NSF Award
2311532
The geologic record provides an archive of past climates and ancient ecosystems. Reconstructing past climates is key to our understanding of Earth history and provides insight into how modern ecosystems may react to current and future climatic changes. This study will investigate the degree of climatic change and the ecosystem response to these changes preserved in ancient lake deposits from southwestern South Dakota during the transition into the modern “icehouse” climate. These results will enhance our understanding of this key interval of Earth history and provide knowledge necessary to improve models for predicting the effects of modern climate change. This study will also provide professional training for undergraduate and graduate students and enable the development of educational resources at the South Dakota Mines Museum of Geology and Badlands National Park for visitors on the scientific importance of the rocks in this region. This project is jointly funded by the Sedimentary Geology and Paleobiology Program (SGP) and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).<br/><br/>The Eocene-Oligocene Transition occurred ~34 million years ago and was characterized by an average global cooling of ~2.5oC, the formation of permanent Antarctic ice caps, and an extinction event in ocean ecosystems. However, the degree of climatic change and the ecosystem response to these changes in the interior of North America during this time is unclear. Lake deposits formed during this time that are preserved in the Badlands of South Dakota provide a record of these changes but have previously received only limited study. This research has two primary objectives: 1) to identify the extent of these lake deposits and understand their sedimentology and stratigraphy, and 2) to analyze the geochemical composition of these rocks through time and space to reconstruct changes in paleoenvironmental conditions. These efforts will provide a better understanding of terrestrial responses to climate change.<br/><br/>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.
