Pleistocene paleoenvironment reconstruction in East Levant through stable isotopes analysis (´13C, ´18O) of pedogenic carbonate

• Grant number: 23/04116-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: March 01, 2024
• End date: June 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Geology
• Principal Investigator: Giancarlo Scardia
• Grantee: João Carlos Cerqueira
• Supervisor: Prud'Homme Charlotte
• Host Institution: Instituto de Geociências e Ciências Exatas (IGCE). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Université de Lorraine (UL), France
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/10300-8 - Evolution of the Zarqa Valley, Jordan, during the Pleistocene as part of the first hominin migrations outside Africa, BP.DD

Abstract

Carbonate materials can reveal vegetation and climate changes in the past through the analysis of its stable isotope content of carbon (´13C) and oxygen (´18O). The isotopic signature of pedogenic carbonates, like nodules, rhizoliths, and caliche, has been commonly used in eastern Africa to unravel the paleoenvironment of early hominins. Recently, the oldest paleolithic artifacts outside Africa were found in the Zarqa Valley, Jordan, but little is known about the environmental conditions that provided a prosperous habitat for hominins in the Early Pleistocene of the region. This Research Internship Abroad (BEPE) in 4 months aims to (1) train the beneficiary in ´13C and ´18O analysis, correction, and interpretation, (2) to use this method in samples of pedogenic carbonate collected in august 2022, to reconstruct the paleoenvironment of the Zarqa Valley in the Pleistocene, and (3) to establish a partnership with experienced French paleoclimate scientists of CRPG, Université de Lorraine, Nancy (France), thus, opening doors for other future collaborations. Before this project, the beneficiary will conclude another BEPE project to date some of these carbonate materials and develop a chronostratigraphic framework for the stable isotope studies here. (AU)