Holocene Climate in Coastal Peru: Potential Implications for Climate Dynamics during the Hypsithermal Period

This pilot study will analyze stable isotopes in planktic foraminifera in sediment cores off the coast of Peru for the Holocene interval. In many regions of the world the early Holocene is believed to have been a time of warmer-than modern temperatures. Data derived from Peruvian middens give conflicting evidence as to whether this period was somewhat warmer or cooler than today. The foraminiferal data should provide a record of sea surface temperatures and seasonal upwelling along coastal Peru throughout the Holocene, including the period of human coastal settlement