Coal - the ice core of the warm past: using the natural coal archive on Svalbard to initiate a flagship for palaeoclimate research

The Paleocene coals from the Firkanten Formation, Svalbard represent a globally important record of environmental change. Like ice cores and deep marine drillings, coal (ancient peat) represents a relatively undisturbed environment from which geochemical signatures of climate change can be extracted. High resolution inorganic geochemical data from coal seams are known to possibly record circulation patterns, dust deposition rates, (atmospheric nutrient supply), wildfires, provenance and its response to changing climate (Marshall et al., 2016). Geochemical palaeoclimate data from undisturbed records form the backbone of earth system models representing different climate conditions than today. Such models are the tools for quantifying and understanding the biogeochemical cycle, tipping points and feedback in a world with higher CO2 level in the atmosphere than present. The aim of the pilot project is to 1) confirm and further develop the potential for using the Svalbard coal seams as a high-resolution climate archive, 2) to coordinate sampling of reference material for present and future studies, 3) to take first steps towards creating facilities for an international level research infrastructure for palaeoclimate studies on coal at UNIS and 4) develop cooperation with the Russian scientific community. The pilot project will have two major outcomes: 1) High impact research results, providing data for high-resolution palaeoclimate models, which will be published in international scientific journals and form the basis for larger grant proposals with interdisciplinary participants. 2) A high-resolution coal sample archive turning natural assets of Svalbard and currently existing infrastructure into an international level research resource, with no environmental impact.