Paleo Records of Biotic and Abiotic Particles in Polar Ice Cores

美国冰芯研究界提出了一项在西南极洲的深层冰芯取芯计划（WAIS Divide），该计划将开发一系列独特的相互关联的气候、冰动力学和生物记录，重点是了解全球地球系统之间的相互作用。WAIS Divide项目的一个重要组成部分将是开发最近4万年的气候记录，其中包括每年的地层年表。在较低的时间分辨率下，记录也将延伸到距今大约10万年。这些记录将使对南北半球古环境条件的比较，结合对古大气中温室气体浓度的研究，以比以前更高的分辨率成为可能。该项目将开发一个基于流式细胞仪的分析系统，用于连续检测和表征冰芯中的非生物和生物颗粒。该系统将与用于微量元素连续流动分析的装置集成在一起。这项研究将调查南极冰川冰含有反映过去气候事件的重要有机碳储存库的假设。拟议的研究将利用存档的冰芯来开发方法并产生新的数据，这些数据将直接解决我们的假设。WAIS Divide冰芯项目将是第一个明确整合生物学、冰川化学和气候的项目，因此将成为未来跨学科冰芯研究的领头羊。这项提案将在冰芯研究的跨学科方面培训一名年轻科学家和本科生，将介绍一名美国土著学生了解科学，并将扩大参与冰芯研究的科学家的领域，使其包括生物学家。

The U.S. ice core research community has proposed a deep ice-coring program in West Antarctica (WAIS Divide) that will develop a unique series of interrelated climate, ice dynamics, and biologic records focused on understanding interactions among global earth systems. A significant component of the WAIS Divide program will be the development of a climate record with an annual layer chronology for the most recent 40,000 years. The record will also extend, at lower temporal resolution, to approximately 100,000 years before present. These records will enable comparison of paleo-environmental conditions between the northern and southern hemispheres, in conjunction with the study of greenhouse gas concentrations in the paleo-atmosphere, with greater resolution than previously possible. This project will develop a flow cytometer-based analytical system for the continuous detection and characterization of abiotic and biotic particles in ice cores. The system will be integrated with a unit designed for continuous flow analysis of trace elements. The research will investigate the hypothesis that Antarctic glacial ice contains a significant reservoir of organic carbon that reflects past climatic events. The proposed research will utilize archived ice cores to both develop methodology and produce new data that will directly address our hypotheses. The WAIS Divide ice-coring project will be the first to explicitly integrate biology, glaciochemistry and climate, and thus will be the bellwether for future interdisciplinary studies on ice cores. This proposal will train a young scientist and undergraduate students in the interdisciplinary aspects of ice core research, will introduce a Native American student to the sciences, and will broaden the field of scientists involved in ice core research to include biologists.