Long-term dynamics of high latitude Eurasian climate subsystems during the middle and late Pleistocene: investigating indicators from Central Asian piedmont loess deposits

• Applicant: Dr. Amin Ghafarpour, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Physical Geography ; Soil Sciences ; Geology ; Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 574145665

My proposal will investigate evidence for past variability of one of the least well-understood components of the Eurasian climate subsystem – the high-latitude Siberian high-pressure system and the latitudinally dynamic polar jet streams. Evidence for temporal changes in these systems, and their interactions with the adjacent mid-latitude westerlies and the tropical Asian and Indian monsoons, is preserved within thick deposits of aeolian (wind-transported) loess along the Central Asian piedmonts. This proposal will systematically investigate the indicators of change using a range of both novel and established techniques, with a particular focus on provenance analysis and environmental magnetism to reconstruct sediment sources and past environmental conditions.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants