This project studies microfossils of plants and algae to understand climate during the earliest glaciations of Antarctica. The microfossils are from marine sediment cores collected by the 2006 SHALDRIL campaign to the Antarctic Peninsula. The work will offer constraints on sea surface temperature, ocean salinity, and terrestrial vegetation to help answer questions such as: What were conditions like on the Antarctic Peninsula during the initial formation of Antarctica's ice sheets? How rapidly did the ice sheets grow? Was their growth driven by global factors such as low atmospheric CO2 or local events like opening of the Drake Passage?
The broader impacts include postdoctoral fellow research and outreach via a museum exhibit and a web-based activity book for children.
