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Reconstructing the History of El Niño from Galapagos Lakes Julian Sachs and Rienk Smittenberg

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Reconstructing the History of El Niño from Galapagos Lakes Julian Sachs and Rienk Smittenberg Also in this issue: 3 MER Experience 5 The Journey To The Deep Interior Of The Earth From MIT 10 Seminar Honors Nafi Toksoz EAPSpeaks Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology Reconstructing the History of El Niño from Galapagos Lakes Julian Sachs and Rienk Smittenberg The largest perturbation to global climate on an inter- cial conditions. Focusing on Holocene variability of ENSO annual time scale is the El Niño-Southern Oscillation provides a similarly contradictory set of conclusions. (ENSO). Surface water temperatures (SST) rise in the Straddling 0° latitude in the cold tongue of the EEP, Eastern Equatorial Pacifi c (EEP) when the upwelling of the Galapagos are ideally positioned to record varia- cool, nutrient-rich water diminishes. Fish stocks plum- tions in ENSO through time. Lakes on the islands serve met and birds and mammals perish, causing widespread as fi xed sampling stations of the eastern Pacifi c marine ecologic and economic disruptions. Global precipitation climate. Aridity of the Galapagos is caused by the atmo- patterns are altered, causing drought in normally wet spheric inversion that results from upwelling of cold wa- locations and torrential rains in desert regions. Will El ter. This prevents the establishment of convection cells that should otherwise bring rain to a tropical oceanic island. Only in the December to February period, when the “meteorological equator” moves to its most souther- ly position, does the inversion collapse, bringing rain. In some years, however, the encroachment of surface water from the west thickens the surface layer and removes deeper cold water from the upwelling system, SSTs rise, intensifying tropical convection cells. The prolonged tor- rential rains that result from this, the meteorologist’s El Niño, leave clear proxy records in sediments. Comparison of the records of inferred water level variations in El Junco Lake on the Galapagos island of San Cristobal, reconstructed fl ood deposits in Laguna Figure 1 Research team members (left to right), Paul Colinvaux, Miriam Pallacocha, a high Ecuadorian Andes lake, and SST Steinitz-Kannan, Julian Sachs, Rienk Smittenberg (kneeling), Mike Miller. Please see Box 1 for reconstructions in the Warm Pool of the WEP and the information about each participant. Cold Tongue of the EEP provides three distinctly dif- Niños become more intense and/or frequent in response ferent pictures of ENSO history. The majority of these to global warming? Presently we do not know. Predic- paleoclimate studies are hampered by their reliance on tions range from a signifi cant strengthening of El Niño a single proxy and/or a single site. The results from Gen- and/or an increase in its frequency (Collins, 2000a; eral Circulation Models for climate have been similarly Timmermann et al., 1999), to no effect or even weaken- diverse, with studies using various models supporting ing (Collins, 2000b; Fedorov & Philander, 2000). Paleocli- one or another of the conclusions based on proxy data. matic data required to evaluate these models are scarce [See the EAPS webpage <http://eapsweb.mit.edu/news/ and contradict each other. index.shtml> for a more detailed discussion that includes Recent SST and salinity estimates in the eastern a fi gure with representative proxy records.] equatorial Pacifi c (EEP) and western Equatorial Pacifi c Thus, last year several people came together [See (WEP) conclude that El Niños were more intense under Box 1 and Figure 1] to do something about this problem, glacial relative to Holocene conditions. This conclusion and on September 1st 2004 we arrived at San Cristobal, is diametrically opposed to that reached in an analysis of Galapagos to get sediment cores from El Junco Lake Papua New Guinea-coral 18O/16O-records which indicate [Figure 2] which we hope will contain the El Niño history intensifi ed and/or more frequent El Niños under intergla- of the entire last glacial cycle (150,000 years). During continued on page 8 EAPSpeaks | Vol. 1 No. 1 | http://eapsweb.mit.edu | 1 | Contents Features Dear Alumni/ae and Friends of EAPS Cover Story In my discussions with alumni/ae since becoming Department Head of EAPS 1 Reconstructing the History of a year and a half ago, I was surprised and impressed with the level of interest El Nino from Galapagos Lakes in what our Department is up to and where we’re headed. This newsletter by Julian Sachs is an attempt to respond to that interest and it is my hope to convey some representative snapshots of the many activities that have made EAPS such 3 MER Experience an exciting place to study and work during the past year. Let me thank our by Doug Jerolmack Education Coordinator, Vicki McKenna, and Administrative Assistant Jacqui Taylor for their considerable efforts in making this newsletter happen. 