EAGER: Exploratory Analyses of Sediment Cores from Lac Toponowini (French Guiana)

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This award supports the laboratory analyses of samples derived from the Lac Toponowini project. This project is a new joint French/United States collaborative initiative to reconstruct variability in the northern Amazonia climate and the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) during the Holocene on decadal to century time scales. The Toponowini cores are a unique test bed for analyses because they are well laminated and well preserved. The researcher will conduct a suite of exploratory analyses on the Toponowini working core halves that include: (1) multivariate statistical analyses, using Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF), to explore the high (2 mm) resolution compositional changes seen in preliminary X-ray density data; (2) analyses of key biomarker compounds from selected horizons to determine longer-time scales changes in their molecular and carbon isotopic composition; and 3) carbon-14 analyses to construct an accurate age model.The research could have broad impact on the wider science community by catalyzing new thinking in issues surrounding climate by offering a new perspective on knotty scientific problems surrounding ITCZ variability and its consequent environmental impacts. The planned activities are high risk yet potentially transformative.