Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Holocene ENSO Events on Peruvian Coast

博士论文改进补助金：秘鲁海岸全新世 ENSO 事件

• 批准号: 0731529
• 负责人: James Feathers
• 金额: $ 1.48万
• 依托单位: University of Washington
• 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 2009-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0731529&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Grant; Holocene

This project aims to better understand the long-term activity of El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events and the impacts of these events on the inhabitants of coastal Peru. To this end, Jack Johnson will examine various types of sediments in two drainage basins in the northern desert coast of Peru to identify local ENSO-caused landscape changes over the last several thousand years. He will then use luminescence methods to obtain ages for these sediments under the supervision of Dr. James K. Feathers to build an extensive picture of the timing, frequency, and magnitude of these events in each area. This picture will then be compared with a wide range of published archaeological data on prehistoric Peruvian economies to assess the potential impacts of fluctuations in ENSO activity on the economic infrastructure of the prehistoric societies that inhabited the area. Research of this nature is important for several reasons. First, it will improve scientific understanding of past variations in ENSO activity in Peru, and this will in turn provide both geographic and temporal perspective to efforts to understand both ancient and modern fluctuations in ENSO events around the world. Second, this research will help give similar perspective to the long-term economic threats these events pose to Peruvians, and it will therefore help inform local public efforts to mitigate the billions of dollars in damages that these events can cause through massive erosion of soils and infrastructure. Third, the combination of data on ENSO activity and the uniquely rich archaeological record of the area can provide a detailed illustration as to how human groups deal with climatic events over the long term. Such insight will be invaluable to researchers interested specifically in the prehistory of the Andes, as well as those more generally interested in evaluating modern global challenges posed by the impacts of acute climatic fluctuations on elaborate economic webs. In broader terms, this project will also help integrate various communities of researchers and citizens with an interest in the archaeological record and archaeological methods. Peruvian archaeologists and geologists will be engaged in fieldwork and will be trained in the field collection of samples for luminescence dating, a technique for which expertise is lacking amongst Peruvian academics. Peruvian and American students, including two full-time field assistants, will be trained in field sediment analysis and in luminescence methods. Presentations and lectures on this research will be given in multiple forums in both the United States and Peru, including professional conferences, primary schools, and community meetings. All conclusions will be published in peer-reviewed journals in both English and Spanish, and all data will be archived online in both English and Spanish for public access by any researcher with an interest in climate data, chronometric data, or archaeological data. Lastly, this project will provide training and advancement towards a doctoral degree for Jack Johnson.

该项目旨在更好地了解厄尔尼诺/南方涛动事件的长期活动及其对秘鲁沿海居民的影响。 为此目的，杰克约翰逊将检查在秘鲁的北方沙漠海岸的两个流域盆地的各种类型的沉积物，以确定当地的厄尔尼诺/南方涛动引起的景观变化在过去几千年。 然后，他将在詹姆斯·K·史密斯博士的监督下，使用发光方法获得这些沉积物的年龄。羽毛，以建立一个广泛的图片的时间，频率和规模，这些事件在每个地区。 然后将这一情况与已公布的关于史前秘鲁经济的各种考古数据进行比较，以评估厄尔尼诺/南方涛动活动的波动对居住在该地区的史前社会的经济基础设施的潜在影响。这种性质的研究之所以重要，有几个原因。 第一，它将增进对秘鲁厄尔尼诺/南方涛动活动过去变化的科学了解，这反过来又将为了解世界各地厄尔尼诺/南方涛动事件的古代和现代波动的努力提供地理和时间方面的观点。 其次，这项研究将有助于为这些事件对秘鲁人造成的长期经济威胁提供类似的视角，因此将有助于为当地公众努力提供信息，以减轻这些事件通过大规模土壤和基础设施侵蚀可能造成的数十亿美元的损失。 第三，把厄尔尼诺/南方涛动活动的数据和该地区独特而丰富的考古记录结合起来，可以详细说明人类群体如何长期应对气候事件。 对于那些对安第斯山脉史前史特别感兴趣的研究人员，以及那些对评估剧烈气候波动对复杂经济网络的影响所构成的现代全球挑战更感兴趣的人来说，这种见解将是非常宝贵的。更广泛地说，该项目还将有助于整合对考古记录和考古方法感兴趣的各种研究人员和公民社区。 秘鲁考古学家和地质学家将从事实地工作，并将接受实地采集样品用于发光测年的培训，秘鲁学术界缺乏这方面的专门知识。 秘鲁和美国的学生，包括两名全职现场助理，将接受现场沉积物分析和发光方法的培训。 在美国和秘鲁的多个论坛上，包括专业会议、小学和社区会议，将就这项研究进行演讲和讲座。 所有结论将以英文和西班牙文发表在同行评审期刊上，所有数据将以英文和西班牙文在线存档，供任何对气候数据，计时数据或考古数据感兴趣的研究人员公开访问。 最后，该项目将为杰克约翰逊提供博士学位的培训和晋升。