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Olivia Walker
post Jun 22 2006, 05:04 AM
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What kinds of pollen are you going to be studying on the trip?
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Misty_Nikula_Ohlsen
post Jun 28 2006, 04:23 AM
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Olivia
My understanding is that the researchers, called palynologists, that study pollen do so by getting what is called a core sample from lakes and then look at the layers of pollen that have been deposited in the lake over time. The core is kind of like sticking a straw into some modeling clay so the clay gets into the straw then cutting open the straw and looking at what clay came out from the inside. The palynologists get a core from a lake bed and they look at the pollen in the mud layers. Because there is different amounts of pollen at different times of the year (people only have "hay fever" in the Spring and Summer, for example) they can count back the layers with lots of pollen to find out the number of years - similar to rings on a tree. Then they look at the pollen itself to see what kinds of plants it is from. Trees, grasses and flowers have pollen that looks different. By looking at what kinds of pollen and plants are most common at different times in the past they can make guesses about what the climate must have been. If it was really cold then different kinds of plants grow then when it is really hot, or wet, or dry. That way they can decipher a story about the climate in the past with the pollen.
Stay tuned - this is just what I know (or think I know) now. I will fill you a LOT more about how we do this and what we find this summer!
Mrs. N-O
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