| Principal Investigator: | Beilman, David W (1) |
| Licence Number: | 15295 |
| Organization: | University of Hawaii |
| Licensed Year(s): |
2013
|
| Issued: | Jul 15, 2013 |
| Project Team: | Alexandra Hedgpeth, Julie Loisel, David Beilman |
Objective(s): To understand carbon dynamics during warm climate intervals in the Arctic.
Project Description: The research team seek to understand carbon dynamics during warm climate intervals in the Arctic: the Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM) the warmest pre-industrial interval ranging in timing from 10 ka (thousands of years before present) with maximum seasonality to 6 ka with reduced seasonality, and the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) at ~1 ka with similar seasonality as today. By studying peat cores from critical carbon-rich regions (like the NWT, among others), the research team propose to evaluate the following hypothesis: the peak of peat C accumulation during the Holocene occurred during the HTM with different timings across various major C-rich regions, and the relative importance of seasonality on C accumulation was different between regions. The research team proposes to collect organic soil/sediment cores from permafrost and non-permafrost peatlands from the surface to the base of the organic deposit. Cores are expected to be 1 to 4 meters in depth. A portable gas-powered corer would be used in permafrost terrain, and a hand-operated 'Russian'-style side-cut corer would be used in unfrozen terrain. Cores will be small in diameter (~8cm for permafrost cores and ~5cm for non-permafrost cores). The research team would also collect small leaf litter samples (dead leaves) of dominant/common species at a subset of sites to characterize the geochemical signature of the plant tissue. In permafrost, active layer depth would be recorded at coring sites. For non-permafrost ecosystems, In situ measurements of water table conditions (pH, conductivity, temperature) would be taken at coring sites. Benefits of the project include an increased understanding of these important ecosystems that are 'hotspots' for uncommon/rare species and ecosystem services like carbon sequestration. They are crucial habitat for wildlife and thus important locally to individuals including hunters and those harvesting wild plants. This research will shed light on how these ecosystems formed and their long-term history. This will increase the understanding of their role as atmospheric carbon sinks, and how they may be affected by climate change and land-use change in the future. Results from this research will be made available to individuals and communities of the NWT and the general public by the usual venues of websites, conference presentations, student theses, reports, and peer-reviewed papers. Any and all of these will be available on request. In addition, raw data will be available from this research upon request. The research team will be happy to do whatever they can to disseminate to interested folks (governments, students, individuals) in the NWT. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from July 15, 2013 to August 1, 2013.
