The MORENA project aims to develop a solid multiproxy framework of precipitation patterns across Greece over the last 30,000 years based on altitudinal variations of reconstructed palaeoglaciers and regional pollen records. The core objective is to constrain the timing of Late-Pleistocene glaciations on the ophiolitic Mt Mavrovouni and Mt Smolikas in the North Pindus mountains using cosmogenic 36Cl exposure dating to determine the age of ophiolitic glacial deposits. The ambition of this project is to answer research questions regarding: i) the spatial and temporal distribution of glaciers on Mt Mavrovouni and Mt Smolikas during the last 30,000 years, ii) how the glacial record adds to the established multiproxy palaeoclimatic record of the region and iii) the proper integration of palaeoclimatic results into the archaeological record as a scheme of human behaviour in response to environmental challenges. 

The expected scientific impact of the project is the contribution towards answering long-lasting questions in palaeoglaciology and palaeoclimatology. Using the Equilibirium Line Altitudes of the reconstructed palaeoglaciers the glacial record will be used as a precipitation proxy to elucidate the regional climatic response to major cold and arid events of the Ice Age such as the Last Glacial Maximum and the Younger Dryas and the role of atmospheric circulation patterns across the Mediterranean. In turn, this will be used to test the climatic hypothesis for arid conditions in the Pindus Mountains in contrast to wet conditions in N. Peloponnese during the YD. Furthermore, the study is expected to add to the various types of available archives such as the pollen, marine sediments and speleothem records another hydrological proxy. These can be used in palaeoclimatic models to produce accurate analogues of the past in an effort to understand current climate change mechanisms and ultimately predict the evolution of climate on Earth in the years to come.

The expected impact of the project to the Humanities is the contribution to various central debates of Prehistoric archaeology, covering a vast chronological period from the Mesolithic to the Late Bronze Age. This contribution will be made by providing absolute dates of palaeoenvironmental events and eventually a solid ground for interpretations seeking to build narratives of a distant human past. Secondarily, the project provides the opportunity of fieldwork on a high-altitude zone, promoting the branch of mountain studies which is so far neglected in Greek Archaeology.