Cave deposits as archives of climate and environmental changes. A Center of Excellence in speleological research.
INSTITUTE OF SPELEOLOGY EMIL RACOVIȚĂ ·Romania
About this project
<p>The study of global climate changes is a topic of great scientific and public interest, promoted through international, European and national research programs. That present-day human activity contributes to global climate changes is generally acknowledged, although the extent of this contribution remains a matter of contention. The need for understanding the mechanisms that control present and future climate changes has triggered a revolution in geosciences because this understanding is based on the study of climate variability in the recent geological past. In this respect, understanding the causes of abrupt climate changes of the past, how these changes reflected over large areas and what effects they had to the biosphere and general landscape is a key to foreseeing future changes and their potential effects. This project aims at using a variety of cave and karst deposits from Romania for the paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental reconstructions with a focus on abrupt climate changes. Selected cave sites from Romania will be compared with cave sites from Norway, where abrupt cooling episodes in the past are known to cause cessation of deposition in caves due to permafrost formation and ice-sheet expansion.</p> <p>The project will establish a Center of Excellence in speleological research in Romania through the participation of three academic partners: the “Emil Racovita” Institute of Speleology, the LITHOS Research Centre, University of Bucharest, and the “Babes-Bolyai” University in Cluj-Napoca. The “KARSTHIVES” Centre will establish a long-term collaboration with the University of Bergen that shall strengthen the previous cooperation. The center will gather highly qualified researchers from fields such as geology, geochronology, palaeontology, geography, biology, physics, etc. and allow for financial and logistical resources to support a significant number of young MS and PhD students as well as young researchers at postdoctoral level.</p>
Bilateral cooperation results
The bilateral cooperation between the Norwegian partner and all three Romanian institutions has been already in place for more than 10 years. With this project it was strengthened by adding new sites for study in both countries, as well as new analytical avenues. It is worth mentioning that the project has contribute to enhance the infrastructure of the Cosmogenic Isotope Laboratory at the Norwegian partner.
Project partners
- University of Bergen Donor project partner· Norway
- University of Bucharest Project partner· Romania
- Babes Bolyai University Project partner· Romania