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Award Abstract #0739512
Collaborative Research: Linking Modern Benthic Communities and Taphonomic Processes to the Stratigraphic Record of Antarctic Cores
| NSF Org: |
ANT
Antarctic Sciences Division
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| Initial Amendment Date: |
July 29, 2008 |
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| Latest Amendment Date: |
July 29, 2008 |
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| Award Number: |
0739512 |
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| Award Instrument: |
Continuing grant |
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| Program Manager: |
Thomas P. Wagner
ANT Antarctic Sciences Division
OPP Office of Polar Programs
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| Start Date: |
September 1, 2008 |
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| Expires: |
August 31, 2009 (Estimated) |
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| Awarded Amount to Date: |
$46643 |
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| Investigator(s): |
Sally Walker swalker@gly.uga.edu (Principal Investigator)
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| Sponsor: |
University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc
621-630 GRADUATE STUDIES
ATHENS, GA 30602 706/542-5939
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| NSF Program(s): |
ANTARCTIC EARTH SCIENCES
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| Field Application(s): |
0311000 Polar Programs-Related
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
OTHR,5112,0000
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| Program Element Code(s): |
5112
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ABSTRACT
This project answers a simple question: why are there so few fossils in sediment cores from Antarctica?s continental shelf? Antarctica?s benthos are as biologically rich as those of the tropics. Shell-secreting organisms should have left a trail throughout geologic time, but have not. This trail is particularly important because these organisms record regional climate in ways that are critical to interpreting the global climate record. This study uses field experiments and targeted observations of modern benthic systems to examine the biases inflicted by fossil preservation. By examining a spectrum of ice-affected habitats, this project provides paleoenvironmental insights into carbonate preservation, sedimentation rates, and burial processes; and will provide new approaches to reconstructing the Cenozoic history of Antarctica. Broader impacts include graduate and undergraduate research and education, development of undergraduate curricula to link art and science, K12 outreach, public outreach via the web, and societal relevance through improved understanding of records of global climate change.
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