Overview
The Climate Geology Research Group focuses on deciphering paleoclimates and paleoenvironments on different time scales ranging from the past centuries to the Neogene using sclerochronological, geochemical, and micropaleontological multi-proxy approaches. Our highly interdisciplinary research is conducted in close collaboration with biologists, oceanographers, climate physicists and archaeologists.
Research Themes
- Millennial-scale annual-resolution sclerochronology of coralline red algae for reconstructing Arctic and Subarctic ocean dynamics and sea ice
- Labrador Current Dynamics
- Arctic sea-ice variability
- Greenland ice sheet runoff - Quantifying the complex interplay of oceanographic controls on modern shallow water carbonate depositional systems
- Galapagos Island carbonate production in a setting of low ocean pH
- Greenland Fjord cold-water carbonates - Coral-based reconstructions of Caribbean climate and river discharge histories
- Annually-resolved high-latitude climates during the Paleocene/Eocene derived from exceptionally preserved wood
HIGHLIGHTS:
Science publication on bioerosion: Rasher, D.B., Steneck, R.S., Halfar, J., Kroeker, K.J., Ries, J.B., Chan, P.T.W., Fietzke, J., Kamenos, N.A., Konar, B.H., Lefcheck, J.S., Norley, C.J., Weitzman, B.P., and Westfield, I.T., Estes, J.A., (2020), Keystone predators govern the pathway and pace of climate impacts in a subarctic marine ecosystem, Science, 369, 1351-1354.
Science Publication News Item
https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/main-news/predator-loss-and-climate-change-combine-devastating-consequences-alaskan-reefs
Massive reefs, built slowly over centuries to millennia, are now rapidly eroding because of overgrazing by sea urchins. Grazing has intensified in recent years due to the combined, indirect effects of predator loss and climate change. Photo by J. Tomoleoni/USGS
Geology publication:
Chan, P., Halfar, J., Lebednik P.A., Norley C.J.D., Holdsworth D.W. (2020) Centennial record of subarctic coralline algal calcification rates, Geology, https://doi.org/10.1130/G46804.1
Geology publication:
Hetzinger, S.,Halfar, J.,Zajacz, Z., Wisshak, M. (2019) Early start of 20th century Arctic sea ice decline recorded in Svalbard coralline algae, Geology, 47 (10): 963-967, 10.1130/G46507.1
Nature Communications publication:
Chan, P., Halfar, J., Adey, W., Hetzinger, S., Zack, T., G.W.K. Moore, U.G. Wortmann, B. Williams, A. Hou (2017) Multicentennial record of North Atlantic primary productivity and sea-ice variability archived in coralline algal Ba/Ca, Nature Communications, 10.1038/NCOMMS15543
https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms15543
Science Educational Program on Arctic Research with Christian Haas and Jochen Halfar (in German)
can be viewed at http://www.planet-wissen.de/video-expedition-in-die-arktis--dem-klimawandel-auf-der-spur-100.html
53 minute Documentary (ARTE TV) on Coralline Algal Arctic Expedition
English, French and German version available upon requestStudy on Algal Sea-Ice Proxy in PNASRead Abstract - Read Press Release - Read Highlight in Nature - Watch TV News
Watch Global News Coverage
Watch movie by Karen Loveland and Walter Adey on our research in Labrador:
Principle Investigator
• 