Leg 169SBriefing: Ocean Drilling Program, Leg 169S Saanich Inlet, August 19-21An improved understanding of the climate ocean system, and in particular the global carbon cycle, will require ultra-high-resolution studies of rapidly deposited sediments in a variety of geographic settings. Because such sites record climatic and oceanographic conditions on an annual or seasonal basis, they will allow calibration and refinement of fully ocean-couples general circulation models as well as lead to a better appreciation of the links among oceanographic processes, temperature, rainfall, vegetation, oceanic circulation and productivity of marine organisms, such as plankton and fish. This Leg focuses on the last 10,000 years of global climate change. During Leg 169S, ODP will core into a rapidly deposited stratigraphic sequence that promises an ultra-high-resolution record of Holocene environmental change. Sedimentation rates of approximately 780 cm/kyr are anticipated from a presumed basal age of 10-20,000 years and a sequence thickness of 100-125m.
The scientific objectives of Saanich Inlet drilling are to: Additionally, charcoal deposits should enable scientists to evaluate when native populations first occupied this area and the extent of their habitation. The same deposits may also reveal the local forest fire history. The fossil fish record will demonstrate the fluctuations in the area fish populations and scientists will examine how these changes are related to human activity or due to natural causes. The Ocean Drilling Program is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, Canada, Australia, the European Science Foundation Consortium, Germany, France, Japan, and the United Kingdom to investigate such topics as earth's history and evolution, climate change, and formation of the ocean crust.
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