| NSF Org: |
OPP Office of Polar Programs (OPP) |
| Recipient: |
|
| Initial Amendment Date: | February 21, 2003 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | June 12, 2006 |
| Award Number: | 0241000 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Jane V. Dionne
OPP Office of Polar Programs (OPP) GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | June 1, 2003 |
| End Date: | May 31, 2007 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $0.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $34,314.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
|
| History of Investigator: |
|
| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO ALBUQUERQUE NM US 87131-0001 (505)277-4186 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
|
| Primary Place of Performance: |
1 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO ALBUQUERQUE NM US 87131-0001 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
|
| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
|
| Parent UEI: |
|
| NSF Program(s): | ANS-Arctic Natural Sciences |
| Primary Program Source: |
|
| Program Reference Code(s): |
|
| Program Element Code(s): |
|
| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.078 |
ABSTRACT
This is a collaborative proposal by Principal Investigators at the Universities of Colorado and New Mexico. They will document the stratigraphy, paleontology, geochemistry and geochronology of Late Cretaceous sediments in the Eidsbotn and Viks Fiord grabens, on Devon Island in the Canadian High Arctic. Devon Island was selected because a preliminary survey of the Eidsbotn graben in 1998 demonstrated that it holds an unusually diverse assemblage of marine organisms and coprolitic trace fossils. This fossil assemblage represents a complex ecosystem that was characterized by an apparently temperate Arctic environment, even though it was subject to extreme photoperiodic seasonality. A study of this unique site will provide the geological framework that will help reconstruct the paleoenvironment of this high-latitude locality and substantially increase our understanding of Late Cretaceous Arctic marine ecosystems. Reconnaissance sampling of the Eidsbotn area revealed a wide variety of fossils, both whole and fragments, and a high concentration of unusual green and cream-colored coprolites. A systematic sampling of the Late Cretaceous paleontological resources will provide stratigraphic and facies context, contribute more material for taxonomic identification, indicate patterns of abundance, and almost certainly reveal new Arctic taxa. The sediments are reported to contain numerous bentonites, glauconitic sands, siltstones, and mudstones that are overlain by a peat of an unknown age. Stratigraphic sections will be measured, described and sampled for biofacies and geochemical analyses. Fossils will be collected and taphonomic conditions described. Bentonite samples will be collected for geochronological analysis of mica, sanidine, and zircon, and palynological samples will refine the lithostratigraphy and elucidate the age of the peat that overlies the Eidsbotn section. Petrographic and geochemical analyses of coprolites will provide evidence of trophic interactions, and faunal lists will indicate the structure and ecological niches in the paleoecosystem. Oxygen isotopic analysis of the phosphate will contribute proxy sea-surface temperature information and may provide evidence for water-column temperature gradients, paleosalinity, and sedimentation rates. The suite of sedimentary and paleontological resources in the Eidsbotn and Viks Fiords will provide a unique opportunity to fully characterize the paleoenvironment and paleoecology of a Late Cretaceous high-latitude marine locality, and to test paleoclimatic models for that period. This project will also engage undergraduates, graduate students, people from the Inuit community, and international and intercultural discourse.
Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.
