AN INTERHEMISPHERIC TRANSECT

METHODS

Field work

Together with available information, including the sparse previous scientific documentation, each island will be carefully studied for optimal planning of the field work.

Mainly three types of field work are planned for the proposed project, 1) coring and sampling of lake sediments and peat deposits, 2) mapping and description of glacigenic features and opening up sections for logging and sampling, and 3) sampling of plants for macrofossil and pollen reference collections, sediment surface and peat samples, water samples, as well as local rock samples for the understanding of lake sediment composition and its sources.

Laboratory analyses

Dating: The type of laboratory work will clearly vary between the different types of deposits, but a key component for all will be the age control. The 14C method will be the main dating tool, and in order to create reliable and detailed enough chronologies large sets of 14C dates will be necessary. 14C dates on peat are usually reliable, as is the case with lake sediments in regions with volcanic rocks, so we envisage that the dating of organic sediments will be fairly unproblematic. We do, however, also hope that any glacial deposits found on the Azores, Tristan de Cunha/Nightingale Island and Gough Island may contain dateable organic debris.