Collaborative Research: Snapshots of Miocene to Recent Paleoenvironmental and Paleoecological Conditions in the Northern Neotropics

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During the last 20 million years, Earth has experienced several climatic changes that affected environmental and ecological conditions in several locations around the world. While numerous studies from high latitude regions have provided a wealth of information about the effects of these past climatic fluctuations, how they affected conditions in the continental tropics is poorly known, mainly due to the lack of long geological records that can be used for scientific investigations. In this project, the Lake Izabal Basin in Guatemala, which preserves one of the longest records of continental sediments in the tropics, will be studied to develop a better understanding of how the area responded to key climate events in the past. In addition to the project’s scientific outcomes, the project will provide educational and research opportunities to two graduate students through participation in an international research project. The project also will reach a broader audience through the development of geoscience class modules for elementary and middle school science classes and educational geoscience workshops for K-12 science teachers. While numerous studies from high latitude regions have provided a wealth of information about the effects of late Cenozoic climatic fluctuations on environmental and ecological conditions, our knowledge from tropical regions is minimal by comparison. The proposed project focuses on the intersection of sedimentary systems and ecosystems in the Lake Izabal Basin in eastern Guatemala, a large pull-apart basin that contains a thick sedimentological record that extends into the Miocene. The investigation will use the sedimentological record through the study of outcrop data representing the basin’s basement and initial infill from the Oligocene-Pliocene, industry-acquired seismic data covering the Miocene-Recent, drill cuttings from a well spanning the Miocene-Recent, and long sediment cores (10 m) covering the last 30,000 years. The project will provide educational and international research opportunities to two graduate students through training in geophysical, sedimentological, and palynological data acquisition, processing, and interpretation, thereby contributing towards a stronger geoscience workforce. The project will also reach out to a broader audience by visiting science classrooms in Missouri and presenting and sharing research results during STEM days for elementary and middle school female students at Missouri University of Science and Technology. Finally, involvement and collaboration with Guatemalan institutions will provide international research opportunities and collaborations and enhance transfer of knowledge among U.S. and Guatemalan collaborators.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.