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Madelyn J. Mette, PhD
Paleoclimatology - Oceanography - Sclerochronology
Marine Paleoclimate in northern Norway
MARINE PALEOCLIMATE IN NORTHERN NORWAY
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES​ - Develop multicentennial, annual- to decadal-resolved shell growth rate and geochemical records from shallow and deep waters to reconstruct hydrographic variability of the Norwegian Coastal Current and North Atlantic Current across major climate transitions of the recent past.​​
STUDY SITE​ - Ingøya is located in coastal northern Norway at the southern edge of the Barents Sea at a latitude of 71​°N. This location is within the Arctic, however, due to the influence of the North Atlantic Current and atmospheric weather patterns across the North Atlantic Ocean, the climate here is warmer than regions at similar latitudes around the northern hemisphere.
THE PROXY - Arctica islandica​​ is a marine bivalve that can live up to ~500 years. Shells of this species contain useful paleoclimate proxies because they exhibit annual growth markers, much like tree-rings, enabling a precise chronology to be assigned to increment widths and geochemical signatures.
OTHER WORK​​ - Collaborators from Bates College (Maine, USA), NIOZ (Netherlands), and Akvaplan-niva (Tromsø, Norway) are actively involved in projects investigating the sea level history of the region since the last glacial period as well as better understanding the biology of Arctica islandica through growth experiments, environmental monitoring, and bioenergetic modeling.
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This work was primarily funded by NSF grants #1417636 and #1417766
and Research Council of Norway project #227046.
ASSOCIATED PUBLICATIONS AND DATA
Mette, M.J., Wanamaker Jr., A.D., Carroll, M., Ambrose, W.G., Retelle, M.G., 2016. Linking large-scale climate variability with Arctica islandica shell growth and geochemistry in northern Norway. Limnology and Oceanography 61, 748–764. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/lno.10252.
Mette et al., 2018 shell growth and oxygen isotope chronology stored at NOAA paleoclimate database
Marine paleoclimate in southern iceland
NORTHEAST ATLANTIC OTOLITH
AND BIVALVE CHRONOLOGIES
This work is related to my former position as a Postdoctoral Researcher at NORCE in Bergen, Norway. The project seeks to assess long-term cod stock dynamics by developing records from bivalves and otoliths near two of the largest cod stocks in the world, in Iceland and the Arcto-Norwegian regions. Bivalve sclerochronologies will provide long-term temperature reconstructions for these locations.
Methods in isotope sclerochrolog
METHODS IN ISOTOPE SCLEROCHRONOLOGY
Ongoing work explores proxy development for a variety of methods. Replication and isotopic variability among proxy sensors is an important consideration for paleoclimate reconstructions. This includes exploration of naturally sourced variability (i.e., environmental variability, biological effects, etc), and human-sourced variability (i.e., analytical precision, sampling error, etc). Better understanding and improving methods in isotope sclerochronology can improve proxy models and provide better estimates of proxy uncertainty, contributing to higher quality paleoclimate reconstructions.
ASSOCIATED PUBLICATIONS AND DATA
Mette, M.J., Whitney, N.M., Ballew, J., Wanamaker Jr., A.D., 2018. Unexpected variability in biogenic aragonite: A user issue or proxy problem? Chemical Geology 483, 286-294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2018.02.027
Seeking new collabrations
SEEKING NEW COLLABORATIONS
I am open to new collaborations for placing paleoclimate records into context, developing statistical and laboratory methods in sclerochronology, and exploring new questions related to high resolution marine paleoclimatology over various timescales. Please contact me if you are interested in collaborating on new or existing projects.
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