Cornell College

CORNELL COLLEGE HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND-INSTITUTIONAL AWARD

CORNELL COLLEGE CARES ACT EMERGENCY STUDENT FUND REQUEST

DIMENSIONS: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: DIVERSIFICATION DYNAMICS OF MULTITROPHIC INTERACTIONS IN TROPICAL COMMUNITIES

MENTORING STUDENTS TO SUCCESS IN STEM FIELDS

EFFICACY TRIAL OF A DISSONANCE BASED EATING DISORDER PROGRAM

RUI COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: UNTANGLING TROPICAL DIVERSITY: A PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF TRITROPHIC INTERACTIONS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: THE DRIVERS OF REGIONALLY COHERENT MERIDIONAL VARIABILITY ACROSS THE AUSTRALIAN AND ASIAN MONSOONS OVER THE COMMON ERA -THE EASTERN HEMISPHERE TROPICS AND SUBTROPICS ARE HIGHLY SENSITIVE TO VARIATIONS IN REGIONAL MONSOON PRECIPITATION, WHICH PROVIDES THE MAJORITY OF FRESHWATER FOR THE ~40% OF THE WORLD POPULATION WHO RESIDE THERE. UNDERSTANDING INTERANNUAL TO MULTIDECADAL VARIATIONS IN THE MONSOON IS CRITICAL FOR MANAGING WATER RESOURCES. THIS PROJECT WILL COMPILE DATA FROM CAVE DEPOSITS, CORALS AND TREE RINGS, AS WELL AS DEVELOP NEW RECORDS FROM CAVES IN THE PHILIPPINES AND NORTHERN AUSTRALIA, TO PRODUCE A RECONSTRUCTION OF THE BEHAVIOR OF THE AUSTRAL-ASIAN MONSOON FOR THE LAST 1000 YEARS. THIS RECONSTRUCTION WILL GUIDE A SET OF CLIMATE MODEL SIMULATIONS TO IDENTIFY THE DRIVERS OF MONSOON VARIABILITY. THE RESULTS WILL IMPROVE DECADAL PREDICTION THE AUSTRAL-ASIAN MONSOON. THE PROJECT WILL SUPPORT THE PARTICIPATION OF A POSTDOC AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN THE RESEARCH, AN ART-SCIENCE COLLABORATION, K-12 EDUCATION, AND PUBLIC OUTREACH TO PRIMARY AND SECONDARY STUDENTS IN IOWA, CALIFORNIA, NEW MEXICO AND NORTHERN AUSTRALIA. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO SYNTHESIZE EXISTING DATA FROM STALAGMITES, CORALS AND TREE RINGS WITH NEW CAVE RECORDS FROM THE PHILIPPINES AND NORTHERN AUSTRALIA TO RECONSTRUCT THE AUSTRAL-ASIAN MONSOON FOR THE LAST 1000 YEARS. THE RESULTING MULTI-PROXY RECONSTRUCTION WILL GUIDE A SUITE OF CLIMATE MODEL SIMULATIONS, INCLUDING LARGE ENSEMBLES AND ISOTOPE-ENABLED MODELS, TO IDENTIFY DRIVERS OF MONSOON VARIABILITY AND QUANTIFY THE RELATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS OF EXTERNAL (SOLAR, AEROSOL, GREENHOUSE GAS) AND INTERNAL (TROPICAL BASIN INTERACTIONS) FORCINGS. THE RESULTS WILL IMPROVE DECADAL PREDICTION THE AUSTRAL-ASIAN MONSOON. THE PROJECT WILL SUPPORT THE PARTICIPATION OF A POSTDOC AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN THE RESEARCH, AN ART-SCIENCE COLLABORATION, K-12 EDUCATION, AND PUBLIC OUTREACH TO PRIMARY AND SECONDARY STUDENTS IN IOWA, CALIFORNIA, NEW MEXICO AND NORTHERN AUSTRALIA. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

