Project description
A closer look at the evolution of the westerlies
Water availability projections are uncertain. Scientists warn of a decrease in the Mediterranean basin, influenced by wintertime synoptic atmospheric circulations. As for the westerlies, they play a crucial role in the distribution of both rainfall and heat. Even though the Holocene epoch has been extensively studied to refine our understanding of climate and to test the efficiency of climate models and proxies, the issue of the mechanisms and evolution of the westerlies is still unresolved. To address this gap, the EU-funded CROSSROADS project will study the Holocene sediments recovered from the deep Dead Sea where the temperature is influenced by winter air temperature and its level depends on the Jordan discharge that is fuelled by winter rainfall.
Objective
Water availability in the Mediterranean basin is projected to decrease in the future in the 6th IPCC report. It is largely influenced by wintertime synoptic atmospheric circulations, as the westerlies play a crucial role in the distribution of both rainfall and heat. However, to date, climate models have lacked the accuracy to predict the evolution of atmospheric circulations, making water availability projections uncertain and thus hampering adaptation strategies by policy makers. The Holocene epoch has been extensively studied to refine our understanding of climate and test the efficiency of climate models and proxies. And yet, mismatches among proxies and models leave the issue of the mechanisms and evolution of the westerlies still unresolved. In this fellowship, we will address this issue by studying the Holocene sediments recovered from the deep Dead Sea. The deep Dead Sea temperature is mainly influenced by winter air temperature and its level depends on the Jordan discharge that is fueled by winter rainfall, making this site ideal to reconstruct the winter variables affected by the westerlies. We will use novel methods based on spectroscopy and spectrometry on salt fluid inclusions (FIs) to reconstruct Holocene lake temperature and composition and we will develop a new method exploiting the lake composition, thickness of deposited salt, speed of sound in FIs, sediments microfacies and X-ray fluorescence elemental composition to reconstruct lake levels. As, in these arid latitudes, it has been impossible so far to obtain Holocene winter temperatures and hydrological reconstructions are scant, and because this site responds in an unusual way to changes in westerlies, I believe this action will prove key in understanding the evolution of the westerlies.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinator
14473 POTSDAM
Germany