P2C2: A 20,000 Year Ice Core-Derived Record of Paleoclimate and Environmental Variability in the Tropical Andes: Nevado Huascaran, Cordillera Blanca, Peru

研究人员打算从海拔6050米的科尔(即两个山峰之间的山脊的最低点)钻两个165米长的岩芯到基岩，从南峰顶峰钻两个70米长的岩心(6756个岩心)。尽管1993年进行了勘测，并成功地钻到了基岩上，但顶峰钻探是不可能的，而且只有少数测年技术可以帮助建立过去20,000年的有效时间标尺。来自华斯卡兰的稳定同位素记录将提供对流层中期温度和降水的历史，该地点靠近亚马逊盆地，将通过分析生物参数(微生物种群、花粉和甲烷浓度)来重建广阔雨林中的环境变化。研究人员旨在实现以下目标：(1)记录和描述突然的气候和环境变化，重点是中期全新世事件和冰川消融；(2)评估过去一个世纪气候和环境如何变化，以响应人为强迫；(3)为每个冰芯建立严格约束的时间尺度；(4)确定数十年、十年和ENSO时间尺度上的热带大气和气候动力学；(5)评估全新世和末次冰川阶段(LGS)气候和环境变化的区域特征，重点是亚马逊盆地的变化，并确定它们与其他地方同期条件的比较；以及(6)提供四分之一的华斯卡兰冰芯供美国国家冰芯实验室存档，供科学界未来调查。包括强大的科学和教育方面。最近强烈的厄尔尼诺现象加剧了秘鲁安第斯山脉对流层中层的变暖，加速了冰川的消退。目前，这种退缩正在增加旱季的水排放，这是不可持续的。秘鲁的大部分人口生活在西海岸的沙漠中，那里依靠冰川小溪提供农业、水电和市政供水。冰川消退还加剧了地质灾害，影响了生态系统、旅游业和娱乐业。要了解这种冰川流失加速对未来水资源的影响，需要关于高海拔冰川物质平衡过去变化的信息，这些信息几乎是未知的，除了基于冰芯研究的少数几个点估计。政策制定者、政府机构和公共资源管理者迫切需要这种信息，以帮助指导缓解和适应战略。教育和公共外展将通过俄亥俄州立大学最近在秘鲁建立的教育和外展项目进行。这些项目致力于向学生、公众和各级政策制定者提供气候和环境信息。该项目将支持早期职业科学家，并继续促进科学领域的国际合作。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The researchers intend to drill two 165-meter long cores to bedrock from the col (i.e., the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks) at 6,050 meters above sea level masl) and two 70-meter cores from the South Peak summit at 6,756 masl). Although the col was surveyed and successfully drilled to bedrock in 1993, summit drilling was not possible, and only a few dating techniques were available to help establish a valid time scale for the last 20,000 years. Stable isotope records from Huascaran will provide histories of mid-troposphere temperature and precipitation, and the site's proximity to the Amazon Basin will allow the reconstruction of environmental changes in the vast rainforest by analyzing biological parameters (microbial populations, pollen and methane concentrations).The researchers aim to address the following objectives: (1) document and characterize abrupt climate and environmental variations with emphasis on mid-Holocene events and the deglaciation; (2) assess how the climate and environment have changed over the past century in response to anthropogenic forcing; (3) establish tightly constrained timescales for each of the ice cores; (4) determine tropical atmospheric and climatological dynamics on multi-decadal, decadal, and ENSO time scales; (5) assess the regional characteristics of climatic and environmental variability during the Holocene and Last Glacial Stage (LGS) with a focus on changes in the Amazon Basin and determine how they compare to contemporaneous conditions elsewhere; and (6) provide one-quarter of the Huascaran col core for archival at the U.S. National Ice Core Laboratory for future investigations by the scientific community.The potential Broader Impacts (B.I.) includes strong science and educational aspects. Mid-tropospheric warming in the Peruvian Andes, enhanced by recent strong El Ninos, is accelerating glacier retreat. Currently this retreat is increasing dry season water discharge which is not sustainable. Most of Peru's population lives in the west coast desert which relies on glacier streams for agriculture, hydroelectricity, and municipal water supplies. Retreating glaciers also exacerbate geohazards and impact ecosystems, tourism and recreation. Understanding the impact of this acceleration of glacier loss on future water resources requires information about past changes in high elevation glacier mass balance which is virtually unknown, except from a few point-estimates based on ice core studies. Such information is urgently needed by policymakers, governmental agencies, and public resource administrators to help guide mitigation and adaptation strategies. Educational and public outreach will be conducted through Ohio State University's Education and Outreach Program recently established educational and outreach programs in Peru. Such programs are dedicated to providing climatic and environmental information to students, the public, and policymakers at all levels. The project would support early career scientists and continue to foster international collaborations in science.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.