Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/D001765/1
Quaternary QUEST: Regulation of atmospheric carbon dioxide on glacial-interglacial timescales and its coupling to climate change
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Professor TM Lenton, University of Southampton, Sch of Ocean and Earth Science
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor E Wolff, University of Cambridge, Earth Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor G Henderson, University of Oxford, Earth Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor PC Tzedakis, University College London, Geography
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor M Tranter, University of Bristol, Geographical Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor R Rickaby, University of Oxford, Earth Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor NR Edwards, The Open University, Faculty of Sci, Tech, Eng & Maths (STEM)
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor J G Shepherd, University of Southampton, Sch of Ocean and Earth Science
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor P Valdes, University of Bristol, Geographical Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor H Elderfield, University of Cambridge, Earth Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor JM Gregory, University of Reading, National Centre for Atmospheric Science
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor AJ Payne, University of Liverpool, Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor A Watson, University of Exeter, Geography
- Grant held at:
- University of Southampton, Sch of Ocean and Earth Science
- Science Area:
- Terrestrial
- Marine
- Freshwater
- Earth
- Atmospheric
- Overall Classification:
- Terrestrial
- ENRIs:
- Global Change
- Science Topics:
- Biogeochemical Cycles
- Quaternary Science
- Climate & Climate Change
- Abstract:
- The climate of the the last million years is characterized by regular oscillations between cold glacial and warm interglacial states, thought to be paced by variations in the Earth's orbit around the sun. Sources of paleoclimate data, such as marine and lake sediments and air trapped in polar ice cores, reveal a remarkable behaviour; the climate behaves as a system of interlinked parts, changing in a complex but ordered way, in a sequence which recurs, with variations, like the themes in a symphony. The individual parts making up this composition are affected by changes in the physical circulation of the atmosphere and ocean, the coverage of vegetation, ice sheets and sea ice, the marine biota, concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, dust, and precipitation around the world. This behaviour suggests that the system is predictable, but that it is sensitively dependent on conditions and history. If we are ever to understand this complex system we must synthesise our knowledge from the data sources with understanding of how the Earth system works. Accordingly, a consortium of UK scientists will will compile syntheses of paleorecords from ice cores and sediments, improve the synchronization of these records one with another, and use that information to improve and test Earth System models (principally the GENIE model, designed to simulate the diverse components of the climate system over time scales up to a million years). In particular, we will focus on the still unresolved problem of why atmospheric carbon dioixide changed so regularly with the climate cycles. We will also study how this change interacts with the other components of the earth system, and why the warm interglacial phases have varied in timing, duration and temperature. Until we have such understanding of the past, we are unlikely to have great confidence in our predictions of how Earth's climate will change in the future as we subject it the substantial assaults of human-induced change due to increasing CO2 and other greenhouse gases.
- Period of Award:
- 1 Oct 2006 - 31 Dec 2009
- Value:
- £91,583 Split Award
Authorised funds only
- NERC Reference:
- NE/D001765/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Directed Pre FEC
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- QUEST
This grant award has a total value of £91,583
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - T&S | Total - Staff | Total - Other Costs | Total - Indirect Costs | Total - Equipment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £4,494 | £58,261 | £527 | £26,801 | £1,500 |
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