This award supports two marine geological cruises to the fjords and continental shelf of southern Chile. Research will concentrate on the collection and analysis of single channel seismic reflection data, 3.5 KHz profiler data, and piston cores. This work will examine fundamental questions concerning the dynamics of the Patagonian ice sheet during the late Wisconsin glaciation and how it responded to changing marine and terrestrial climate during the last glacial/interglacial transition. This project represents an extension of current investigations into the marine geology of the Antarctic Peninsula to include glacial marine environments from a wider latitudinal range. In order to enhance the applicability of litho and seismo- stratigraphic studies to a broader range of Quaternary science, this research will be conducted in cooperation with other researchers investigating marine and terrestrial paleoclimate. Down core changes in micro-flora (diatoms) and micro-fauna will be examined in conjunction with geochemical and isotopic analyses. Palynological studies of some cores will be undertaken in an attempt to refine our misunderstanding of the relationship between terrestrial and marine paleoclimates. The project will also be undertaken in cooperation with Chilean researchers who are interested in the sedimentary and tectonic history of the region. By extending the marine studies of the Antarctic Peninsula to Patagonia, and by broadening their scope to include land-sea correlations, valuable insight will be gained into spatial and temporal changes on climate along a broad range of latitudes.
