SedDB: Marine Sediment Geochemistry Database

I would like to alert you to the existence of our free, online data base for marine sediment geochemistry (SedDB) as it may be of interest to your initiative. This NSF-funded effort hosts geochemical data primarily for marine sediments, but our collections are continuously expanding. SedDB accommodates the full range of analytical values, from major and trace element concentrations to radiogenic and stable isotope ratios, in both inorganic and organic matrices, for diverse suites of samples (e.g., seafloor and sub-seafloor, rivers, nodules, and terrestrial sections) and subsamples of material such as individual biological components, leachates, and size fractions.

Deep-Time Perspectives on Climate Change

Edited by M. Williams, A. M. Haywood, J. Gregory, D. N. Schmidt and J. R. Young

This book unites climate modelling, palaeoceanography and palaeontology to address fundamental events in the climate history of Earth over the past 600 million years. Understanding the 'tipping points’ that have lead to rapid changes in the Earth’s climate is vitally important with the realization that humans modify global climate. In an effort to better understand past and future climate change, general circulation models have become the forerunners of attempts to simulate future climate. Although extraordinarily sophisticated, they remain imperfect tools that require ‘grounding’ in geological data. In this, the study of past major climate transitions like the Palaeozoic icehouse worlds and the extreme greenhouse of the Cretaceous are invaluable. Both the mechanisms that forced changes in the Earth's climate as well as the proxies that track these changes are discussed. The central message of the book is that general circulation models tested with geological data in an iterative 'ground truth' process provide the best estimates of the Earth's ancient climate.

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The Importance of Deep-Time Geologic Records for Understanding Climate Change Impacts

The Board on Earth Sciences and Resources is commencing a study to define the priority research required to better understand the contribution of the geologic record towards an improved understanding of climate processes – the statement of task for the committee is articulated in the Spring 2007 GeoSystems Newsletter (available here). We seek suggestions for appropriate members for the study committee; as always, a sentence or two describing the area of specialty for nominees would be most welcome.The expertise that we seek for the committee will need to be appropriately balanced between those who investigate the younger parts of the geologic record where earth system proxies are easier to 'read', and those who investigate the older parts where the proxies are more poorly defined but the record archives radically different paleoclimate states. We will be considering experts working outside the US. Please send nominations to Dr. David Feary (dfeary@nas.edu).

Future Opportunities in GeoSystems

Ultimately, the surest path to development of the GeoSystems effort will be successful proposals and examples of GeoSystems research that target hypotheses valuable to honing our understanding of Earth’s climate system. In addition to the paleoclimate focus, what project attributes contribute to the GeoSystems vision? Research that is hypothesis driven and transdisciplinary, and that includes (1) high temporal, spatial, or proxy resolution, (2) integration of surface and subsurface records, (3) numerical modeling targeting model-data integration and comparisons, (4) proxy application and development, (5) geochronology, (6) education and outreach.

In addition to encouraging the community to propose and conduct science with the GeoSystems vision, additional possibilities for future efforts include (1) solicitation of papers for a special issue or special publication that showcases research in the GeoSystems vein, and (2) short-courses at annual meetings that focus on GeoSystems subjects (e.g. climate proxies, quantitative modeling), particularly aimed at students.

Cretaceous Climate and Ocean Dynamics

The Cretaceous Climate and Ocean Dynamics web site is an outgrowth of the JOI-USSSP funded workshop held in July, 2002, in Florissant, Colorado. Its purpose is to provide a forum for the exchange of information on meetings of interest to the Cretaceous paleoclimate community, publications and future drilling objectives. For more information click here.