5 Journey to the Deep Interior Research in EAPS spans from the deep interior of the Earth to the depths of the Earth from MIT of space, as discussed in articles by faculty member Dan Shim and graduate by Sang-Heon Dan Shim student Doug Jerolmack. Our research and educational activities in weather and climate are exemplifi ed in articles by undergraduate Christine Wood and 10 Seminar Honors Nafi Toksoz faculty member Julian Sachs. In addition, Dan Burns reports on a tremen- by John C. Danforth dously successful symposium held last spring to honor faculty member Nafi Toksöz. 16 EAPS’ Weather Forcasting Team You may be interested to hear that EAPS will soon be getting some much needed space to accommodate our evolving research and education efforts. by Eaps Staff and Faculty The Department has obtained a fl oor and a half of Building E25 and we will be vacating Building E34. The Earth Resources Laboratory, currently residing in E34, will return to the Green Building, and our faculty who use wet labs Departments will relocate to the top fl oor of E25. I’ll report more on these developments in the future. Finally, let me thank all of you for your continued interest in and support of the Department. Please feel free to stop by for a visit if your travels bring 2 Letter from the Department Head you to the Boston area. Maria T. Zuber With warm wishes, 7 Undergraduate Student Awards Maria Zuber 12 Degrees Awarded 17 Faculty Notes 28 Faculty and Graduate Student Awards EAPSpeaks is published annually by the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at MIT and is distributed to members, alumni/ae and friends of the Department. Please Diamond Anvil (pg 5) Survey Team (Cover, pg 8) send any pertinent information or requests to Only the diamond-anvil cell can generate and hold the Will El Niños become more intense and/or Ms. Jacqui Taylor. pressures of the Earth’s lower mantle. frequent in response to global warming? Postal Mail to: 54-918, 77 Massachusetts Aveune MIT, Cambridge, MA, 02139 E-Mail to: [email protected] EAPSpeaks | Vol. 1 No. 1 | http://eapsweb.mit.edu | 3 | MER Experience Douglas Jerolmack With contributions by David Fike and Wes Watters Although the principle focus of differ from Earth, the fundamental spherules are weathering out of this the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) physical principles developed in bedrock. Behind these spherules are mission is to search for physical terrestrial research should be protected ‘wind shadows’, where and chemical evidence of water on applicable to Mars. Working with bedrock has not been eroded as the surface of Mars, modifi cation Professors David Mohrig and Maria effi ciently. As bedrock erosion is a of the landscape by aeolian (wind) Zuber, and Post-doctoral Researcher slow process, these spherule ‘tails’ processes has created enigmatic Shane Byrne, I have used topogra- may be used to infer the long-term erosional and depositional features phy and image data from satellites wind direction, and possibly the that have captured the attention of orbiting Mars to study large-scale direction to major sediment sources. mission scientists. Considering that sedimentary deposits that were Active sediment transport has not postulated aquatic environments formed by water. The data required been observed by Opportunity, and disappeared billions of years ago, to apply many techniques of it is not known whether the forma- Jumping for Joy the dominant agent sculpting the sedimentology to martian landscape tion of plains ripples and the erosion in the Mojave Desert to martian surface since that time has evolution, however, have not been of bedrock is an ongoing process, or scout the area for fea- been wind. Interpretation of water available until the MER mission. The if these features refl ect an ancient, tures that might serve processes at rover landing sites unprecedented detail afforded by blustery wind regime that is no as an analogue for the requires deconvolving water-lain high resolution imaging from the longer present. One observable intriguing coarse-grained deposits and aeolian features. It is rovers allows analysis of shape, example of sediment transport at ripples that we observed in this context that professor John grain size and spectral properties of the Meridiani site is from satellite at Meridiani. Grotzinger invited me to participate aeolian features, which are crucial imaging, which reveals that bright for interpreting formative wind streaks of airfall dust present conditions and soil composition. around the rims of some craters are Meridiani Planum, the landing site reoriented by the winds associated for the rover Opportunity, appeared with large dust storms. The move- as a nearly featureless plain from ment of dust implies that larger orbit. The view from the surface is sand grains may also be mobilized quite different however, as Oppor- during dust storms. The continu- tunity has discovered a wealth of ing health of the Mars rovers raises intriguing wind-formed features.
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