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

研究人员打算从山坳（即，两座山峰之间山脊的最低点，海拔6，050米;两个核心，海拔6，756米，距南峰顶峰70米。虽然在1993年对山坳进行了调查并成功地钻到了基岩，但山顶钻探是不可能的，只有少数几种测年技术可以帮助建立过去20，000年的有效时间尺度。来自瓦斯卡兰的稳定同位素记录将提供对流层中部温度和降水的历史，该地点靠近亚马逊盆地，通过分析生物参数，可以重建广阔雨林的环境变化（微生物种群，花粉和甲烷浓度）。研究人员旨在解决以下目标：（1）记录和描述气候和环境的突变，重点是中全新世事件和冰川消退;（2）评估气候和环境在过去世纪是如何响应人类强迫而发生变化的;（3）为每个冰芯建立严格约束的时间尺度;（4）确定热带大气和气候动力学在多年、十年和ENSO时间尺度上的变化;（5）评估全新世和末次冰期气候和环境变化的区域特征重点关注亚马逊盆地的变化，并确定它们与其他地方同期条件的比较;以及（6）提供四分之一的瓦斯卡兰地缝岩芯，供美国国家冰芯实验室存档，供科学界今后进行调查。包括很强的科学和教育方面。 秘鲁安第斯山脉的对流层中部变暖，最近强烈的厄尔尼诺现象加剧，正在加速冰川退缩。目前，这种撤退正在增加旱季的排水量，这是不可持续的。 秘鲁的大部分人口生活在西海岸的沙漠地区，农业、水力发电和市政供水都依赖冰川溪流。冰川退缩还加剧了地质灾害，影响生态系统、旅游业和娱乐业。了解这种加速冰川损失对未来水资源的影响，需要有关高海拔冰川质量平衡过去变化的信息，除了基于冰芯研究的几点估计外，这些信息几乎是未知的。 决策者、政府机构和公共资源管理者迫切需要这些信息，以帮助指导减缓和适应战略。教育和公众宣传将通过俄亥俄州州立大学的教育和宣传方案进行，该方案最近在秘鲁建立了教育和宣传方案。这些项目致力于为学生、公众和各级决策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知识价值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.