Acquisition of a microscope and a microwave digester for the study of abrupt climatic events in the last 11 000 years

将购置一台显微镜和一台微波消化器，以加快用于研究气候突变的孢粉学样本的处理。我的整个研究计划是基于海洋表面条件（温度，盐度）的重建，这是基于孢粉学代理数据，更具体地说，甲藻孢囊。这些孢囊只能在酸中消化的沉积物样品中计数。微波消化器将用于去除沉积物样品中的有机物和二氧化硅，允许看到甲藻并对其进行计数。具有优良光学质量的显微镜将允许更精确的囊肿识别并促进分析。所要求的设备是必不可少的，以处理大量的样品，以满足我的研究计划的目标。最近几年，人们对气候突变越来越感兴趣，因为全世界积累的证据表明，气候突变发生在全新世的千年时间尺度上，而且气候突变可能对人类社会产生严重影响。特别令人关注的是，它们的确切频率和振幅是未知的，因为目前高分辨率的古气候记录是不够的，这阻碍了确定其原因和机制。自然气候变化的影响也很难与全球变暖的预期后果-流入海洋的淡水增加-的影响区分开来。过去的事件被用来模拟增加淡水输入海洋对气候的影响。然而，对于冰消期大量淡水进入北大西洋的确切入口点和路径仍然存在不确定性。我的研究计划将通过从加拿大东部边缘的高分辨率记录重建海面条件来解决这些问题。我将阐明大量融水释放到海洋的入口点和路径，记录自然气候变化，并提供宝贵的古气候数据，以测试用于预测未来气候变化的现有数值气候模型。

A microscope and a microwave digester will be acquired to accelerate the processing of palynological samples used to study abrupt climatic changes. My entire research program is based on reconstructions of sea surface conditions (temperature, salinity) that is based on palynological proxy data, more specifically dinoflagellate cysts. These cysts can only be counted in sediment samples that have been digested in acids. The microwave digester will be used to remove organics and silica from the sediment samples, allow seeing the dinoflagellate and counting them. A microscope with excellent quality optics will allow more precise cyst identification and facilitate the analysis. The equipment requested is essential to process the large number of samples necessary to meet the objectives of my research program. The last few years have seen increased interest in abrupt climatic changes because evidence accumulated worldwide that they occurred on a millennial time scale during the Holocene and because of their potentially serious impacts on human society. Of special concern is that fact their exact frequency and amplitude are unknown, because high resolution paleoclimatic records are insufficient at the moment, which hinders the determination of their causes and mechanisms. It is also difficult to separate the effects of the natural climatic variability from that of increased freshwater releases to the oceans, an expected consequence from global warming. Past events are used to model the impacts on climate of increased freshwater inputs to the oceans. However, there are still uncertainties about the exact entry points and path of large amounts of freshwater to North Atlantic Ocean during the deglaciation. My research program will address these problems by reconstructing sea surface conditions from high resolution records from the Eastern Canadian Margin. I will clarify the entry points and path of large meltwater releases to the oceans, document the natural climatic variability and provide valuable paleoclimatic data to test existing numerical climatic models used to predict future climate change.