Past climate extremes in the North (PACE)

This research consortium studies past climate and environmental changes and gives further understanding for future anthropogenic and natural change in the coming centuries. The focus is on relatively fast and important climatic and environmental transition periods in the Mid-Miocene, Mid-Pliocene and in the Late Pleistocene up to recent times in the northern European arctic and subarctic areas. The project will establish those important boundary conditions that constrain our understanding of the Arctic and its role in global climate change. These extremes are highly relevant to predictions of our future climate in the Northern regions. Research activities are divided into three subprojects. The projects were also partially Finnish contributions to the International Polar Year 2007–2008 activities.

Subproject 1
Evolution and fate of the cryosphere – Nordaustlandet, Svalbard

The main focus of field work has been in Vestfonna, Nordaustlandet, Svalbard. The IPY project includes several foci spanning human influences and global change, with particular emphasis on monitoring present biological and cryospheric properties of the island ice mass, tundra and station environments. Our focus has been on evaluating the present state of the ice cap, especially in comparison with data collected in the IGY 1957, in making models of the future ice cap evolution under anthropogenic warming, and obtaining a detailed record of the last few hundred/thousand years from ice coring.

Main objectives of the subproject are
(1) to study glacio-dynamical extreme focusing on ice sheet instability and dynamics.
(2) to study the dynamics of Vestfonna ice cap and model its evolution from the glacial to the present climate.
(3) to attempt to understand the climate and ice regimes of the past in lower latitudes.
(4) to understand the last millennial of climatic variability over Svalbard at annual resolution by ice coring Vestfonna Ice Cap.
(5) to model Nordaustlandet’s glacial evolution.

Subproject 2
Onset and decay of last cold stage in northern Fennoscandia and adjacent areas

Subproject 2 focuses on the environmental changes in northern Fennoscandia and NW Russia during the past 130 000 years. Research aims will be achieved through sedimentological bioststratigaphical and geochronological studies carried out with multidisciplinary research group under the umbrella of the APEX initiative.

Main objectives of the subproject are
(1) to study cold extreme focusing onset and decay of terrestrial glacial maxima.
(2) to research the environmental and climatic shifts from the last interglacial (Eem) to the last Weichselian cold stage at around 115 ka in northern Fennoscandia and NW Russia.
(3) to study marked climatic and environmental variations within and at the end of the Weichselian cold stage between time periods of 115–10 ka in northern Fennoscandia and the White Sea basin area.

Subproject 3
Global warming periods in the Arctic Ocean

Research relates to past global climate and environmental changes with a special emphasis on high latitude regions, especially the Arctic Ocean sediment record. The major task has been in studying the onset of Cenozoic glaciations and Plio-Pleistocene ice-sheet evolution in high latitude areas by looking both hemispheres. In the Arctic Ocean, especially clay and heavy minerals as well as quartz sand grain microtextures are studied from marine sediments drilled on the Yermak Plateau during ODP Leg 151 and Lomonosov Ridge during IODP Expedition 302 ACEX and Arctic Ocean -96 expedition (core 96/12-1pc). These sediments are studied to understand sources of sediments and function of iceberg and sea-ice transportation in Arctic Ocean in response of climate change and ice-sheet evolution during glacial and interglacials.

Main objectives of the subproject are
(1) to study warm extremes, interglacial environments and intensification of glaciations from the Arctic Ocean sediment record.
(2) to study ice-sheet evolution and global climatic history since Mid-Miocene i.e. last 18 Ma years by drilling sediments in polar setting.
(3) to understand sources of sediments and functions of iceberg and sea-ice transportation in Arctic Ocean in response of climate change.

(4) to study sea-level change and its mechanisms by drilling sediments e.g. related to the New Jersey Shallow Shelf sediment record (IODP Expedition 313).

Recent publications of the consortium as a pdf-file.

Project personnel

Subproject 1

Project leader, Professor John Moore, College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University jmoore[at]ulapland.fi

Prof. Paavo Perämäki, Dept of Chemistry, Univ. of Oulu

Dr Thomas Zwinger, (CSC-IT Center for Science Ltd., Espoo, Finland)

Dr Martina Schafer (Participant from the Arctic Centre)

PhD Emilie Beaudon (Participant from the Arctic Centre)

Subproject 2
Project leader, Professor Juha Pekka Lunkka, Institute of Geosciences, Univ. of Oulu

Dr Antti Ojala, Geological Survey of Finland, Espoo
Prof. Philip Gibbard, Dept of Geography, Univ. of Cambridge, UK
Dr Andrew Murray, Nordic Laboratory for Luminescence Dating, Univ. of Aarhus, Denmark.

Dr Antti Pasanen, Geological Survey of Finland, Kokkola

PhD student Niko Putkinen, Geological Survey of Finland, Kokkola and Institute of Geosciences, Univ. of Oulu

MSc student Pasi Tikkanen, Institute of Geosciences, Univ. of Oulu

MSc student Vilma-Lotta Tallgren, Institute of Geosciences, Univ. of Oulu

Subproject 3
Project leader, Research Professor Kari Strand, Thule Institute, Univ. of Oulu
Prof., Jan Backman, Dept of Geology and Geochemistry, Univ. of Stockholm
Prof., Martin Jakobsson, Dept of Geology and Geochemistry, Univ. of Stockholm
Prof., Ludvik Löwemark, Dept of Geology and Geochemistry, Univ. of Stockholm
Postdoctoral researcher, Juha Köykkä, Thule Institute, Univ. of Oulu
PhD student, Ninna Immonen, Dept of Geology, Univ. of Oulu
PhD student, Henna Valppu, Dept of Physical Sciences, Univ. of Oulu
Dr., Juho Junttila, Dept of Geology, Univ. of Tromsø
Dr., Jarkko Lamminen, Dept of Geology, Univ. of Oslo
MSc, Jonna Poikolainen, Dept of Geology, Univ. of Oulu
MSc student, Juha Salmela, Dept of Geology, Univ. of Oulu
MSc student, Heather Tessier, Dept of Geology, Univ. of Oulu
Student trainee, Riina Kaikkonen, Dept of Geology, Univ. of Oulu

Links to related pages
Professor John Moore's homepage

Change and variability of Arctic Systems Nordaustlandet, Svalbard – "Kinnvika"

APEX

Arctic Coring Expedition (IODP Exp 302)
New Jersey Shallow Self (IODP Exp 313)