NSFGEO-NERC: Collaborative Research: Environmental change and impacts on ancient human colonization of Peary Land, northernmost Greenland

该项目由美国国家科学基金会地球科学理事会（NSF/GEO）和英国国家环境研究委员会（UKRI/NERC）通过NSF/GEO-NERC牵头机构协议共同资助。该协议允许美国/英国提交一份联合提案，并由其调查员拥有最大比例预算的机构进行同行评审。在成功地共同确定一项奖励后，每个机构为预算的比例和与自己的调查人员有关的调查人员和工作的组成部分提供资金。北极社区在极端气候条件下有着悠久的忍耐力。过去人们对环境变化的反应与今天直接相关，并将为生活在北方的人提供一扇窗口，让他们了解古人在最困难的环境中找到了忍受的方法。这项研究将记录格陵兰北部人类定居和遗弃时期与过去4500年气候波动的关系。在这个偏远地区，气候变化通过影响植被和放牧动物的丰富程度以及沿海海洋哺乳动物的存在，对人们的生存起着至关重要的作用。当气候有利时，资源丰富，人类对环境变化的脆弱性较低。在气候不太有利的时期，资源变得更加有限，对气候波动的敏感性增加。当环境变得足够不适合人类居住，超过了人类的适应能力时，他们就离开这个地区去更有利的地方。该项目将评估早期人类能够适应和生存的条件，以及可能导致他们放弃该地区的条件。该项目将研究在极端、高北极环境中物理、生物和人类系统之间的相互作用。该项目将从史前定居点附近的湖泊沉积物中获得气候和植被变化的高分辨率定量记录。无机含量、脂类生物标志物、化合物特定稳定同位素、花粉和孢子、手摇虫、硅藻和沉积古DNA的测量将揭示该地区的古气候模式。将使用固定翼无人机进行考古调查，对该地区的考古遗址进行盘点，该项目将模拟不同气候条件下过去沿海海冰的范围。几名学生和早期职业研究人员将在整个项目中接受培训，格陵兰社区和美国学生的外展将向广泛的受众传播研究成果。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

This is a project that is jointly funded by the National Science Foundation’s Directorate of Geosciences (NSF/GEO) and the National Environment Research Council (UKRI/NERC) of the United Kingdom (UK) via the NSF/GEO-NERC Lead Agency Agreement. This Agreement allows a single joint US/UK proposal to be submitted and peer-reviewed by the Agency whose investigator has the largest proportion of the budget. Upon successful joint determination of an award, each Agency funds the proportion of the budget and the investigators associated with its own investigators and component of the work.Arctic communities have a long history of endurance in extreme climates. How people responded to environmental change in the past is of direct relevance today and will offer those who live in the North a window into a time when ancient people found ways to endure in the most difficult circumstances. The research will document how periods of human settlement and abandonment in northern Greenland were related to climate fluctuations over the past 4500 years. In this remote region, climate change played a critical role in the survival of people by affecting vegetation and the abundance of grazing animals, as well as the presence of marine mammals on the coast. When climate was favorable, resources were abundant and the vulnerability of humans to environmental change was low. During times of less favorable climate, resources became more limited and sensitivity to fluctuations in climate increased. When conditions became sufficiently inhospitable to humans, exceeding the ability of people to adapt, they left the area for more favorable locations. The project will assess the conditions under which early people were able to adapt and survive, as well as conditions that may have led them to abandon the region. The project will examine interactions among physical, biological, and human systems in an extreme, High Arctic environment. The project will produce high resolution, quantitative records of climate and vegetation change from lake sediments, obtained from locations adjacent to prehistoric settlements. Measurements of the inorganic content, lipid biomarkers, compound specific stable isotopes, pollen and spores, chironomids, diatoms, and sedimentary ancient DNA will shed light on paleoclimate patterns in the region. An archaeological survey using fixed-wing drones will be conducted to inventory archaeological sites in the region, and the project will model past coastal sea-ice extent under different climatic conditions. Several students and early career researchers will be trained throughout the project, and outreach to communities in Greenland as well as students in the United States will communicate research outcomes to a wide audience.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.