Holocene environmental and climate evolution of central west Patagonia as reconstructed from lacustrine sediments of Meseta Chile Chico (46.5° S, Chile)

• Published in: Climate of the past Vol. 20; no. 4; pp. 817 - 839
• Main Authors: Franco, Carolina, Maldonado, Antonio, Ohlendorf, Christian, Gebhardt, A. Catalina, de Porras, María Eugenia, Nuevo-Delaunay, Amalia, Méndez, César, Zolitschka, Bernd
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Katlenburg-Lindau Copernicus GmbH 08-04-2024; Copernicus Publications
• Subjects: Allochthonous deposits; Archives & records; Carbon 14; Climate; Climate control; Climatic evolution; Environmental aspects; Environmental changes; Glacial drift; Glacial periods; Glaciers; Holocene; Holocene glaciation; Ice caps; Ice cover; Ice fields; Ice sheets; Lacustrine sedimentation; Lacustrine sediments; Lakes; Moraines; Oscillations; Precipitation; Precipitation variability; Productivity; Radiocarbon dating; Sediment; Sedimentation; Sediments; Sediments (Geology); Southern Hemisphere; Spatial variations; Topography; Valleys; Vegetation; Westerlies; Winds; Chile; Northern Hemisphere
• ISSN: 1814-9332; 1814-9324; 1814-9332
• DOI: 10.5194/cp-20-817-2024

Holocene environmental changes in Patagonia were mostly shaped by fluctuating ice cover recession. Consequently, environmental reconstructions are largely based on discontinuous moraine chronologies from valley deposits. Here, we present a 3 m long continuous sediment record recovered from Laguna Meseta (LME), a lake located on Meseta Chile Chico. Its altitude and location relative to the North Patagonian Icefield provide a unique opportunity to reconstruct the glacial history and related environmental dynamics.