What was wildfire activity like in Bellingham 56 million years ago?
Research Mentor(s)
Camilo Ponton
Description
Wildfire regimes are expected to change, with wildfires increasing in frequency and severity as climate changes in the Pacific Northwest (Halofsky et al., 2020). To better understand the effect of warming climate on wildfires, I propose to reconstruct a paleo-wildfire regime during the Paleocene-Eocene, a period of past global warming. The Chuckanut Formation is a late Paleocene to late Eocene sedimentary deposit with a robust paleobotanical record (Breedlovestrout et al., 2013) showing the existence of subtropical forests in northwest Washington. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are molecules produced during incomplete combustion of biomass that readily preserve in the sedimentary record (Lima et al., 2005) and are used to reconstruct past wildfires. I expect to see an increase in PAHs in the Paleocene compared to the late Eocene, because warmer climate and denser forests would provide ample fuel to burn and increase the severity and frequency of wildfires.
Document Type
Event
Start Date
May 2022
End Date
May 2022
Location
SMATE Library (Bellingham, Wash.)
Department
Geology
Genre/Form
student projects; posters
Type
Image
Rights
Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
What was wildfire activity like in Bellingham 56 million years ago?
SMATE Library (Bellingham, Wash.)
Wildfire regimes are expected to change, with wildfires increasing in frequency and severity as climate changes in the Pacific Northwest (Halofsky et al., 2020). To better understand the effect of warming climate on wildfires, I propose to reconstruct a paleo-wildfire regime during the Paleocene-Eocene, a period of past global warming. The Chuckanut Formation is a late Paleocene to late Eocene sedimentary deposit with a robust paleobotanical record (Breedlovestrout et al., 2013) showing the existence of subtropical forests in northwest Washington. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are molecules produced during incomplete combustion of biomass that readily preserve in the sedimentary record (Lima et al., 2005) and are used to reconstruct past wildfires. I expect to see an increase in PAHs in the Paleocene compared to the late Eocene, because warmer climate and denser forests would provide ample fuel to burn and increase the severity and frequency of wildfires.
