Paleoclimatic Variation in the Valley of Guatemala during Precolumbian Times

Magnetic Susceptibility Analysis

At the end of June, 2000, Dr. Brenner took the cores to the laboratory at Florida State University, Tallahassee, to run them through the Multi-Sensor Core Logger to determine the magnetic susceptibility profiles. This analysis should help reveal the sediment stratigraphy of the cores to correlate with the AMS carbon-14 dating.

Further funding is being sought for the analysis. The pollen content of the cores is currently being investigated by Dr. Barbara Leyden of the University of South Florida. Dr. Jason Curtis will analyze the samples for isotope ratios on microfossil (gastropods and ostracod) shells, the most critical indicators in tracing climatic change. His work will include an analysis of the geochemistry of the sediments, including evidence of vulcanism. We expect to have these results within the next few months so that, when correlated with the radiocarbon and magnetic susceptibility data, final conclusions can be drawn up and published.

Previous Page  |  Table of Contents  |  Next Page

Return to top of page