Collaborative Research: The Holocene and Anthropocene as windows into the future of marine systems

Award Period
to
Award Amount
$49,555
Agency Name
National Science Foundation
Award Number
1832837
PI First Name
Dorothy
PI Last Name
 Pak
MSI People
Dorothy Pak
Area/s of Research
Climate Change Science
Oceanography
Abstract

Paleoceanographic records provide a unique opportunity to understand how ecosystems have responded to rapid climate change in the past.  Recent research along the California margin indicates strong ecosystem responses to climate change, including transitions between multiple ecosystems, and long recovery times from disturbance. This project will use sediment records from along the California margin to address two key questions:

  1. How did the development of the modern oxygen minimum zone during the Holocene influence marineecosystems, including multiple stages of perturbation and recovery?
  2. Can we identify the marine ecological impacts of the Anthropocene, against a background of decadalcentennial scale climate variability?

This work will utilize a suite of available sedimentary archives (over 20 piston, box and multi cores), with moderately high sedimentation rates and available geochemical records, to identify and interpret metazoan and protistan assemblages.