Climate and Environmental Change in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean
This project documents paleoceanographic, climatic, and environmental changes in the Gulf of Mexico and adjacent land areas over the last 10,000 years. The paleoenvironmental data is used to determine rates of change in the past, and to better understand both the natural and anthropogenic factors that contribute to climate variability on inter-annual to millennial timescales.
Paleoclimate Reconstruction from Marine and Lake Sediments
Highly-resolved records of past climate variability are increasingly important in light of the current need to differentiate between natural and anthropogenic climate change. Studies concentrate on the Holocene, the last 10,000 years. Analysis of microfossils, trace metal geochemistry, stable isotope geochemistry, and biomarkers sediment cores is performed at sub-millennial to decadal resolution in sediment cores from lakes and the deep ocean.
Coral Reefs as Climate Archives
Coral reefs are sentinels of climate change, responding to changes in water temperature, ocean pH, pollution and land use change near the coasts. This part of the project ties in closely with the CREST Project within the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program, and aims to reconstruct changes temperature, ocean circulation, sea level and the history of reef formation.
Paleoceanographic Proxy Calibration
A sediment trap time series (2008-2018) in the northern Gulf of Mexico is used to assess environmental controls on sediment flux, microfossil assemblages and the biogeochemistry of both molecular and calcium carbonate fossils. This information is used to improve calibrations, quantify uncertainties, and better understand the strengths and limitations of different paleoceanographic proxies in the Gulf of Mexico.
Below are tasks and science projects associated with this project.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Sr/Ca proxy sea-surface temperature reconstructions from modern and holocene Montastraea faveolata specimens from the Dry Tortugas National Park
Linear extension rates of massive corals from the Dry Tortugas National Park (DRTO), Florida
Seasonal variability in the surface sediments of Mobile Bay, Alabama, recorded by geochemistry and foraminifera, 2009–2010
Benthic foraminiferal census data from Mobile Bay, Alabama--counts of surface samples and box cores
Over 100 years of environmental change recorded by foraminifers and sediments in a large Gulf of Mexico estuary, Mobile Bay, AL, USA
Seasonal flux and assemblage composition of planktic foraminifera from the northern Gulf of Mexico, 2008-2010
Holocene evolution of Apalachicola Bay, Florida
Seasonal Flux and Assemblage Composition of Planktic Foraminifera from the Northern Gulf of Mexico, 2008-2009
Historical trends of hypoxia in Changjiang River estuary: Applications of chemical biomarkers and microfossils
Globorotalia truncatulinoides (dextral) Mg/Ca as a proxy for Gulf of Mexico winter mixed-layer temperature: evidence from a sediment trap in the northern Gulf of Mexico
Geologic controls on the recent evolution of oyster reefs in Apalachicola Bay and St. George Sound, Florida
Gulf of Mexico Climate-History Calibration Study
This project documents paleoceanographic, climatic, and environmental changes in the Gulf of Mexico and adjacent land areas over the last 10,000 years. The paleoenvironmental data is used to determine rates of change in the past, and to better understand both the natural and anthropogenic factors that contribute to climate variability on inter-annual to millennial timescales.
Paleoclimate Reconstruction from Marine and Lake Sediments
Highly-resolved records of past climate variability are increasingly important in light of the current need to differentiate between natural and anthropogenic climate change. Studies concentrate on the Holocene, the last 10,000 years. Analysis of microfossils, trace metal geochemistry, stable isotope geochemistry, and biomarkers sediment cores is performed at sub-millennial to decadal resolution in sediment cores from lakes and the deep ocean.
Coral Reefs as Climate Archives
Coral reefs are sentinels of climate change, responding to changes in water temperature, ocean pH, pollution and land use change near the coasts. This part of the project ties in closely with the CREST Project within the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program, and aims to reconstruct changes temperature, ocean circulation, sea level and the history of reef formation.
Paleoceanographic Proxy Calibration
A sediment trap time series (2008-2018) in the northern Gulf of Mexico is used to assess environmental controls on sediment flux, microfossil assemblages and the biogeochemistry of both molecular and calcium carbonate fossils. This information is used to improve calibrations, quantify uncertainties, and better understand the strengths and limitations of different paleoceanographic proxies in the Gulf of Mexico.
Below are tasks and science projects associated with this project.
Below are publications associated with this project.