NSF Award
2417794
This project is supported under the auspices of the EArly concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) program to investigate aspects of recurring El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. These events are the largest cause of global interannual climate variability and are associated with extreme warmth causing dramatic increases in global temperature from which no subsequent retreat occurs. Although ENSO is climatically forced in the Pacific Ocean, there are strong environmental teleconnections with the Atlantic Ocean.<br/><br/>Gaining a historical perspective on ENSO frequency and intensity is integral to understanding the threat from future ENSO events. Currently, modeling predictions of how ENSO would respond in a warmed world do not provide a clear scientific understanding.<br/><br/>The researchers aim to develop a composite record of ENSO history based on eight highly resolved sedimentary records that will produce records of ENSO variability spanning the last 5000 years from northern South America. These records will be added to other records to provide a composite record of ENSO from six mainland lakes, including one record from the Galapagos Islands and one from a nearshore marine setting in Peru. Through this analysis, the research team aims to reduce idiosyncrasies induced by reliance on a single site to provide the history of ENSO.<br/><br/>This is a potentially high-risk and high-reward project as it breaks new ground in Intellectual Merit by developing new ENSO records. The project has excellent potential Broader Impacts because challenging scientific orthodoxy and seeking to better understand fundamental atmospheric physics that governs atmospheric dynamics is critical to addressing a range of atmospheric phenomena. The project supports an early career doctoral scholar from an underrepresented group in science and also promotes meaningful international collaboration with researchers in Ecuador.<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.
