Kwiatkowski, Cornelia

Understanding the current climatic changes has become increasingly important during the last decades. Nowadays, a major goal of climate research is to quantify the ‘anthropogenic component’ of the environmental change in order to reduce uncertainties in predicting future climate development. Environmental change in the Indonesian region is a key aspect in this regard as it is strongly affected by agricultural activities, forestry and pollution. On the other hand, natural climate variability in this region is governed by the Australian-Indonesian monsoon system, the seasonal migration of the ITCZ and the ENSO phenomenon controlling sea surface temperature, salinity and precipitation patterns.
In my PhD project, I will be investigating four marine records off the river mouths of Bengawan Solo and Citarum (Java) and off the river mouths of Pembuang and Jelai (Kalimantan), respectively. The chronology will be established through radiocarbon dating. Sea surface temperature and sea surface salinity will be reconstructed over the past ~4 ka by using trace elements and stable isotopes in test of planktic foraminifera. Additionally, changes in the amount and composition of the riverine discharge will be investigated by the XRF-element analysis. Today, Kalimantan is relatively unaffected by human activity while Java is strongly affected by human civilization modifying landscapes and coastal zones. Comparison of results from both regions enables unraveling the interfering influence of natural climate variability and the anthropogenic climate forcing and a better estimation of future environmental change.
The major goal of this project is to (I) assess late Holocene regional climate variability recorded in sediments of the Java Sea, (II) estimate the human impact on the riverine discharge from Java and Kalimantan Islands, and (III) untangle the interfering influences of anthropogenic forcing and natural climate.