Collaborative Research: Sensitivity of local glaciers in central East Greenland to Holocene climate change

该奖项由2009年美国复苏和再投资法案(公法111-5)资助。该奖项将支持对格陵兰岛中部Scoresby Sund地区(约70-72°N，22-28°W)从沿海海洋环境到格陵兰冰盖邻近大陆条件的样带上全新世冰川波动的调查。这项拟议研究的“智力价值”在于可能证实或否定普遍持有的观点，即今天在格陵兰观察到的冰川和冰盖变化的规模并不是全新世唯一的。Scoresby Sund地区目前的冰川衰退暴露了在冰川比现在更小的时候生长的亚化石植被。这些新出现的记录提供了一个难得的机会来研究这些温暖时期的生物群，更关键的是，冰川对目前或更高的温度的反应。为Scoresby Sund区域的站点网络，包括毗邻Renland冰核的一个站点，编制跨越环境梯度的年表，可以提供对最近冰盖分布模式的洞察。然而，将这些放在上下文中需要更长的时间框架。因此，出现了两个额外的目标。首先，将格陵兰岛晚全新世冰川波动与北半球其他中到高冰川波动进行比较。这将评估格陵兰的冰川比其他高纬度地区的冰川更敏感还是更不敏感。第二，记录全新世期间格陵兰冰川波动的连续模式。当与古气候指标(如GRIP钻孔古温度记录)进行对比时，可以评估Scoresby Sund冰川对比现在更温暖的时代的反应，例如所谓的全新世气候最佳时期(约5000-9000年前)。这项拟议的研究有许多“更广泛的影响”。它将有助于达特茅斯学院、缅因州大学和辛辛那提大学研究生和本科生的教育发展，并与达特茅斯学院的IGERT计划相配合。PIS还将访问小学并举办关于气候变化的公开讲座。这项研究的结果将被添加到部署在阿卡迪亚国家公园的互动、基于网络的学习系统和独立的信息亭中。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).This award will support an investigation of Holocene glacier fluctuations in the Scoresby Sund region of central East Greenland (~70-72°N, 22-28°W) along a transect from a coastal maritime setting to the continental conditions adjacent to the Greenland Ice Sheet. The 'Intellectual Merit' of the proposed study lies in the potential to affirm, or otherwise, the widely-held view that the scale of glacier and ice sheet change being observed today in Greenland is not unique in the Holocene. The current recession of glaciers in the Scoresby Sund region is exposing sub-fossil vegetation that grew at times when glaciers were smaller than at present. These emerging records yield a rare opportunity to examine both the biota of these warm times and, more critically, the response of the glaciers to temperatures as high as, or higher than, at present. Development of a chronology for a network of sites in the Scoresby Sund region, including a site adjacent to the Renland ice core, across an environmental gradient can provide insights into recent patterns of ice sheet distribution. However, to place these in context requires a longer temporal framework. Thus, two additional objectives emerge. First, compare late-Holocene glacier fluctuations in Greenland with glacier fluctuations in other mid-to-high Northern Hemisphere locations. This will assess whether glaciers in Greenland are more or less sensitive than their counterparts in other high-latitude locations. Second, document a continuous pattern of glacier fluctuations in Greenland during Holocene time. When contrasted with paleoclimate indicators, such as the GRIP borehole paleotemperature record, how Scoresby Sund glaciers responded to warmer-than-present times, such as the so-called Holocene Climatic Optimum (~5000-9000 years ago), can be assessed. The proposed study has numerous 'Broader Impacts'. It will contribute to the educational development of graduate and undergraduate students at Dartmouth College, the University of Maine, and the University of Cincinnati, and tie in with the IGERT program at Dartmouth College. The PIs will also visit elementary schools and present public lectures on climate change. The results of the study will be added to an interactive, Web-based learning system and stand-alone kiosk deployed at Acadia National Park.