FP 29: Decadal Holocene and Late-glacial Variability of the Oxygen Isotopic Composition in Precipitation over Europe Reconstructed from deep-lake sediments

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Achim Brauer
• Subject Area: Palaeontology
• Term: from 2006 to 2010
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5447443

DecLakes will provide six well-dated high-resolution records of the oxygen-isotope composition of past precipitation derived from ostracods in the profundal lake sediments from the Northern, Western and Southern margin of the Alps and from North-eastern Poland. The wide spatial distribution will allow to decipher in particular regional variations of past climate variability. A network of highly experienced research gropus of which each will apply their specific knowledge in isotope analyses, sedimentology and palaeoecology to all sediment cores guarantees a high degree of comparability of the individual data sets in terms of dating, analytical standards and data quality. These data sets will be used for data-model-comparision applying a hierarchy of models equipped with the explicit modelling of water stable isotopes. The study concentrates on three time windows: (1) The last 1.000 years, (2) the period around the prominent cold phase at 8.200 BR, and, (3) the Lateglacial with a special focus on the rapid high-amplitude changes. The expected outcome of the project will be a spatial view of decadal to centennial climate variability in Europe which will be used to better understand prevailing forcing mechanisms.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Participating Person: Dr. Nils Andersen