Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Siple Dome Deep Ice Core Glaciochemistry And Regional Survey - A Contribution To The Wais Initiative, Paul Andrew Mayewski, Loren D. Meeker

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Our project focuses on the analysis and interpretation of major ions and methanesulfonate (in conjunction with the Univ. of Miami) from a deep ice core at Siple Dome, Antarctica. In addition, this study investigates the regional glaciochemical variability on Siple Dome, continuing work begun during the 1994 field season. The first field season for this project was conducted during the 1996/97 austral season. Because this project closely follows work begun in 1994, selected glaciochemical results from 1994 are presented, along with reports that detail Siple Dome research to present.

The Origin Of A Polar Ice Sheet In East Antarctica, George H. Denton

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This award supports a study to determine the sequence and chronology of events that led to the development of the Antarctic ice sheet. A continental-scale ice sheet probably first developed in East Antarctica close to the Eocene-Oligocene boundary under temperate climatic conditions. The purpose of this project is to determine, from landscape analysis (with a numerical chronology), when (and why) these early temperate conditions gave way to a polar environment in Antarctica. From previous field work and recent photographic analysis, an extensive relict landscape (older than 17 million years) with landforms and erosional features characteristic of temperate glaciation has been …

Acquisition Of Ion Chromatographs And Related Glaciochemistry Equipment, Paul Andrew Mayewski

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The goal of this project has been to upgrade the ice core processing and analytical equipment. This has been accomplished in three major areas: the design and construction of an ice core lathe, develpoment of a continuous melting system, and new ion chromatographs. The lathe is a unique ice core processing tool that operates similiar to a wood lathe. The lathe will reduce or eliminate the need for the cores to be hand scraped, the first cleaning step of core preparation.

Our continuous melting system is a modification of existing designs. Unlike other systems, we will collect discrete samples for …

Collaborative Research: Paleoclimate And Glaciological Recontructions In Central Asia, Karl J. Kreutz

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This project resulted in the collection of two intermediate-length (165 m) ice cores from the Inilchek Glacier, Central Tien Shan Mountains, Kyrgyzstan, during July/August 2000 with colleagues from UCSB, UNH, and the USGS. In addition, precipitation, fresh snow, surface snow, and aerosol samples were collected on the glacier and in the Inilchek Valley to assess atmospheric chemistry and deposition processes. The overall goal of the project (including a pending NSF/DOE proposal) is to develop high-resolution paleoclimatic records covering the last 1000-2000 years, which will be calibrated with meteorological data from the robust station network in the former Soviet Central Asian …

A Theory Of Global Climate Change On Millennial Time Scales, Kirk A. Maasch

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

A Theory of Global Climate Change on Millennial Time Scales In the northern hemisphere, large and rapid shifts in environmental conditions have occurred repeatedly over the last glacial- interglacial cycle. Indications are that climate change occurs on two characteristic time scales, roughly 1 - 3,000 years and 5 - 10,000 years. Evidence for millennial-scale climate variability has been found in ice cores drilled through the Greenland ice sheet, sediment cores from the North Atlantic Ocean, pollen records from both North America and Europe, and glacial deposits in North America. Paleoclimate records from the southern hemisphere also show climatic variability on …

Powre: High-Resolution Chronology Of Millennial-Scale Lake-Level Fluctuations In The Dry Valleys (Antarctica) From Uranium-Thorium And Radiocarbon Dating, Brenda L. Hall

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The Professional Opportunities for Women in Research and Engineering (POWRE) program affords new research and educational enhancement opportunities for women scientists. This project, which addresses the fundamental problem of the cause of millennial-scale climate change, contains components specifically designed to increase the educational and research skills of the principal investigator. She will learn the following new information/skills: 1) thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) uranium/thorium (U/TH) dating with Dr. G. Henderson at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) and Oxford University, 2) millennial-scale climate change with Drs. W. Broecker and G. Bond, LDEO, and with Drs. D. Oppo and L. Keigwin, Woods Hole …

Derived Quantities: A Coupled Dynamic/Thermodynamic Ice Sheet Model, James L. Fastook

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This award is for support for a program of research involving the use of inverse modeling to derive information from the measured configuration of an ice sheet to yield important information about the conditions both at the bed and within the ice column. It is proposed to convert a column-averaged model to a column- integrated model that accounts explicitly for internal thermodynamics and variations of material properties that depend on this internal temperature field. An existing finite-element 3- D temperature solver will be coupled with an existing finite- element map-plane continuity solver. The result will allow more detailed analysis of …

Deglacial Radiocarbon Chronology Of The Western Ross Sea From Relative Sea-Level Curves, George H. Denton, Brenda Hall

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This award provides support for one year of funding to perform carbon-14 analyses on samples (seal skin and Adamussium colbecki shells) collected in firm stratigraphic position within numerous raised beaches along the Scott Coast of the western Ross Sea, Antarctica. These measurements will enable the development of a radiocarbon chronology and will result in detailed relative sea- level curves for five separate localities along the Scott Coast. These relative sea-level curves will help to constrain the timing of deglaciation in the western Ross Sea. During the last glaciation, West Antarctic ice expanded into the Ross Sea, merged with East Antarctic …