RUI: SG: FIELD AND LABORATORY TESTS OF PYROGENIC ORGANIC COMPOUNDS IN AUSTRALIAN STALAGMITES AS A NOVEL, HIGH-RESOLUTION PALEOFIRE PROXY -THE MASSIVE FIRES THAT BURNED ACROSS MANY PARTS OF AUSTRALIA IN 2019-2020 ARE PART OF A GLOBAL TREND. RISING TEMPERATURES, COUPLED IN SOME CASES WITH PROLONGED DROUGHTS AND FIRE SUPPRESSION EFFORTS, HAVE CREATED CONDITIONS CONDUCIVE TO UNUSUALLY INTENSE AND WIDESPREAD FIRES, INCLUDING ACROSS MANY PARTS OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. WHILE EXCEPTIONAL FOR THE CENTURY, IT IS UNCLEAR HOW UNUSUAL THIS FIRE ACTIVITY IS OVER LONG-TERM EARTH HISTORY. IN ORDER TO BETTER PLACE MODERN FIRE ACTIVITY INTO A LONGER-TERM CONTEXT, IT IS NECESSARY TO DEVELOP RECONSTRUCTIONS OF BURNING THAT OCCURRED PRIOR TO THE SATELLITE ERA (1979-PRESENT). RECORDS OF ANCIENT FIRE HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED FROM BURN SCARS ON TREE RINGS, FROM CHARCOAL IN LAKE SEDIMENTS, AND FROM FIRE-DERIVED COMPOUNDS DEPOSITED ON AND STORED IN GLACIAL ICE. IN TROPICAL NORTHWEST AUSTRALIA, IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO RECOVER SUCH DATA. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP METHODS TO RECOVER FIRE-DERIVED COMPOUNDS FROM STALAGMITES IN CAVES IN THAT REGION. RESULTS ARE EXPECTED TO PROVIDE A CLEARER UNDERSTANDING OF THE UTILITY OF STALAGMITES AS A NOVEL RECORD OF PAST BURNING, AND ALLOW ITS APPLICATION TO OTHER FIRE-PRONE REGIONS, INCLUDING THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT TRAINING. FIRE PLAYS A CRITICAL ROLE IN THE ECOLOGY OF THE TROPICS, BUT FUEL LOADS, SOURCES OF IGNITION, AND BACKGROUND CLIMATE CONDITIONS ARE OFTEN MARKEDLY DIFFERENT NOW THAN THEY WERE A CENTURY OR MORE AGO. ADDRESSING THE EXTENT TO WHICH FIRE REGIMES ARE CHANGING IS COMPLICATED BY THE SPARSITY OF HIGH-RESOLUTION, LONG-TERM RECORDS OF FIRE FREQUENCY AND INTENSITY SPANNING FAR BEYOND THE INSTRUMENTAL ERA. UNDERSTANDING THE FREQUENCY AND INTENSITY OF FIRE ACTIVITY PRIOR TO THE ARRIVAL OF EUROPEAN PASTORALISTS AND DURING INTERVALS OF CLIMATE DISTINCT FROM THE MODERN ERA (E.G, THE LITTLE ICE AGE: CE 1450- 1850) IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT FOR MANAGING CURRENT FIRES, ESTIMATING CASCADING EFFECTS OF FIRES ON PLANT AND ANIMAL DIVERSITY, AND MAINTAINING ECOSYSTEM RESILIENCY. THIS STUDY AIMS TO REFINE A NOVEL PALEOFIRE PROXY CAPABLE OF ADDRESSING THESE LIMITATIONS: PYROGENIC ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (INCLUDING POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS, PAHS) IN STALAGMITES. PREVIOUS RESEARCH BY THE PI AND COLLABORATORS HAS REVEALED THAT STALAGMITES FROM A TROPICAL AUSTRALIAN CAVE PRESERVE CHANGES IN THE TYPE AND ABUNDANCE OF PYROGENIC COMPOUNDS OVER TIME, WITH THESE SHIFTS CONSISTENT WITH RECENT FIRE ACTIVITY PROXIMAL TO THE CAVE. BURNING OF BIOMASS PRODUCES PAHS, WHICH ARE THEN TRANSPORTED INTO THE UNDERLYING CAVE BY MONSOON RAINS, AND INCORPORATED INTO STALAGMITES AS THEY CRYSTALLIZE FROM DRIPWATER. WHILE THESE RESULTS ARE EXTREMELY PROMISING, THE BIOCHEMICAL AND HYDROLOGICAL MECHANICS OF THE CAVE SYSTEM NEED TO BE FURTHER SCRUTINIZED BEFORE THIS METHOD CAN BE APPLIED MORE WIDELY. TOWARD THAT END, THE PI AND COLLABORATORS WILL PERFORM FIELD AND LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS: (I) MEASUREMENTS OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS SUCH AS PAHS IN SOIL AND CAVE DRIPWATER PRIOR TO, IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING, AND A YEAR AFTER A PRESCRIBED BURN OVER THE CAVE SITE, (II) REPLICATION OF PYROGENIC ORGANIC COMPOUND DISTRIBUTIONS IN A COEVAL STALAGMITE SAMPLE, AND (III) COMPARISON OF THE PALEOFIRE SIGNALS IN A 20TH CENTURY STALAGMITE TO REMOTE SENSING DATA AND RECORDS OF FIRE DERIVED FROM HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS. THIS WORK WILL ALSO PROVIDE TRAINING TO SEVERAL UNDERGRADUATES AT CORNELL COLLEGE IN FIELD AND LABORATORY METHODS, A CRITICAL STEP IN ADVANCING THEIR CAREERS AS SCIENTISTS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

