Abstract ATM-9708071 Bradley, Raymond University of Massachusetts Title: High Resolution Lake Sediment Studies for Paleoclimatic Reconstruction in the Canadian High Arctic This award will support a project designed to extend the record of summer temperature derived from varved sediments in the Canadian High Arctic to cover the last 2-3000 years. This will place the dramatic changes observed over the few centuries into a longer term perspective. In particular, conditions around 1,000 years ago, during the so-called Medieval Warm Period, will be examined for its the global significance. Multiple dating approaches will be used to provide confidence in the chronology and to establish a secular paleomagnetic record for the region. This can then be used as a chronological template to help in dating other sedimentary records which are low in organic carbon. Hydrological studies in selected basins will clarify the climatic controls on sediment flux to these lakes and improve paleoclimatic interpretations of the varved sediment records recovered. By combining these observations with earlier work, a comprehensive conceptual model of the climatic controls on sediment flux to arctic lakes will be developed.
