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

这是一个由国家科学基金会地球科学理事会（NSF/GEO）和联合王国国家环境研究理事会（UKRI/NERC）通过NSF/GEO-NERC牵头机构协议共同资助的项目。该协议允许美国/英国提交一份联合提案，并由研究者拥有最大预算比例的机构进行同行评审。一旦成功地共同确定了一项奖励，每个机构就为预算的一部分和与自己的调查人员和工作组成部分有关的调查人员提供资金。人们如何应对过去的环境变化与今天有着直接的相关性，并将为生活在北方的人们提供一个窗口，让他们了解古代人在最困难的情况下找到生存方法的时代。这项研究将记录人类在格陵兰岛北方定居和遗弃的时期是如何与过去4500年的气候波动有关的。在这一偏远地区，气候变化影响到植被和食草动物的数量，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。当条件变得对人类足够不适合，超过人类的适应能力时，他们离开该地区前往更有利的地方。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的高北极环境中物理，生物和人类系统之间的相互作用。该项目将从邻近史前定居点的湖泊沉积物中获得高分辨率的气候和植被变化定量记录。无机物含量，脂质生物标志物，化合物特定的稳定同位素，花粉和孢子，摇蚊，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，以清点该地区的考古遗址，该项目将模拟过去不同气候条件下的沿海海冰范围。一些学生和早期职业研究人员将在整个项目中接受培训，并与格陵兰社区以及美国学生进行外联，将研究成果传达给广大受众。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得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来支持。

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.