Scientific article
English

Integrated reconstruction of Holocene millennial-scale environmental changes in Tierra del Fuego, southernmost South America

Published inPalaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology, vol. 399, p. 294-309
Publication date2014
Abstract

This study presents new paleoenvironmental data obtained from sedimentary cores fromLago Fagnano, an elongated lake located at 54°S in southernmost South America. Data from palynomorphs (pollen, spores and algae) and associated palynofacies aswell as from diatom taxa retrieved fromthese cores compared with other regional proxies contribute to evaluate the similarities and differences in the climate patterns based on different proxies from southernmost Patagonia. The pollen analysis reveals that a grass steppe environment existed during the early Holocene (11,300–~8000 cal a BP) followed by a major vegetation change characterized by development of forest-steppe ecotone communities between ~8000 and ~6500 cal a BP, under more humid conditions. Between ~6500 and ~4000 cal a BP, expansion and colonization by Nothofagus forests reflect an increase in effective moisture levels, while openness in the forest communities characterizes the region after ~1100 cal a BP. The palynological organic matter combined with the algal content reflects hydrological changes occurring in the lake and its nutrient status, probably in close relation with past climate oscillations. All these past ecological changes are closely related to oscillations in precipitation and temperature as a response to the variations in the latitudinal position and/or strength of the SouthernWesterlies wind belt during the Holocene.

Keywords
  • Lacustrine sediments
  • Paleoenvironment and Paleoclimate reconstruction
  • Palynology
  • Limnogeology
  • Southern Hemisphere Westerlies
  • Multi-proxy analyses
Funding
  • Swiss National Science Foundation - Environmental Change Down South (ENDS): The climate record of Lago Fagnano, Tierra del Fuego
  • Swiss National Science Foundation - Environmental Change Down South (ENDS): The climate record of Lago Fagnano, Tierra del Fuego - Phase II
  • Autre - Fundation Lombard
Citation (ISO format)
WALDMANN, Nicolas et al. Integrated reconstruction of Holocene millennial-scale environmental changes in Tierra del Fuego, southernmost South America. In: Palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology, 2014, vol. 399, p. 294–309. doi: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2014.01.023
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Article (Published version)
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Identifiers
Journal ISSN0031-0182
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