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

该奖项是为了系统地重建过去大约7万年来整个欧洲的高质量古温度和古温度梯度记录。这项由马萨诸塞大学的McCoy和南佛罗里达大学的Oches合作的研究的具体目标是：1)测量从法国北部、西欧和中欧以及东欧黄土平原的高度大陆地区收集的腹足类化石贝壳中氨基酸外消旋的程度；2)使用放射性碳和发光测年方法确定化石贝壳或其周围的黄土沉积物的独立年龄；3)根据该地区上一次冰川周期中腹足类贝壳化石的年代学数据和氨基酸外消旋测量结果，定量估计选定时间段的古温度和古温度梯度；以及4)量化驱动消旋反应的有效地面温度和地面气温之间的关系，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.