩心推断古气候。磁性研究将改善来自特定湖泊的岩芯之间的相关性，将提供有关麦克默多-干谷生态系统过去行为的新信息，并将有助于制定可靠的岩芯年代学。这项研究将大大增强和加强岩心沉积学、地球化学、矿物学和生物地层学方面的计划研究。探索性研究小额赠款(SGER)计划的资金对这个项目是合适的，因为实际考虑要求岩心采样在2003年8月初进行，而且研究和后勤考虑都要求在收集其他样品之前进行磁性采样。布罗德建议的研究将有助于更好地了解麦克默多-干谷生态系统，这是一个长期生态研究项目的重点。拟议的项目还将通过演示如何使用磁性参数来识别湖芯中不同的沉积物来源，从而推动环境磁性领域的发展。它还将提供关于高纬度地区地磁场行为的新见解，这反过来将导致开发出可用于测定南极洲全新世沉积序列的长期变化主曲线。该项目将为本科生提供参与涉及南极材料的研究的机会。

This award, provided by the Office of Polar Programs, provides support for a project to conduct magnetic investigations of sediments from ice covered lakes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys in concert with other paleoenvironmental work on the sediment cores. INTELLECTUAL MERITThis award facilitates an extraordinary opportunity to conduct paleomagnetic and environmental studies on a suite of cores from the Dry Valleys. The cores were collected in November 2002 by Dr. Peter Doran and his colleagues as part of the NSF-funded project: "Paleoclimate Inferred from Lake Sediment Cores in Taylor Valley, Antarctica". The magnetic studies will improve the correlation between cores from a given lake, will provide new information about past behavior of the McMurdo-Dry Valley ecosystem, and will contribute to the development of a robust chronology for the cores. The research will significantly augment and enhance planned research on the sedimentology, geochemistry, mineralogy, and biostratigraphy of the cores. Funding under the Small Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER) program is appropriate for this project because practical considerations dictate that sampling of the cores take place at the beginning of August, 2003, and because both research and logistical considerations require that the magnetic sampling be done before other samples are collected.BROADER IMPACTSThe proposed research will contribute to a better understanding of the McMurdo-Dry Valley ecosystem, which is the focus of a Long-Term Ecological Research project. The proposed project will also advance the field of environmental magnetism by demonstrating how magnetic parameters can be used to identify different sources of sediment in a lake core. It will also provide new insights about the behavior of the geomagnetic field at high latitudes, which in turn will lead to development of a master curve of secular variation that can be used for dating Holocene sedimentary sequences in Antarctica. And the project will provide an opportunity for undergraduates to participate in research involving Antarctic materials.