Project Leader:
Dr. George Kukla
Earth Institute Contact: Dr. George Kukla
Additional External Researchers:
Denis-Didier Rousseau of the University of Montpellier II
Locations: France
Description:
The focus of this collaborative effort is to study abrupt climate shifts during the declining phase of the last interglacial. Between about 120 and 105 thousand years ago the climate of the Earth which was similar to today moved into a glacial state. The mechanism of this transition still remains unknown. The investigators will study in detail how fast the environment changed during that time in Western Europe. The researchers will analyze thin sediment cores from lake beds of La Grande Pile in France. The US and French investigators bring to this collaboration complementary expertise and will conduct joint mineralogical, geochemical and palynological investigations of these cores currently stored in France. This award represents the US side of a joint proposal to the NSF and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). NSF will cover travel funds and living expenses for the US investigator. CNRS will support the visits of French researchers to the United States. The collaboration will advance fundamental understanding of the causes of climate transition, and provide information on natural climate variability on long-time scales.
EI Unit:
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO)
Cross Cutting Themes:
Climate and Society
Core Disciplines:
Earth Sciences
Collaborating Institutions:
University of Montpellier II
Funding Agency:
National Science Foundation
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