P2C2: Extreme Climate Events in the Holocene Controlled by El-Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Anomalies: Millennia-Long Stalagmite Records from the Southwest Pacific

University Of Alabama Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa AL

Investigators

Abstract

This project explores the utility of speleothems from the Island of Niue as archives of climate information from the Southwest Pacific (SWP) region. The scientific objectives of the study are to: (i) acquire high resolution time-series of oxygen and carbon isotopes from speleothems spanning the Holocene; (ii) derive precise absolute chronology of the records based on a combined use of uranium/thorium dating method and floating-lamina counting chronology (iii) improve the understanding of carbon isotope variability in Niuean stalagmites; (iv) better understand rainfall variability in the SWP; and (vi) assess tropical and extra-tropical linkages by comparing contemporaneous proxy climate records The primary broader impacts involve collecting data from a sparsely sampled region, creating a uniquely strong sampling strategy between modern precipitation and cave deposits, supporting undergraduate and graduate students, and building strong international collaboration with colleagues and students from Niue.