EPICA-MIS New paleoreconstructions from Antarctic ice and marine records

From 01/12/2004 to 31/05/2008

Funded under FP6-SUSTDEV

Objective:

The objective of the Specific Targeted Research Project EPICA-MIS is to produce palaeoreconstructions and integrated climate analysis through marine and ice core studies. It will contribute to the development of novel paleoreconstruction methods by providing unique paleorecords and developing new proxies of critical properties of the climate system. The two Antarctic deep ice cores will be completed and they will for the first time reveal atmospheric records of greenhouse gases like CO2 and methane reaching 800,000 years back in time.
Novel multi-parameter and high-resolution records of climate-relevant parameters like ice isotopes, greenhouse gases, dust and soluble impurities will be produced from the new Antarctic ice cores. They will be compared and correlated with palaeoreconstructions from marine, Greenland and other Antarctic re A key task here is to produce common timescales for the records by comparing the individual datings and by investigating novel tephra and paleomagnetic correlation methods. The produced multiproxy reconstructions will provide an outstanding platform for understanding and modelling the past and present climate. Because the reconstructions from both ocean and ice cores will be integrated and will use novel indicators for instance for sea ice, Antarctic insolation, iron or opal isotopes, climatic issues like the carbon cycle, sea surface temperature, and the climatic coupling between the northern and southern hemispheres can be addressed with new perspectives.
As strategies for mitigation and adaptation to global change have to be based on predictions on future climate, the EPICA-MIS novel palaeoreconstructions will produce new evidence about climate dynamics and variability necessary to improve and test policy-relevant models. The Research Project described here goes a step further in integrating the European ice core research groups with marine palaeoclimate research groups, thus forming a strong European Research Area.

Participants:

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE, France (Coordinator)
ALFRED-WEGENER-INSTITUT FÜR POLAR- UND MEERESFORSCHUNG, Germany
COMMISSARIAT À L'ÉNERGIE ATOMIQUE, France
CONSORZIO NAZIONALE INTERUNIVERSITARIO PER LE SCIENZE DEL MARE, Italy
CONSORZIO PER L'ATTUAZIONE DEL PROGRAMMA NAZIONALE DI RICERCHE IN ANTARTIDE SCRL, Italy
INSTITUT POLAIRE FRANCAIS PAUL EMILE VICTOR, France
KOEBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET, Denmark
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL, United Kingdom
NORWEGIAN POLAR INSTITUTE, Norway
STOCKHOLMS UNIVERSITET, Sweden
THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom
UNIVERSITE LIBRE DE BRUXELLES, Belgium
UNIVERSITY OF BERN, Switzerland
UTRECHT UNIVERSITY, Netherlands

https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/85505_en.html