Hydrogen Isotopic Composition of Individual Biomarkers from Lake Sediments: A New Proxy for Paleoclimate Research

Brown University, Providence RI

Investigators

Abstract

This award is for support of a study to take advantage of the known and estimated patterns of present and past climate variables in eastern North America in developing dD (deuterium) values for selected biomarkers into a new proxy for climate measurements. The project will study how the hydrogen isotopic composition of individual biomarkers varies in lacustrine surface sediments and in sediment cores from seven well-studied sediment sites in eastern North America and Yucatan Peninsula. The investigators will also collect and analyze dD values of lake water and aquatic plants along transects of surface sediment sites.