Objective The analysis of dissolved noble gas concentrations in groundwater has proven to be a reliable method to determine quantitative paleotemperatures. Noble gas studies in semi-arid regions have shown that in addition to recharge temperatures, the "excess air" phenomenon may be useful as a proxy for the important climate parameter humidity. A better understanding of gas partitioning during groundwater infiltration is a prerequisite for the reliable use of noble gases as paleoclimate proxies. In addition, such an understanding is important for several gas-tracer based methods for age-dating shallow ground waters (3H-3He, CFCs, SF6).The present project aims at advancing and broadening the scope and applicability of noble gases in paleoclimatology and hydrology, in particular at establishing the paleoclimatic significance of excess air. The primary goal is to obtain a detailed understanding of the physical mechanisms linking climate and soil parameters to the noble gas patterns imprinted during groundwater recharge. This objective shall be achieved by careful analysis of noble gas, climate, and soil data from several semi-arid regions, complemented by experiments on the scale of laboratory soil columns and test-fields.In order to study the distribution of noble gases in pore water with high resolution, improvements of sampling and analytical methods are planned, aiming at reducing the sample size. Such developments will provide a strong methodical link to concurrent efforts to the advancement of applications of noble gases in environments other than groundwater. Hence, this project is also expected to contribute to the development of new applications of the noble gas thermometer to important climate archives such as sediment pore waters or fluid inclusions in carbonate s inters. The accomplishment of the above goals requires experience in tracer hydrology and specialised analytical methods, which is rather rare in Europe. Fields of science natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrynoble gasesnatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencespalaeontologypaleoclimatologynatural sciencesearth and related environmental scienceshydrologynatural sciencesphysical sciencesclassical mechanicsfluid mechanicsfluid staticsnatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesgeologygeomorphologyspeleology Programme(s) FP6-MOBILITY - Human resources and Mobility in the specific programme for research, technological development and demonstration "Structuring the European Research Area" under the Sixth Framework Programme 2002-2006 Topic(s) MOBILITY-2.1 - Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowships (EIF) Call for proposal FP6-2002-MOBILITY-5 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme EIF - Marie Curie actions-Intra-European Fellowships Coordinator RUPRECHT-KARLS-UNIVERSITÄT HEIDELBERG EU contribution No data Address Seminarstr. 2 HEIDELBERG Germany See on map Links Website Opens in new window Total cost No data
