CAREER: Gulf of Maine Temperature Trends and Variability from the early Holocene to the Present

缅因湾支持从科德角到新斯科舍省的高生产力海洋生态系统。该区域的海洋温度对来自北方的较冷洋流和来自南方的较暖洋流的相对流入的变化很敏感，这最终与区域和全球海洋-大气环流的扩大有关。从2004年到2013年，缅因湾变暖的速度超过了世界上99%的海洋，但推动这里最近温度变化的过程并不完全清楚。更深入地了解海洋学在时间尺度上的趋势，可以阐明变化的原因，确定过去是否发生过突变，并阐明对过去沿海社区的环境影响。该项目汇集了一个由新英格兰的研究人员和美洲原住民学生组成的多学科团队，他们将在墨西哥湾进行为期10天的研究探险，并利用埋藏在古代海洋沉积物中的地球化学证据深入研究该地区的过去。学生的成果和研究经验将通过开发一个创新的多媒体在线讲故事环境并通过与当地学校的合作伙伴关系与更广泛的社区分享。该项目有可能在人类和海洋生态系统数千年来相互联系的地区加强长期环境预测和规划。将根据来自缅因湾和斯科特陆架和斜坡的一套沉积岩芯中的有孔虫方解石的镁钙比(mg/Ca)和d18O重建海洋温度和海水氧同位素组成(D18O)的长期记录。高分辨率(大约100到200年的间隔)记录将从大约11600年前的全新世开始到现在，提供对长期温度趋势以及任何突然变化的洞察。除了传统的全壳地球化学分析外，还将对个别有孔虫标本进行微观分析，为评估环境变异性提供补充数据。在缅因湾的一次研究巡航将提供沉积物岩心和浮游生物拖曳材料以及水文数据，以完善和区域校准地球化学替代物。一个关键的目标是测试和扩展对常见的高纬度有孔虫物种--新有孔虫的镁/钙温度校准。在进行古海洋学研究的同时，将对沿海考古遗址的文物进行放射性碳年代测定，以完善该地区捕鱼活动的年表。特别是，将根据新的古温度数据重新确定沿海社区密集用剑捕鱼的开始和结束时间，并对其进行重新评估。所有工作将由一个由高中、本科生和研究生组成的团队进行，他们将与Wabanaki中心和缅因州大学的新媒体和互联网技术实验室合作，获得技术和通信培训。除了开发可以广泛分享的在线叙事外，高中生还将练习向不同的群体口头展示他们的研究成果，包括在全国会议上。一个由女性和男性组成的多元化团队，包括佩诺布斯科特国家的一名成员，将合作指导和指导学生完成科学过程，并帮助他们形成能够有效接触到不同受众的声音。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Gulf of Maine supports a highly productive marine ecosystem extending from Cape Cod to Nova Scotia. Ocean temperatures in this region are sensitive to changes in the relative influx of colder currents from the north and warmer currents from the south, which are ultimately linked to the greater regional and global ocean-atmosphere circulation. From 2004 to 2013, the Gulf of Maine warmed faster than 99% of the world's oceans, but the processes driving recent temperature change here are not fully understood. A deeper understanding of oceanographic trends on time scales beyond instrumental records (older than ~100 years) can elucidate the causes of change, determine whether abrupt changes have happened in the past, and shed light on environmental impacts on past coastal communities. This project brings together a multi-disciplinary team of researchers and Native American students in New England, who will conduct a 10-day research expedition in the Gulf and delve into the region's past using geochemical evidence buried in ancient marine sediments. Results and research experiences of students will be shared with the broader community via development of an innovative multi-media online storytelling environment and through partnership with local schools. The project has the potential to enhance long-term environmental prediction and planning in an area where human populations and ocean ecosystems have been interlinked for millennia.Long-term records of ocean temperature and seawater oxygen isotope composition (d18O) will be reconstructed from the magnesium to calcium ratio (Mg/Ca) and d18O of fossil foraminiferal calcite derived from a suite of sediment cores from the Gulf of Maine and Scotian Shelf and Slope. High-resolution (~100 to 200-year interval) records will extend from the start of the Holocene ~11,600 years ago to the present, providing insight into long-term temperature trends as well as any abrupt changes. In addition to traditional whole-shell geochemical analysis, micro-analysis of individual foraminiferal specimens will be conducted to provide complementary data for assessing environmental variability. A research cruise in the Gulf of Maine will provide sediment-core and plankton-tow material as well as hydrographic data for refinement and regional calibration of the geochemical proxies. One key goal is to test and extend the Mg/Ca-temperature calibration for a common high-latitude foraminifer species, Neogloboquadrina incompta. In parallel with paleoceanographic research, artifacts from coastal archaeological sites will be radiocarbon-dated to refine the chronology of fishing practices in the region. In particular, the beginning and end of intensive sword-fishing in coastal communities will be re-dated and reassessed in light of new paleotemperature data. All work will be carried out by a team of high school, undergraduate, and graduate students who will gain both technical and communications training in partnership with the Wabanaki Center and the New Media and Internet Technologies Lab at the University of Maine. In addition to developing online narratives that can be widely shared, high school students will practice presenting their research verbally to different groups, including at national meetings. A diverse team of women and men, including a member of the Penobscot Nation, will collaborate to guide and mentor students through the scientific process and to help them develop a voice that can effectively reach diverse audiences.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.