Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Ice Sheet and Climate HIstory of the eastern flank of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet during the Weichselian Cold Stage through Holocene  (HISIS)

Outline
The timing and extent of Northern Hemisphere glaciations is a component of the Arctic system which is fundamental to our understanding of the Earth's palaeoclimate yet remains relatively poorly understood. The Arctic land and ocean sediments, glaciers, and landforms are key environmental archives to the palaeoclimate history. However, only by integrating results from terrestrial and marine studies will it be possible to develop a reach understanding of the Arctic's role in the global climate system. For this reason an international scientific framework APEX (Arctic Palaeoclimate and its EXtremes, IPY activity no 39) was established. APEX framework will provide the opportunity for close co-operation between numerical modellers and field scientists, and it will also give a tool for coordinating field and laboratory research conducted by individual research groups. The proposed activity HISIS is part of APEX cluster where the main objective of the activity is to reconstruct history of the eastern flank of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet for the last glacial cycle (the past ca. 116,000 years) and also focus on rapid climate shifts during the Weichselian and the Holocene. Within this broad objective we aim to 1) investigate already known sediment sequences at several sites across Finland to Russian Karelia and the Kola Peninsula, NW Russia that are claimed to represent older deposits than the last glacial maximum (ca. 20,000 years) and date sand units beneath the uppermost till unit with an OSL and C-14 methods and also correlate these sequences to the key sections in the adjacent areas in Finland and NW Russia, 2) based on previous and the results obtained the aim is to generate a glaciation curve for the eastern flank of the SIS and compare that to the dynamic / thermodynamic SICOPOLIS ice sheet model, 3) to obtain long continuous sediment cores in order to study and reconstruct rapid climate shifts in the late Weichselian and Holocene in NW Russia.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
The main goal for APEX is to act as a catalyst towards the development of a holistic understanding of Arctic's role in the global climate system. This would make significant advances concerning the IPY defined themes 1 to 3, HISIS under APEX being will serve these purposes. We will also investigate and sample scientifically unexplored areas of the Arctic (Theme 4). Our initiative will improve understanding of the palaeoclimate and its extremes are important to improve and test ice sheet and climatic models.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
HISIS is an initiative under the APEX (Arctic Palaeoclimate and its EXtremes) IPY activity ID 39. Close collaboration with scientists in the palaeoclimate community is an essential part of HISIS through APEX. HISIS project itself includes scientists from Russia, Denmark, Finland and the United Kingdom. HISIS also includes educational dimension through Ph.D. and post-doc training.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
The fieldwork will be carried out in NW Russia (Kola Peninsula, Russian Karelia, Arkhangel area), central and northern Finland

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: The field work will be carried out during one of the several planned periods between 2006 and 2007 and beyond            
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
Several field campaigns to NW Russia will be financially covered and carried out by the scientific group from the institute of Geology,University of Oulu, Finland, the Geological Survey of Finland and Institute of Geology, Karelian Research Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences, Petrozavodsk. The costs of scientific analyses includinf dating of samples are also covered . 50 words max

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
HISIS as well as APEX will continue beyond IPY as scientific network. The infrastructure legacy will include established cross-disciplinary and multi-national collaboration between scientists and institutions involved.

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?
Consortium
National agency

The required field logistics will be secured by the participating institutions.

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
Yes. APEX steering committee has approved the initiative. APEX has been accepted in the Finnish IPY committee

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?


Palaeoice sheet and - climate investigations in NW Russia have been carried out during several decades and this proposed activity continues a lonf tradition. However, the HISIS project forms a network under APEX including new scientists and new approaches.

How will the project be organised and managed?
The HISIS activity is closely linked to APEX (IPY activity no 39) cluster. The coordination in HISIS will be through workshops and meetings between the participating organizations and individuals.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
HISIS activities include scientific meetings, publications and student supervision and post-doctoral training. As mentioned above ad nauseam outreach and communication will also be through APEX (see APEX EoI).

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
The initial plans for data management include the use of the PANGEA database hosted at the University of Bremen.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
The Finnish Academy funds and national funding through participating institutions.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
None

PROPOSER DETAILS

Professor Juha Pekka Lunkka
Institute of Geosciences, University of Oulu
P.O. Box 3000
University of Oulu
FIN-90014
Finland

Tel: +358 8 553 1434
Mobile: +358 40 848 7621
Fax: +358 8 553 1484
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation