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Content archived on 2022-12-23

Permafrost dating by Cosmogenic 36Cl and 10Be and its applications to bio- and Geoscience

Objective

Permafrost is one of the most sensitive parts of the lithosphere that reacts to the climate changes. Within its horizons, geological events and climatic oscillations have been reflected in permafrost accumulation and degradation. The presented interdisciplinary project focuses on a key geocryological problem which has not been solved yet, that is, the direct determination of the permafrost age. In order to approach this problem, a method of direct permafrost dating back to 1.5 million years will be established using the cosmogenic long-lived nuclides 36Cl and 10Be in ice as a natural chronometer. The proposed dating method is based on the determination of the time of 36Cl fixation within ice i.e. the age of the ice, in contrast to other dating methods that determine the age of the embedding sediments. The corresponding measurements of the long-lived cosmogenic 10Be concentrations in permafrost will be also carried out. Therefore, selected key positions in eastern Arctic have to be studied by drilling frozen deposits. The physical and chemical processes within the permafrost system influencing the accuracy of age determinations have to be studied and determined by experiments and modelling. As permafrost represents a unique natural archive containing numerous paleoecological information, we expect our results to find wide applications in paleoreconstructions of the Quaternary Global Climate Change. They will be also applied to estimating the duration of long-term preservation of life and paleobiological objects e.g. the age of ancient DNA and the age of viable microbial communities and their potentially active metabolic end products which survived within permanently frozen environment during geological periods. The new results of age determination by the 36Cl-method will be compared with those of dating of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets and Tibetan glaciers using the same method. Later on, the accepted protocol of the method will be added to the other common dating methods on the Quaternary time scale. Obtained results of permafrost dating will contribute to the development of late Cenozoic biological clock in cryolithosphere. The project combines exceptional opportunities of permafrost sampling with modern physical facilities, which are not available in Russia. As a result, a new scientific method with a wide range of applications will be developed. A large emphasis of the forthcoming International Polar Year is on developing 'the next generation of polar scientists'. In line with this concept, the project will be realized in cooperation with Permafrost Young Researchers Network (PYRN), which is exclusively devoted to support young permafrost researchers under the patronage of the International Permafrost Association hence giving the immediate opportunity for young people around the world to get involved into Polar Science.

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Keywords

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Programme(s)

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Call for proposal

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Funding Scheme

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Coordinator

ALFRED-WEGENER-INSTITUT FÜR POLAR- UND MEERESFORSCHUNG
EU contribution
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Address
TELEGRAFENBERG, A43
POTSDAM
Germany

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Total cost

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Participants (3)

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