EAPSI: Sea-level and paleoclimate reconstructions from Mallorca Cave Deposits

气候引起的海平面上升对沿海社会的潜在影响是一个紧迫的全球性问题。了解海平面对气候变化的反应的最好方法是观察过去的过程是如何进行的。本研究旨在生成并结合高分辨率的气候和海平面记录，以便解释晚更新世时期海平面对气候变化的响应是如何运作的。这两项记录将提供关于海平面如何随北半球地中海主要冰盖的增长和衰减而上升和下降的直接信息。​Shen博士负责质谱测年方法的精细分析精度，这将允许以最小的误差进行辐射测年。碳酸盐结壳（CE）被记录在海平面的上方、下方和当前的地中海海平面上，来自同一洞穴的石笋可以使用u系列方法精确地确定年代，从而精确地限制了每个海平面的高度和该地区的气候历史。洞穴植物对气候变化很敏感，因为它们的生长机制与地球的大气和水圈有关。在同位素平衡条件下沉积的特定洞穴沿生长轴的氧和碳同位素变化可能是气候变化的有力示踪剂。将利用多收集器-电感耦合等离子体质谱计对先前在马略卡岛收集的15个CE和2个石笋进行定年，以产生年龄。两种石笋的高分辨率U/Th年代学和精确定年的CE将为过去的海平面高低林分和气候变率提供时间线。​

The potential impacts of climate induced sea level rise on coastal societies are a pressing global issue. The best way to understand sea level responses to climate change is to observe how the processes have proceeded in the past. This research aims to produce and combine high-resolution climate and sea level records so that an interpretation of how the sea level response to climate variation has operated during Late Pleistocene time. The two records will produce direct information on how sea level rose and fell in response to the growth and decay of the major northern hemisphere ice sheets in the Mediterranean. Under the supervision of Dr. Chuan-Chou Shen, this project will be conducted at the National University of Taiwan. Dr. Shen is responsible for the refined analytical precision of mass spectrometric dating methods that will allow for radiometric ages with minimal error.Carbonate encrustations (CE) are documented above, below, and at the current Mediterranean sea level and stalagmites from the same caves can be accurately dated using U-series methodology, thus precisely constraining the elevation of each sea-level stand and a climate history for the region. Speleothems are sensitive to climate changes as their growth mechanism is linked to Earth's atmosphere and hydrosphere. Oxygen and carbon isotopic variations along the growth axis of a given speleothem deposited under isotopic equilibrium conditions are potentially powerful tracers of climatic changes. Dating of fifteen CE and two stalagmites previously collected from Mallorca by means of Multi Collector-Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer will be used to generate ages. The high resolution U/Th chronology of the two stalagmites and the precisely dated CE will provide timelines for past sea level high and low stands and climate variability. This NSF EAPSI award is funded in collaboration with the National Science Council of Taiwan.