Collaborative Research: Reconstructing Late-Quaternary Paleotemperatures Across the European Loess Belt

该奖项旨在表彰对欧洲过去约7万年来古温度和古温度梯度的高质量记录进行系统重建。这项研究是马萨诸塞州大学的麦考伊和南佛罗里达大学的奥奇斯合作进行的，其具体目标是：1）测量从北方法国、西欧和中欧到东欧黄土平原的高度大陆性地区的黄土地区收集的化石腹足动物壳中氨基酸外消旋化的程度;（2）用放射性碳和释光测年方法确定贝壳化石或其周围黄土沉积物的独立年龄，（3）根据年代学资料和贝壳化石氨基酸消旋化测定，定量估算整个末次冰期旋回的古温度和古温度梯度;（4）量化驱动外消旋化反应的有效地温与地表气温之间的关系，这是重建过去陆地气候变化的关键数据。

This award is for a systematic reconstruction of a high quality record of paleotemperatures and paleotemperature gradients over the last approximately 70,000 years across Europe. The specific objectives of this research, a collaboration between McCoy at the University of Massachusetts and Oches at the University of South Florida, are 1) to measure the extent of amino acid racemization in fossil gastropod shells collected from loess localities ranging from northern France, across western and central Europe, and into the highly continental region of the eastern European loess plains; 2) to determine independent ages of the fossil shells or enclosing loess sediment using radiocarbon and luminescence dating methods; 3) to quantitatively estimate paleotemperatures and paleotemperature gradients for selected intervals of time through the last glacial cycle across the region based on the chronological data and amino acid racemization measurements in fossil gastropod shells; and 4) to quantify the relationship between effective ground temperatures, which drive the racemization reaction, and surface air temperatures, which are critical data in the reconstruction of past changes in terrestrial climate.