A Study of the Dispersal of Anemophilic Pollen, Concentrating on Grain Physical Parameters, such as Size and Density
My project was to study the dispersal of anemophilic (wind distributed)
pollen, especially as referenced to the grain physical parameters such
as size and density, so as to better the current understanding of pollen
transport. This understanding improves how we interpret the pollen record,
largely collected from lakes and bogs and such, for information such as
paleoclimatic and paleovegetative reconstruction. Palynologists and limnologists
look at pollen rich sedimentary rocks, identify known species, and from
their ecological bounds, infer things about the paleoclimate. Yet if the
pollen being looked at comes from some distance away, you only can infer
the paleoclimate at some potentially unknown source distance, rather than
the area you are studying. This research project sought to experimentally
determine how six distinct pollen species would disperse in relation to
each other and their physical characteristics. The results showed that
at close distances from the release source, the volume of a typical grain
plays a larger role in the number of grains deposited than any other factor,
but that as distance increases, the effects of density increase, and the
relative deposition for less dense grains increases from where it might
have been close to release, when contending with larger grains. Cirain
shape and texture were shown to have little supportable effect, largely
attributed to the scale (micrometers) of the pollen compared to the scale
of the wind and turbulent eddies. Another important result of this study
is that interested researchers will know to put collection tape further
downstream and closer together, and to attempt to isolate certain physical
parameters by choosing species similar in all aspects but one, so as to
assert conclusions more confidently.