Understanding past linkages between hydrothermal activity, climate change, and ecosystem dynamics

黄石公园是地球上地质最活跃的地方之一，其活跃的火山活动、最近的冰川作用和正在进行的热液活动为科学发现提供了无与伦比的机会。地质、冰川作用和气候之间的相互作用和反馈长期以来塑造了黄石公园的生物历史，但气候和地质过程的相对影响仍不清楚。这项调查旨在更好地了解黄石间歇泉盆地的历史，使用跨学科的方法来检查湖泊沉积物记录，并测试关于过去热液活动和环境变化的假设。该项目将包括对学生的培训和博士后研究，并与黄石国家公园合作开发面向公众的教育材料。该研究有三个主要目标，重点是对黄石下间歇泉盆地及其附近的小湖泊进行沉积分析：(1)首次从岩性、地球化学和硅藻等方面建立黄石地区千年尺度的热液活动历史；(2)评估多时间尺度气候变化与过去热液活动之间的关系，特别是研究热液系统对干旱时期敏感的假设（来自稳定同位素记录和古气候模式模拟）；(3)在当前热液景观创造独特植被群落的背景下，研究过去热液活动的生态后果（来自花粉、植物大化石和木炭）。解开这些联系将增加我们对黄石公园和世界各地热液环境中过去地质生态系统相互作用的理解，并有助于建立一个框架，以评估火山驱动事件在深时间的古生物学后果。研究结果还将评估黄石间歇泉盆地对过去和未来气候变化的敏感性。该项目将开发新的正式和非正式的教育材料，旨在激励学生和告知不同的公众观众——这是黄石公园的主要任务目标。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Yellowstone is one of the most geologically dynamic places on Earth, and its active volcanism, recent glaciation and ongoing hydrothermal activity provide unparalleled opportunities for scientific discovery. Interactions and feedbacks between geology, glaciation, and climate have long shaped the biologic history of Yellowstone, but the relative influence of climatic and geologic processes through time remains unclear. This investigation seeks to better understand the history of Yellowstone’s geyser basins using an interdisciplinary approach to examine lake-sediment records and test hypotheses about past hydrothermal activity and environmental change. The project will include training for students and a postdoctoral research and collaboration with Yellowstone National Park to develop educational materials for public audiences.The study has three major objectives that focus on the sedimentary analysis of small lakes within and near the Yellowstone’s Lower Geyser Basin: (1) develop a millennial-scale history of hydrothermal activity in Yellowstone for the first time activity (from lithology, geochemistry and diatoms); (2) evaluate the relationship between climate change—occurring over multiple timescales—and past hydrothermal activity, specifically investigating the hypothesis that hydrothermal systems are sensitive to periods of drought (from stable isotopic records and paleoclimate model simulations); and (3) examine the ecological consequences of past hydrothermal activity in a setting where hydrothermal landscapes create unique vegetation communities at present (from pollen, plant macrofossils and charcoal). Unraveling these connections will increase our understanding of past geo-ecosystem interactions in hydrothermal settings in Yellowstone and around the world and help build a framework for evaluating the paleobiological consequences of volcanic-driven events in deep time. The findings will also assess the sensitivity of Yellowstone’s geyser basins to changes in climate in the past as well as the future. The project will develop new formal and informal educational materials designed to inspire students and inform diverse public audiences—a primary mission goal for Yellowstone.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.