SGER: Use of Novel Biogeochemical Techniques on Core Sediments from the Tibetan Plateau

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This SGER will support preliminary analyses of sediment cores (covering approximately the last 18,000 years) recovered from a remote, high-elevation Tibetan lake - Peiku Co. The PI will use novel biogeochemical techniques (TEX86 and MBT/CBT), as well as emerging high-resolution (= 2mm) sedimentological analyses (utilizing a XRF core scanner) to complement climatic interpretations based on standard stable isotope techniques. This will facilitate future work on sedimentary archives taken from lakes in a part of the world where long, high-resolution lacustrine records are extremely difficult to obtain.The specific objectives of the present proposal are:a) To apply three novel biogeochemical proxies to sedimentary material from Peiku Co in order to provide quantitative estimates of past temperature changes on the Tibetan Plateau;b) To measure the elemental composition of core sediment, in order to provide information about the sedimentology of cores from the lake; andc) To establish a preliminary chronology for the sediment cores, using short-lived radioisotopes and AMS radiocarbon dating.