P2C2: Mechanistic Interpretation of the Spatial Signatures of Mid-Holocene Precipitation over South America and the Atlantic

Rutgers University New Brunswick, New Brunswick NJ

Investigators

Abstract

This project seeks to better understand, generally, the extent to which proxies can be used to infer signatures of past climate variability and, specifically, how well proxies do with mid-Holocene precipitation variation over the tropical South America/Atlantic region. The research will focus on three activities: (i) quantifying changes in the spatial distribution of precipitation between mid-Holocene and preindustrial conditions; (ii) identifying the principal drivers of South America/Atlantic region hydroclimatic variability in the mid-Holocene as simulated by models; and (iii) examining the causal agents and feedback processes responsible for the signatures of mid-Holocene precipitation change and evaluate why the ensemble of current generation paleoclimate models often diverge substantially at the scales required to interpret paleoclimate proxies. Undergraduate students and a postdoctoral researcher will be supported. Output from the paleoclimate model simulations will be made accessible and incorporated into undergraduate and graduate classes.