New geochemical approach to reconstruct tropical palaeo-atmospheric dynamics (PALADYN)

The global climate has always demonstrated natural patterns of change. The tropics are of particular interest as forests not only affect climate but are affected by it. Understanding past patterns in tropical climate changes is a prerequisite to quantifying how human activity is affecting it. More accurate models are desperately needed, requiring innovative reconstructions of the tremendous period of time prior to satellites and data-recording. PALADYN is filling the gap using largely untapped natural recorders of climate variability – wind-borne pyrogenic carbon from tropical fires now present in marine sediments. Better models could help shed light on increasingly extreme weather conditions, particularly flooding and wildfires.