Collaborative Research: The Timing of Holocene Climate Change in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

这项工作使用地球化学技术来研究南极干旱山谷中的湖泊水，以了解它们的起源和过去几千年来的气候变化。这些湖泊在年龄、分层、常年冰盖和封闭盆地的位置上都是独一无二的。这些因素的结果是对气候变化的高度敏感性，它们的分层水域记录气候变化的方式与沉积岩记录地质过程的方式大致相同。该项目将从不同的环境中采集三个湖泊的样本。将分析水样中的主要离子、溶解气体、稳定同位素和氦、氯和碘的同位素，每一种都提供了关于水的来源、年龄和最近与大气交流的独特视角。研究结果将与有关湖泊水位、低水位形成和冰盖发生的信息相结合，以了解湖泊历史和全新世气候。从更广泛的影响来看，这项工作支持研究生和本科生的研究，并开发一个描述湖泊化学和生物的在线网站。这项工作也适用于理解与核废料储存库相关的极地环境中的卤水运输。

This work uses geochemical techniques to study water from lakes in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica to understand their origin and climactic change over the last few thousand years. These lakes are unique in their age, stratification, perennial ice cover, and location in closed basins. The consequence of these factors is a high susceptibility to climate change, which their stratified waters record in much the same way that sedimentary rocks record geologic processes. This project will sample three lakes from varied settings. Water samples will be analyzed for major ions, dissolved gases, stable isotopes, and isotopes of helium, chlorine and iodine, each of which offers a unique perspective on the water's source, age, and recent communication with the atmosphere. Results will be coupled with information on lake levels, hypolimnia formations, and ice cover occurrence to understand lake history and Holocene climate.In terms of broader impacts, this work supports graduate and undergraduate research, and development of an on-line site describing lake chemistry and biology. The work also has application to understanding the transport of brine in polar settings, which is relevant to nuclear waste repositories.