The Madison-Hills Paleoecology Project ("MPEP")

Introduction

The MPEP is a privately funded endeavor that will drill and sample the layers of soft sediment that have accumulated in the deepest part of Big Pea Porridge Pond ("BPPP") in Madison, New Hampshire during the past +/- 14,000 years. The purpose of the work is to scientifically analyze, technically describe/catalogue, and radiocarbon/proxy date these progressively deposited materials to establish the ecologic change-sequence history of the Pond's basin since the departure of the last ice sheet. The work described above will begin in late January or early February 2008 and be completed by late Spring or Summer 2008.

Scientific Basis of the MPEP

Lake-bottom sediments represent the most continuously detailed records of post-glacial (Pleistocene to Holocene) climate and environmental change available, and such records provide the best long term context for the dramatic physical and biological/ecological changes that have occurred during what has become to be known as the "Anthropocene" period (time since the beginning of extensive human habitation).

Who's Involved

The scientific staff of MPEP includes the following individuals, all of whom are donating their professional expertise to the project:

P. Thompson Davis, Ph.D., Dept. of Natural & Applied Sciences, Bentley College.
Brian Fowler, Quaternary Scientist, Project Director.
Lee Pollock, Ph.D., Dept. of Biology, Drew University.
Lisa Doner, Ph.D., Center for the Environmental, Plymouth State University



Thursday, January 5, 2012

Update

It's been a while since news has been posted here, so I thought it time to do so. In fact, it's way past time; the last post was in 2009 (!). Sorry...

Our project is still underway with work being complete in the labs at Plymouth State and in the labs of Beta Analytical, where our last 3 carbon-14 dates are being processed for us. We hope to have these results by months end (1/12), and I promise that I'll get them posted asap aftr I receive them. Thereafter, and after the rest of the lab work is complete, work will begin on another professional publication of our results. Portions of that will appear here as they become available.

Meantime, longtime Pond-resident Connie Brown is publishing a book about the history of the Pond in the next couple of months. That book will include the first layman's summary of climatic information for the Pond basin. So, keep an eye out for its availability, and we'll be "back here on the blog" soon.

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