GOALI: MCA: Insights to Critical Zone Dynamics During Icehouse Deglaciation: Piloting a Late Paleozoic Climate Observatory

West Virginia University Research Corporation, Morgantown WV

Investigators

Abstract

As the current climate shifts from a cooler glacial episode into a warmer deglacial episode, it is important to understand how terrestrial landscapes, including rivers, soils and forests, may respond to this change. The last time Earth’s climate shifted out of an Ice Age occurred ~285 million years ago at the end of the Late Paleozoic Ice Age (LPIA). Some existing research suggests LPIA forests grew rapidly and expanded mainly under warming climate conditions during deglaciation. However, other research suggests forests became smaller and experienced less growth during deglaciation episodes, and instead forest expansion occurred mainly during the cooler climate conditions of glacial episodes. In order to determine the influence of LPIA climate on terrestrial and “critical zone” (e.g., soil horizon) conditions, including temperature, precipitation and carbon removal from the atmosphere (e.g., peat burial, soil weathering, soil carbon deposition), this project will analyze deposits in West Virginia and the Czech Republic using age dating, isotope geochemistry and cutting-edge automated mineralogy technologies. Additionally, the project will support an academic-industry collaboration with Bruker Inc. that will accelerate automated mineralogy applications to the field of sedimentary geology. Finally, this project will support development of a community-driven Late Paleozoic Climate Observatory, and provide STEM educational opportunities for undergraduates, graduate researchers, grade 6-12 students and secondary educators in West Virginia. Results from this work will resolve 3 major questions inherent in the conflicting models of LPIA coal forest dynamics: 1) Did eccentricity-driven climatic oscillations form correlatable terrestrial cyclothems across tropical Pangea?; 2) Were LPIA glaciations associated with arid or humid climate in tropical uplands?; and 3) How did terrestrial systems respond to LPIA climate extremes? Answers to these questions will be achieved through integration of multi-proxy geochronology (U-Pb detrital apatite, Re-Os), carbonate nodule paleobarometry and paleothermometry, Osi chemostratigraphy, fluvial paleohydrology and multi-scale mineralogical characterization of paleopedology, sediment provenance, and carbonate nodule composition/diagenesis. These results will test the hypothesis that tropical peat forest development occurred mainly during glacial episodes due to elevated groundwater tables during ever-wet, climate conditions. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.