RUI: Documenting the Effects of Global Warming on an Arctic Eocene Lake Using Siliceous Microfossil Remains

RUI：利用硅质微化石遗迹记录全球变暖对北极始新世湖泊的影响

• 批准号: 0716606
• 负责人: Peter Siver
• 金额: $ 30万
• 依托单位: Connecticut College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-09-01 至 2012-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0716606&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; Documenting; Effects; Global; Warming

Over 50 million years ago, long before humans evolved, the Earth was engulfed in an extremely warm period known as the Cenozoic hot house. The warming event was caused by a massive release of greenhouse gases from deep oceanic sediments and resulted in an Earth that was totally ice-free with subtropical conditions extending well beyond the Arctic Circle. The goal of this project is to document the remains of microscopic photosynthetic organisms from an extensive core representing an ancient Arctic lake during the Cenozoic hot house and use the findings to evaluate the effects of future warming on freshwater ecosystems. The core is remarkable and unique in that it contains a continuous record of events over an eight million year period. In addition to addressing global warming issues, this study will evaluate evolutionary questions for two ecologically important groups of organisms, including evolutionary stasis, formation of modern cell structures and rates of extinction. From an environmental point of view, there is no greater sense of urgency worldwide than understanding the potential effects of global warming on our planet. Today, humans are pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere at a rate greater than that which caused the Cenozoic hot house. The project offers a unique opportunity to understand how Arctic freshwater ecosystems respond to global warming and will yield information that can aid in the calibration of computer-based models.

5000万多年前，早在人类进化之前，地球就陷入了一个被称为新生代温室的极其温暖的时期。 这次变暖事件是由深海沉积物大量释放温室气体引起的，导致地球完全无冰，亚热带条件远远超出了北极圈。 该项目的目标是记录新生代温室中代表古老北极湖泊的广阔核心中的微观光合生物遗骸，并利用这些发现来评估未来变暖对淡水生态系统的影响。 该核心的非凡和独特之处在于它包含了八百万年期间事件的连续记录。 除了解决全球变暖问题外，这项研究还将评估两个具有重要生态意义的生物群体的进化问题，包括进化停滞、现代细胞结构的形成和灭绝率。 从环境角度来看，全世界最紧迫的任务莫过于了解全球变暖对地球的潜在影响。 如今，人类向大气中排放温室气体的速度比造成新生代温室的速度还要快。 该项目提供了一个独特的机会来了解北极淡水生态系统如何应对全球变暖，并将产生有助于校准计算机模型的信息。