Paleoclimates and ecosystem dynamics in the Hudson Bay lowlands

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Climate changes are amplified in northern regions. Declines in sea-ice and increases in surface air and water temperatures indicate that the Hudson Bay region is already experiencing the effects. The Hudson Bay Lowlands extend over 325,000 km2 and are the largest wetland in Canada. This extensive peat-accumulating system constitutes a globally significant repository of carbon. Given the importance of carbon to the climate system, understanding how large wetlands store or release carbon is necessary for predicting future scenarios. This proposal involves field work in the northern and southern parts of the Hudson Bay Lowlands to collect lake and wetland sediment cores. Analyses of these sediment cores will permit reconstructions of climatic and hydrological changes during the past several thousand years. These reconstructions are done through study of microscopic biological indicators that are preserved in the cores. These data can then be used to determine the magnitudes of past climatic or hydrological changes, and the sensitivity of wetland ecosystems and carbon accumulation to these changes.