Holocene climate change in the high latitudes of the North American continent: reconstruction of vegetation and fire histories using Hudson Bay sediment records

这项工作调查了气候变化对北美高纬度地区北方森林扩张和野火强度/规模的影响。PI将量化血管植物衍生的生物标志物和热解标记物，这些生物标志物来自不同地点和不同气候时期的哈德逊湾沉积物中植物生物量的不完全燃烧。 这些产品的浓度和比例将用于开发植被和火灾指数，并建立加拿大中部和东部不同地区全新世的历史记录。 结合对现代样本的分析，这些数据将用于定量评估过去温暖气候时期北方森林和野火的纬度范围和扩张速度（例如，全新世热最大值，中世纪温暖期，过去100年），并将这些分布与寒冷期的分布进行比较（例如，小冰河时期）。 拟议的调查将促进气候科学家、陆地和海洋生物化学家之间的跨学科互动。该奖项支持一名女性博士后研究人员，并将扩大加拿大和美国科学家之间的国际合作，并通过在当地社区的外联活动吸引公众参与。

This work investigates the impacts of climate change on boreal forest expansion and wildfire intensity/magnitude in high latitude North America. The PI will quantify vascular plant-derived biomarkers and pyro-markers derived from the incomplete combustion of plant biomass in Hudson Bay sediments from different locations and ages expanding periods of contrasting climate. The concentrations and ratios of these products will be used to develop vegetation and fire indices and build historical records for different regions of central and eastern Canada over the Holocene. Combined with analyses of modern samples, these data will be used to quantitatively assess the latitudinal extent and rates of expansion of boreal forest and wildfire during past periods of warm climate (e.g., Holocene Thermal Maximum, Medieval Warm Period, last 100 years) and compare these distributions to those during cold periods (e.g., Little Ice Age). The proposed investigations will foster interdisciplinary interactions among climate scientists, terrestrial and marine biogeochemists. The award supports a female postdoctoral researcher, and will expand international collaborations among Canadian and U.S. scientists and engage the public through outreach activities in local communities.