Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Terrestrial Responses to climate change in Arctic Norway  (TRAN)

Outline
The Norwegian Sea and adjacent Arctic Norway are key locations in understanding past climate changes. Northwards heat transport by the North Atlantic Current today warms the Norwegian arctic coast 5-10oC above the annual average for the latitude. However, in glacial times 20-10 ka ago, the climate there was extremely cold in the absence of Atlantic water. The transition (late-glacial) to the Holocene is poorly understood in this area, but this is the time when the pattern of ocean currents changed dramatically. Early Holocene events are scarcely known, in terms of climate changes and resulting vegetation and ecosystem development. The terrestrial climate during the Holocene is also poorly known, especially in terms of northward heat transport associated with precipitation and storminess. Terrestrial sediment basins containing glacial, late-glacial, and Holocene records in Arctic Norway would provide highly valuable insights into Earth System dynamics through times of strong environmental changes. The primary activity of TRAN is to obtain physical and biological palaeo-environmental records over the past 20,000 years at decadal-scale resolution from lake sediments in the Lofoten-Vesterålen archipelago, northwestern Norway 67-69oN, with the main objective of using proven and new methods to reconstruct the past climate and environment. A secondary objective will follow when these results will be compared and synthesised with marine records from the Norwegian Sea and Greenland ice-core records to investigate climate processes in the area. Previous studies have shown that lakes located beyond Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) terminal moraines on Vesterålen contain sediments dating back to the LGM, from which semi-continuous qualitative records of climate and vegetation responses have been made for 20-10,000 years ago. However, the important late-glacial transition and early Holocene are poorly defined on the Lofoten-Vesterålen archipelago. In TRAN it is planned to use new sediment profiling and coring systems and new palaeoenvironmental analytical methods that have been developed recently, in particular within a Norwegian Strategic University Project (NORPEC), to make detailed investigations of 1. the glacial period (20-14 ka), 2. the late-glacial/early Holocene (14-9 ka, and 3. subsequent Holocene environmental development (9-0 ka). The results will provide information from the arctic Norwegian area on the glacial climate, the rapid climatic transition and reorganisation of ocean currents and terrestrial vegetation during the late-glacial, and on local and regional climate, seal-level changes and tsunamis, tephra chronology, and the increasing influence of people since the Mesolithic Period, especially the Viking occupation, in the Holocene.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
? Contribution to themes 1-4 for IPY. ? Establish the timing and extent of the western edge of the LGM Fennoscandian ice sheet/local glaciers at selected sites in Lofoten-Vesterålen. ? Produce palaeo-environmental records from lake sediments covering the last 20,000 years. ? Synthesise these with ice-core and marine records to provide an overview of climate over the northern North Atlantic region and data to test Earth System models. ? New proxies for storminess and sea ice will improve our understanding of the marine-atmosphere-land system. ? Development of 14C dating and tephra chronology for marine and ice-core correlation

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
TRAN is an international, multi-disciplinary project initiated by Norwegian researchers (Bergen) who will collaborate with research colleagues from Poland (Poznan 14C Lab.), Great Britain (University College London, Natural History Museum London, University of Liverpool), and USA (Massachusetts) in the research team.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
The Lofoten-Vesterålen archipelago, northern Norway (67-69°N; 15°E). Because of the northwards oceanic heat transport by the North Atlantic Current, January air temperature is c. 24oC warmer than the latitudinal mean (one of the largest known temperature anomalies). Hence, the area is very sensitive to any changes in oceanic heat transport.

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: 06/07 – 08/07      06/08 – 08/08      
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?
National agency
Own support
Other sources of support

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
Yes - TRAN will be integrated with APEX (Arctic Paleoclimate and its Extremes) (IPY EoI # 183). See enclosed letter of support from the Norwegian co-ordinator of 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

Pilot studies were performed in Lofoten-Vesterålen in July-August 2005, and in Lofoten during August/September 2001. Both produced results that showed the potential interest of this area for a new interdisciplinary project.

How will the project be organised and managed?
TRAN will be managed by a project steering committee at the University of Bergen consisting of 4 persons from Geosciences and Dept. of Biology. Professor Hilary Birks is the lead contact. Joint field expeditions to the Lofoten-Vesterålen archipelago will be undertaken, and regular scientific meetings with all participants will be held. Communication will also be by e-mail and by a web-site set up within the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research (Bergen) web-site.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
Results will be published in international peer-reviewed journals. They will be communicated at international meetings, by a publicly accessible web-site, in popular science magazines, newspapers, and TV. Education is prioritized: Norway - 2 PhDs, 3 post-docs, Masters students; USA -1 PhD, 1 post-doc; Liverpool -one PhD, etc.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
Geological, biological, and chronological data will be stored in databases that will be organized within the framework of APEX and placed in the Bjerknes-NGU database. Tephra results will be submitted to TEPHRABASE

How is it proposed to fund the project?
Pilot studies in Lofoten-Vesterålen were funded by the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Norway, and US National Science Foundation (Bradley). Some funding is already available for post docs. Additional funding will be applied for from the Research Council of Norway, University of Liverpool, the Leverhulme Foundation, UK NERC.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
Strengths of TRAN are 1. High-resolution 20,000 ka terrestrial records will be compared with marine and ice-core records and will provide test-data for Earth System models. 2. It is strongly inter-disciplinary. New types of geological and biological proxy data will reconstruct environmental variables. Essential chronological techniques (tephra, 14C) will be developed. 3. Pilot studies located promising sites. 4. Reconstruction of terrestrial-marine interactions may illuminate processes relevant to projected future changes, especially the rapid changes in marine circulation at the end of the glacial period and the establishment of the North Atlantic Current. 5. It will educate young researchers.

PROPOSER DETAILS

Professor Hilary Birks
University of Bergen, Norway
Department of Biology, University of Bergen
Allégaten 41, Bergen
N-5007
Norway

Tel: 00 47 55 58 33 25
Mobile: no
Fax: 00 47 55 58 96 67
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation