Collaborative Research: Millennial variability of hillslope dynamics and alluvial aggradation in semiarid regions: a view from the southern Hemisphere

这个国际、多机构合作项目将提高我们对干旱和半干旱地区冲积和河流地貌系统如何在千年时间尺度上响应气候变化的认识。该项目旨在分析智利北部干旱的埃尔基河谷后冰期水文和地貌的耦合响应。宇宙形成核素、发光测年和土壤地层学将被用来描述从山坡到冲积河段的沉积物的产生、储存和运输的过程和时间。将用一套古环境指标在同一时间窗口内分析两个附近湖泊的记录。该数据集将有助于我们了解半干旱的西安第斯山脉的局部和区域土壤学、地貌、构造和古环境。此外，了解地貌和土壤在全新世时间尺度上的演变将有助于世界其他地区类似地区的地质研究。该项目将有助于内华达大学里诺分校和加州州立大学贝克斯菲尔德分校的本科地质学课程的发展，后者是一所为西班牙裔服务的机构。该项目与智利拉塞雷纳的研究中心（CEAZA）以及加拿大达尔豪斯大学（Dalhousie University）建立了强有力的国际合作关系，并将为两名美国本科生提供国际研究经验。这项研究将有助于该地区以及世界上其他具有类似干旱环境的地区的土地利用规划和减灾工作。外联活动将与智利伙伴协调。本项目由地貌学与土地利用动力学、古气候学和国际科学与工程项目联合支持。

This international, multi-institutional, collaborative project will advance our knowledge regarding how alluvial and fluvial geomorphic systems respond to climate change at millennial timescales in arid and semiarid regions. The project specifically aims to analyze the coupled hydrologic and geomorphic response during post-glacial times in the arid Elqui valley in northern Chile. Cosmogenic nuclides, luminescence dating and soils stratigraphy will be used to characterize, in terms of process and timing, the production, storage and transport of sediment from hillslopes to alluvial and fluvial reaches. Two nearby lacustrine records will be analyzed over the same temporal window with a suite of paleoenvironmental indicators. The robust coupled dataset is expected to contribute to our understanding of the local and regional pedology, geomorphology, tectonics and paleoenvironment of the semiarid western Andes. Furthermore, understanding how landforms and soils evolve over Holocene timescales will contribute to geologic research of similar regions in other parts of the world.The project will contribute to the advancement of undergraduate geology programs at University of Nevada Reno and California State University Bakersfield, the latter a Hispanic-Serving Institution. The project has a strong international partnership with Centro de Estudios Avanzado en Zonas Aridas (CEAZA) in La Serena, Chile, as well as Dalhousie University in Canada and will provide international research experiences for two U.S. undergraduate students. The research will aid land use planning and hazards mitigation efforts for the region as well as other parts of the world with similar arid environments. Outreach activities will be coordinated with the Chilean partner. This project is jointly supported by the Geomorphology and Land Use Dynamics, Paleoclimatology, and International Science and Engineering programs.