Climate and environmental changes over the central portion of Bahia State documented by stalagmites

• Grant number: 19/10718-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2019
• End date: August 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Geology
• Agreement: NSF and NSF's Partnership for International Research and Education (PIRE)
• Principal Investigator: Francisco William da Cruz Junior
• Grantee: Gabriel Mitsuaki Cenci Tsukuda
• Host Institution: Instituto de Geociências (IGC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 17/50085-3 - PIRE: climate research education in the Americas using tree-ring speleothem examples (PIRE-CREATE), AP.TEM

Abstract

The understanding of South American Monsoon System (SAMS) variability during the last millennia have been improved by studies involving d18O and trace elements on speleothems. For the current project, we propose the study of speleothems collected in caves of Bahia State (Brazil), cities of Iraquara and Iramaia, where still have a gap of high resolution records for the last millennium. The stalagmites for this study were already collected, and its ´18O as well trace elements record will be integrate with the previously published ´18O records from stalagmites from the central portion of Bahia, Novello, V. F. (2012), for the understanding of SAMS evolution through the state of Bahia. Despite of recent advances on the studies related with SAMS variability, the paleoclimate picture of the last millennium over Bahia is still incomplete. This research project aims to provide paleoclimate records to fill the gap of paleorainfall data over the central portion of Bahia using trace elements. It will be important because will provide a key data set for studies of the SAMS and its relationship with Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). (AU)