Marine sediments as archives of past climate and recent anthropogenic changes

海洋沉积物作为过去气候和近期人为变化的档案

• 批准号: RGPIN-2018-05607
• 负责人: Kienast, Stephanie
• 金额: $ 1.82万
• 依托单位: Dalhousie University
• 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=713748
• 关键词: Marine; sediments; archives; past; climate

Dust aerosols play a direct role in Earth's energy balance by scattering as well as absorbing radiation. Mineral dust and its associated nutrients also fertilize ecosystems and thus influence climate indirectly via photosynthesis and carbon uptake. However, large gaps exist in our understanding of the global dust cycle, in part due to the severe lack of direct observations of dust deposition in present and past environments. Mineral dust and its effect on radiative forcing and future climate have been identified as critical areas of research by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The first objective of this proposal is to investigate how much dust was deposited where, at what time, and from which sources, and whether changes in dust deposition caused changes in phytoplankton productivity and carbon removal from the upper ocean-atmosphere system. We combine measurements of a novel radioisotope tracer (232Th) with other geochemical proxies in marine sediment cores to generate new paleo records of dust deposition and organic carbon fluxes in the global ocean. The results are compared to simulations of state-of-the-art coupled climate models, such as the Community Climate System Model (CCSM), which are used in climate change scenarios by the ICPP and provide time slice as well as transient targets for hindcasting studies of the dust cycle. Research related to this objective generates critical new knowledge on the dust and carbon cycles in the undisturbed atmosphere-ocean system of the past, which is a recognized pre-requisite for the accurate prediction of future climate conditions. In addition to recording past environmental conditions, marine sediments act increasingly as a sink for pollutants from human activities, especially in coastal areas. Using highly similar geochemical tools as above, the second objective of this research program is to investigate metal fluxes in coastal sediments near finfish aquaculture operations. Canadian aquaculture production has expanded fourfold since the 1990's, reaching ~187,000 tonnes worth $967 million in 2015. However, aquaculture related activities appear to cause increased accumulation of harmful metals, such Cu and Zn, in underlying sediments. We will analyze metal fluxes in coastal sites that are proximal and distal to finfish aquaculture operations and compare observed levels with baseline values (pre-Anthropocene, pre-industrial). We will test whether metal concentrations exceed Probable Effect Levels (PEL) identified by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment. If so, we will investigate whether there is a risk of metal re-mobilization back into the water column. Research related to objective 2 generates new insight that will advance our understanding of environmental sustainability in coastal areas and contribute to sustainable resource extraction in Canada.

尘埃气溶胶通过散射和吸收辐射在地球的能量平衡中发挥直接作用。矿物粉尘及其相关的营养物质也使生态系统肥沃，从而通过光合作用和碳吸收间接影响气候。然而，我们对全球尘埃循环的理解存在很大差距，部分原因是严重缺乏对当前和过去环境中尘埃沉积的直接观测。矿物粉尘及其对辐射强迫和未来气候的影响已被政府间气候变化专门委员会（IPCC）确定为关键研究领域。这项建议的第一个目标是调查有多少灰尘沉积在哪里，在什么时间，从哪些来源，以及灰尘沉积的变化是否引起浮游植物生产力和碳从上层海洋大气系统的变化。我们结合联合收割机测量的一种新的放射性同位素示踪剂（232 Th）与其他地球化学代理在海洋沉积物芯产生新的古记录的灰尘沉积和有机碳通量在全球海洋。结果进行了比较，以模拟国家的最先进的耦合气候模型，如社区气候系统模型（CCSM），这是在气候变化情景中使用的ICPP，并提供时间片以及瞬态目标的尘埃循环的后报研究。与这一目标有关的研究产生了关于过去未受干扰的大气-海洋系统中尘埃和碳循环的重要新知识，这是准确预测未来气候条件的公认先决条件。 除了记录过去的环境状况外，海洋沉积物越来越成为人类活动污染物的汇，特别是在沿海地区。利用与上述高度相似的地球化学工具，本研究计划的第二个目标是调查鳍鱼养殖作业附近沿海沉积物中的金属通量。自20世纪90年代以来，加拿大水产养殖产量增长了四倍，2015年达到约187，000吨，价值9.67亿美元。然而，与水产养殖有关的活动似乎会导致有害金属（如铜和锌）在底层沉积物中的积累增加。我们将分析金属通量在沿海网站的近端和远端的鳍鱼养殖业务和比较观察到的水平与基线值（前人类世，前工业）。我们将测试金属浓度是否超过加拿大环境部长理事会确定的可能影响水平（BEL）。如果是这样，我们将调查是否有金属重新流动回到水柱的风险。与目标2有关的研究产生了新的见解，将促进我们对沿海地区环境可持续性的理解，并有助于加拿大的可持续资源开采。