Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Lake Records of late Quaternary Climate Variability in northeastern Siberia  (Siberian Lake Records (SibLake))

Outline
The proposed research programme contributes to the understanding of Arctic climate and environmental variability, spanning the last glacial-interglacial transition and the Holocene. The major focus is the study of high-resolution lacustrine proxy records on a north-south transect in northeastern Siberia. This part of Eurasia represents one of earth’s most extreme semi-arid continental settings, whose role in the Arctic climate system so far is poorly understood. It is characterized by pronounced seasonal climatic gradients. The periglacial landscape is dominated by tundra and taiga vegetation, deep-reaching frozen ground, and widespread lake districts. In contrast to other Arctic areas, eastern Siberia was only affected by regional mountainous glaciations during the past glacial periods, as for instance in the Verkhoyansk Mountains. As observed throughout the Arctic, the development of the northeastern Siberian periglacial environment was highly sensitive to climatic changes in the past. In addition to temperature changes, the availibility of moisture basically controls vegetation patterns, regional glacier dynamics, as well as the hydrological regime and lake level status. The latter aspect poses serious problems on the socioeconomic structure, because some alass areas in the northeastern Siberian lowlands represent important regions of agriculture and grazing. In addition to natural aridification during the last decades, the anthropogenic utilization of lake waters led to dramatic drops of lake levels, and put a risk on the sustainment of favourable ecological and economic conditions. Lacustrine sediment archives from relic proglacial lakes of mountain forelands and from thermokarst lakes of the periglacial lowlands are used to gain multi-proxy records of environmental changes, inferred from bioindicators, such as aquatic organisms, pollen assemblages, and organic sediment compounds. Sedimentological and geochemical characteristics will give insights into the dynamics of the limnogeological depositional environment, by the study of seismic sediment architecture and detrital sediment fluxes of fluvial, glacial and aeolian origin, as well as patterns of chemical sedimentation (e.g. evaporites). The following items will particularly be addressed: • Nature and timing of the transition from the last glacial maximum to postglacial climate conditions related to changes in palaeolimnology. • Recognition of clues for the formation of ice-dammed lakes during the last deglaciation of the Verkhoyansk Mountains and its relation to postulated fresh-water pulses in the Arctic Ocean. • Reconstruction of long-term vegetation history. • Reconstruction of Holocene lake status variations in response to natural short-term Holocene climate perturbations and human impacts. • Assessment of global teleconnections of eastern Siberian climate variability. • Supply of proxy data for climate models and their validation.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
The basic goal of the project is to gain better insights into our understanding of late Quaternary environmental changes in the most extreme periglacial setting of Siberia around the cold pole of the northern hemisphere and its significance for the global climate system, by using continuous and high-resolution proxy records from lacustrine sediment archives. The study will benefit from its integration into the network of other related research topics in the scope of the IPY (see 1.7).

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
On a regional scale, the study will contribute to ongoing reseach in the ‘Kurile Okhotsk Sea Marine Experiment (KOMEX)’ programme and lake-sediment coring at Lake El’gygytgyn, dealing with land-ocean interactions between northeastern Siberia, Beringia, and the adjacent northwestern Pacific marginal seas. In the scope of the IPY, the project is part of the ‘Bipolar Climate Machinery (BIPOMAC)’ network and will be included in the ESF programme ‘Arctic Palaeoclimate and its EXtremes (APEX)’. q2_1_Location : Field work will be concentrated on lakes in northern and central Yakutia: • Relic proglacial Lake Ulakhan Kyuel (67°45’N, 124°15’E) in the foreland of the northern Verkhoyansk Mountains • Thermokarst lakes in the alass regions of central Yakutia, including Lake Syrdach (62°33’N, 130°55’E).

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: 07/07 – 09/07      07/08 – 09/08      
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
Helicopter transportation and temporary field camps. Field work will be organized in connection with other IPY projects conducted by the Russian and German partners (e.g. PAPARASI, GEOARCS).

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
No, because field work is carried out temporarily without the establishment of long-term observatories and stations.

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?
Own national polar operator
National agency
Commercial operator
Own support

The logistics will be based on ongoing Russian-German science cooperation between the AWI Potsdam, the Aachen University, the Permafrost Institute Yakutsk, the State University Yakustk, and the Limnological Institute in St. Petersburg.

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
The project has been endorsed by the German IPY commission in January 2005. The project is planned as part of the IPY programme ‘Bipolar Climate Machinery (BIPOMAC)’ and the ESF programme ‘Arctic Palaeoclimate and its EXtremes (APEX)’.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

Is the project a short-term expansion (over the IPY 2007-2008 timeframe) of an existing plan, programme or initiative or is it a new autonomous proposal?
Yes

The project continues previous Russian-German palaeoenvironmental research activities in Yakutia as an individual research programme.

How will the project be organised and managed?
The project will be realized in the scope of ongoing German-Russian science collaboration. It will be coordinated by the AWI Potsdam in cooperation with the University Yakutsk, the Permafrost Institute Yakutsk, the Limnological Institute St. Petersburg, and Aachen University, Germany. Joint field work will be carried out during the summer seasons in 2007 and 2008. Laboratory work will be shared between the German and Russion institutions. Exchange of scientists between the German and Russian institutions is anticipated and workshops and special meetings on international conferences will be held to guarantee the preparation of joint publications and the dissemination of project-related results.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
In the scope of the project, student trainees and young scientists will have the possibility to reach higher qualifications. In addition to field-work reports and international scientific publications, the outcomes of the studies will be introduced to a wider audience through public promotion.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
The raised data sets will be made available for the scientific community in the PANGAEA data information system, operated by the AWI Bremerhaven.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
Funding proposals of the suggested research programme will be submitted to the national science foundations of Germany and Russia.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
None

PROPOSER DETAILS

Dr Bernhard Diekmann
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
Telegrafenberg A43
Potsdam
14473
Germany

Tel: +49-331-288-2170
Mobile: no
Fax: +49-331-288-2137
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation