Reconstruction of past UV-B: py GC MS analysis of pollen grains, moss spores and macrofossil plant remainders of peat cores from the subantarctic Marion Island

The ALW/NWO funded project UVANTARCTIC aims at reconstruction of past UV climate by py GC MS analysis of UV-B absorbing compounds in pollen grains and spores of subantarctic and Antarctic peat cores. Peat cores have been drilled at Signy Island and the Falkland Islands. Peat core drilling at the subantarctic Island of South Georgia has only incompletely been possible. Research cooperation with Dr Bas van Geel , Dr Dimitry Mauquoy and Dr Dan Yeloff allows sampling of pollen, spores and macrofossil plant remainders of peat cores already collected and palynologically analysed and C-14 dated at the subantarctic Island of Marion (Mauquoy et al. submitted).With this opportunity of directly available fossil pollen grains, spores and macrofossil plant remaindersof a subantarctic island, the climatic gradient from the Antarctic-Subantartic becomes complete. The age of the core is about 5000 years.This VUA-UvA cooperative research projects requests funding for analytical and technical consumables necessary for the sampling of pollen grains, spores and macrofossil plant remainders from the peat cores and the pyrolysis GC-MS chemical analysis.