RUI: P2C2--ASSESSING THE INFLUENCE OF EXTREME RAINFALL EVENTS ON AUSTRALIAN STALAGMITE RECONSTRUCTIONS OF TROPICAL CYCLONE LANDFALLS AND THE INDO-AUS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: P2C2--EVALUATING THE ORIGINS OF MULTIDECADAL VARIABILITY IN LATE HOLOCENE INDIAN SUMMER MONSOON RAINFALL IN NEPAL

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: P2C2--RECONSTRUCTING HOLOCENE DYNAMICS OF THE INDO-PACIFIC TROPICAL RAIN BELT USING AUSTRALIAN STALAGMITES AND COUPLED CLIMAT

RUI: P2C2--RECONSTRUCTION OF RECENT AND LATE HOLOCENE TROPICAL CYCLONE LANDFALLS IN NORTHWESTERN AUSTRALIA USING FLOOD DEPOSITS IN ARAGONITE STALAGMI

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: P2C2--BRIDGING THE GAP FROM NORTHERN IBERIA TO NORTHWEST AFRICA TO RECONSTRUCT ATMOSPHERIC DYNAMICS AND HYDROCLIMATE FOR THE LAST 2,500 YEARS

EAGER: DEVELOPMENT OF A HIGH-RESOLUTION, MULTI-CENTURY PALEO-FIRE RECONSTRUCTION FROM TROPICAL AUSTRALIAN STALAGMITES

NEH ENDURING QUESTIONS COURSE ON "WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRADITION AND INNOVATION?"

ASSESSING THE VIABILITY OF PRISTINE FOSSIL CORALS FROM THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC AS INDICATORS OF ENSO AT THE MIOCENE/PLIOCENE BOUNDARY

CORNELL COLLEGE ARCHIVES POST-DERECHO PRESERVATION ASSESSMENT

CORNELL COLLEGE ARCHIVES POST-DERECHO PRESERVATION EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES [IN 2021, THE CORNELL ARCHIVES WAS AWARDED AN NEH PRESERVATION ASSISTANCE GRANT FOR A PRESERVATION ASSESSMENT OF THE PHYSICAL COLLECTION AND A SURVEY OF DIGITAL NEEDS. THE IMPETUS FOR THAT GRANT APPLICATION WAS THE DERECHO OF 2020, A FEDERALLY DECLARED DISASTER WHICH DAMAGED EVERY BUILDING ON CAMPUS, INCLUDING THE LIBRARY. BASED ON THE CONSULTANT?S RECOMMENDATIONS, THIS ROUND OF FUNDING WILL SUPPORT PHYSICAL PRESERVATION WITH ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING EQUIPMENT; FLOODING SENSORS TO FORESTALL WATER INFILTRATION SUCH AS THE ARCHIVES SUFFERED IN 2020; STORAGE SHELVING AND EQUIPMENT FOR CURRENTLY UNHOUSED ARTWORK, GLASS NEGATIVES, AND OTHER MATERIALS; AND VARIOUS PRESERVATION SUPPLIES. THIS FUNDING WILL COMPLEMENT OTHER INITIATIVES RESULTING FROM THIS CONSULTATION INCLUDING POLICY UPDATES AND THE PURSUIT OF OTHER FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES. FOLLOWING COMPLETION OF THIS PHASE OF THE PROJECT, CORNELL WILL SEEK FUTURE FUNDING FOR TRAINING AND EQUIPMENT RELATED TO DIGITAL PRESERVATION.]