PROGETTO ATENO 2007
University of PisaDepartment of Earth Science
Leader Dr Giovanni Zanchetta
Reconstruction of sea-level, palaeoenviroments and palaeoclimate during the last and present interglacials over Patagonian coast (Argentina). An attempt to evaluate future climatic scenarios.
This project was born to explore the Pagonian paleoclimate archives through a multidisciplinary approach as detailed stratigraphy, morphological, paleontological and geochemical analyses of a target area. The target area, the northern part of Gulf S. Jorge (Chubut, Argentina) has been selected collecting and collating remote sensing and literature data and has recently been a subject of a preliminary field work.
The main aims of the project:
- to construct a local relative-sea level curve; useful for estimating local deviation to the eustatic component due to glacial isostasy and tectonic activity;
- to reconstruct local sea surface condition through geochemical studies;
- evaluate the biological changes associated to different sets of beach-ridges through the paleobiological studies of fossil shells;
- to study the general evolution of coastal area in relation of evolution of continental deposit related to the beach ridges;
- in a more restricted area, selected on the basis of previous points, sea level rise due to the progressive global warming will be modelled the using IPCC current predictions, in order to produce scenarios for understanding the potential changes occurring in the area during the current climatic change.
