This award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, supports the development of a standardized diatom biozonation for Antarctic marine near-shore environments. The project entails diatom biostratigraphic and paleoenvironmental analyses of recovered near-shore sediment sequences from the margins of the Antarctic continent. At the heart of the work is diatom taxonomic investigation using will be sequences recovered from McMurdo Sound as part of the Cape Roberts Project (CRP), supplemented by other relevant drill core material. Scientific Objectives and Intellectual Merit of the Proposal Include: 1. Taxonomic analysis and refinement of Antarctic near-shore Cenozoic marine diatoms, 2. Biostratigraphic determination and application of these diatoms, 3. Establishment and publication of an integrated Antarctic near-shore diatom biostratigraphic zonation, providing a framework for future Antarctic continental shelf sampling (e.g., ANDRILL), 4. Evaluation of the mode and tempo of evolution of polar diatom lineages, and 5. Evaluation of the evolution of Antarctic paleoenvironments, especially the origin of persistent sea ice and analysis of sea-ice fluctuations through time. Broader Impact of the Project: This work will train a graduate student in diatom biostratigraphy and paleoenvironmental studies. The work will improve our understanding of Cenozoic climatic development of Antarctica, and contribute valuable insights into glacial fluctuations and sea ice history, which are important elements for climate model development. It will support the infrastructure of scientific knowledge by providing a biostratigraphic zonation directly applicable to future Antarctic drilling. As such, this work will greatly improve and streamline initial core characterization, thus increase the immediate scientific impact of ANDRILL and other proposed future drilling efforts.
