Andreas Massling, Senior Researcher, department of Environmental Science, has received funding from Aarhus University, Faculty of Science and Technology – Program: Synergetic activities for a pilot project together with three other AU departments: Bioscience, Chemistry, Geoscience. Total budget 496,000 DKK.

The project "Annual growth ring studies of climate and pollution changes in Greenland (AnnuCliP)" aims to test the use of annual growth rings of Greenlandic bushes for the reconstruction of climate and environment over the past 200 years.

This pilot project among other will explore the extent to which (i) wood anatomy and (ii) oxygen, carbon and sulfur isotopes can be used to reconstruct not only temperature variation but also other climatic variables (e.g. rainfall) or pollution.

The project will also test (ii) whether the existence of pollutants in the growth rings allows investigation changes in the influx of pollutants over time. The project will specifically focus on establishing relationships for the last 10-20 years from sites with well-established climate and pollutant time series.

We will specifically focus on St. Nord (NE Greenland, Villum Research Station), which represents a remote area (though affected by long-range transported pollution of so-called Arctic haze in the late winter and early spring months) and Nuuk (SW Greenland), a southern site with greater local human influence, respectively.

For further information please contact  Andreas Massling at anma@envs.au.dk