Quaternary Diatom Paleoenvironmental Records from Three Lakes in Taylor Valley, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

该奖项支持对最近从南极洲干谷湖泊中收集的沉积物岩心中的硅藻和绿藻囊组合的研究，以了解过去200万年来当地和全球的气候循环。硅藻由于其普遍性、保存性和不同种类的环境限制而成为强有力的古环境指标。将对多达1000个样本进行分析，以确定湖泊的历史，包括水位、光线穿透和营养循环。这些岩心代表了来自南极洲的第一个非冰川地层记录，跨越了几个完整的冰川旋回，它们可能提供了从晚更新世到现在的几乎连续的环境变化记录。该记录将允许与区域古气候记录进行对比，例如来自沃斯托克湖和深海沉积物的记录。这项工作代表了涉及地质学、生物学、冰川学和气候学的综合多学科研究。就更广泛的影响而言，它将提高社会对全球气候变化的理解，从一个独特的角度来看，陆地记录涵盖了最近的关键时期。支持博士后和本科生的培养。

This award supports the study of diatom and chrysophyte cyst assemblages in sediment cores recently collected from lakes in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica to understand local and global climate cycles over the past two million years. Diatoms are powerful paleoenvironmental indicators because of their ubiquity, preservation, and the environmentally restricted occurrences of different species. As many as one thousand samples will be analyzed to determine lake history with respect to water level, light penetration, and nutrient cycling. These cores represent the first non-glacial stratigraphic record from Antarctica that spans several full glacial cycles, and they may offer a nearly continuous record of environmental change from the late Pleistocene to present day. This record will permit correlation with regional paleoclimate records, such as those from Lake Vostok and deep-sea sediments. This work represents integrated, multidisciplinary research touching on geology, biology, glaciology, and climatology. In terms of broader impacts, it will improve society's understanding of global climate change from the perspective of a unique, terrestrial record that covers key recent periods. It also supports the education of postdoctoral and undergraduate students.