Geochemical approaches for cryosphere studies on glacial-interglacial timescales

冰河间冰期时间尺度冰冻圈研究的地球化学方法

• 批准号: RGPIN-2015-03711
• 负责人: Reyes, Alberto
• 金额: $ 1.46万
• 依托单位: University of Alberta
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=708178
• 关键词: Geochemical; approaches; cryosphere; studies; glacial

The earth system is on a trajectory towards a climate state that is similar to the warmest intervals of the last several million years, and the impacts of this warming are already apparent in the north. In large part, the impacts of climate change in northern environments are exacerbated by feedbacks involving the cryosphere - glaciers, ice sheets, permafrost, and sea ice. The proposed research program will use geochemical research tools to address the following overarching questions: how did elements of the arctic cryosphere (e.g. ice-sheets, glaciers, and permafrost) respond during periods of sustained climate warming over the last several 100,000 years and, in turn, how did these responses feed back into earth-system processes like sea-level rise, carbon cycling, and regional hydrological change? The proposed research program includes three quasi-independent strands that collectively tackle these overarching question. These strands will address the following themes: (1) Greenland ice-sheet retreat and associated landscape change during sustained intervals of climate warming; (2) developing methods to determine, on a landscape-scale, the extent of permafrost degradation during sustained past warm intervals; and, (3) indirect impacts of cryospheric change on northern landscapes and earth-system processes. This research program will provide new approaches and important insights into important scientific and societal questions. The interglacial periods I propose to study are perhaps the most accessible geological analogues for what landscapes and earth-system processes will be like in the warmer Arctic that is projected for the coming century. There will be wide scientific and public interest in the results of the proposed research on permafrost response through past warm intervals, given the potential carbon cycle feedbacks and infrastructural challenges inherent in widespread permafrost thaw. Research on Greenland ice-sheet retreat during past sustained warm intervals will also yield highly significant conclusions, given the substantial scientific interest in contemporary Greenland ice-sheet behaviour and the compelling public interest in assessing its potential contribution to future sea-level rise.

地球系统正朝着一个类似于过去几百万年来最温暖时期的气候状态发展，这种变暖的影响在北方已经很明显。在很大程度上，气候变化对北方环境的影响因涉及冰冻圈-冰川、冰盖、永久冻土和海冰-的反馈而加剧。拟议的研究计划将使用地球化学研究工具来解决以下首要问题：北极冰冻圈的元素是如何（例如冰盖，冰川和永久冻土）在过去几十万年的持续气候变暖期间做出反应，反过来，这些反应如何反馈到地球系统过程中，如海平面上升，碳循环，区域水文变化？ 拟议的研究计划包括三个准独立的链，共同解决这些首要问题。这些部分将涉及以下主题：（1）在气候持续变暖期间格陵兰冰盖的退缩和相关的地貌变化;（2）制定方法，以小规模确定过去持续变暖期间永久冻土退化的程度;（3）冰冻圈变化对北方地貌和地球系统过程的间接影响。 这项研究计划将为重要的科学和社会问题提供新的方法和重要的见解。我打算研究的间冰期也许是最容易获得的地质学类比，可以用来描述下个世纪预计的更温暖的北极地区的地貌和地球系统的变化。考虑到广泛的永久冻土融化所固有的潜在碳循环反馈和基础设施挑战，拟议的关于永久冻土在过去温暖时期的反应的研究结果将引起广泛的科学和公众兴趣。鉴于科学界对格陵兰冰盖的当代变化非常感兴趣，公众也迫切希望评估格陵兰冰盖对未来海平面上升的潜在影响，因此，对格陵兰冰盖在过去持续变暖期间的退缩进行研究也将得出非常重要的结论。