Description: The lithostratigraphic framework of Lake Van, eastern Turkey, has been systematically analysed to document the sedimentary evolution and the environmental history of the lake during the past ca 600 000 years. The lithostratigraphy and chemostratigraphy of a 219 m long drill core from Lake Van serve to separate global climate oscillations from local factors caused by tectonic and volcanic activity. An age model was established based on the climatostratigraphic alignment of chemical and lithological signatures, validated by 40Ar/39Ar ages. The drilled sequence consists of ca 76% lacustrine carbonaceous clayey silt, ca 2% fluvial deposits, ca 17% volcaniclastic deposits and 5% gaps. Six lacustrine lithotypes were separated from the fluvial and event deposits, such as volcaniclastics (ca 300 layers) and graded beds (ca 375 layers), and their depositional environments are documented. These lithotypes are: (i) graded beds frequently intercalated with varved clayey silts reflecting rising lake levels during the terminations; (ii) varved clayey silts reflecting strong seasonality and an intralake oxic–anoxic boundary, for example, lake-level highstands during interglacials/interstadials; (iii) CaCO3-rich banded sediments which are representative of a lowering of the oxic–anoxic boundary, for example, lake level decreases during glacial inceptions; (iv) CaCO3-poor banded and mottled clayey silts reflecting an oxic–anoxic boundary close to the sediment–water interface, for example, lake-level lowstands during glacials/stadials; (v) diatomaceous muds were deposited during the early beginning of the lake as a fresh water system; and (vi) fluvial sands and gravels indicating the initial flooding of the lake basin. The recurrence of lithologies (i) to (iv) follows the past five glacial/interglacial cycles. A 20 m thick disturbed unit reflects an interval of major tectonic activity in Lake Van at ca 414 ka bp. Although local environmental processes such as tectonic and volcanic activity influenced sedimentation, the lithostratigraphic pattern and organic matter content clearly reflect past global climate changes, making Lake Van an outstanding terrestrial archive of unprecedented sensitivity for the reconstruction of the regional climate over the last 600 000 years.

Description: Highlights • Dating 400 ka paleoclimate record of Neotropics. • Revision and new eruptive volumes for large Central American eruptions. • Age models for Petén Itzá sediments. • Linking lacustrine ash inventory to eruptions from Central America and Mexico. Abstract Lake Petén Itzá, northern Guatemala, lies within a hydrologically closed basin in the south-central area of the Yucatán Peninsula, and was drilled under the auspices of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) in 2006. At 16°55′N latitude, the lake is ideally located for study of past climate and environmental conditions in the Neotropical lowlands. Because of its great depth (〉160 m), Lake Petén Itzá has a record of continuous sediment accumulation that extends well into the late Pleistocene. A key obstacle to obtaining long climate records from the region is the difficulty of establishing a robust chronology beyond ∼40 ka, the limit of 14C dating. Tephra layers within the Lake Petén Itzá sediments, however, enable development of age/depth relations beyond 40 ka. Ash beds from large-magnitude, Pleistocene-to-Holocene silicic eruptions of caldera volcanoes along the Central American Volcanic Arc (CAVA) were found throughout drill cores collected from Lake Petén Itzá. These ash beds were used to establish a robust chronology extending back 400 ka. We used major- and trace-element glass composition to establish 12 well-constrained correlations between the lacustrine tephra layers in Lake Petén Itzá sediments and dated deposits at the CAVA source volcanoes, and with their marine equivalents in eastern Pacific Ocean sediments. The data also enabled revision of eight previous determinations of erupted volumes and masses, and initial estimates for another four eruptions, as well as the designation of source areas for 14 previously unknown eruptions. The new and revised sedimentation rates for the older sediment successions identify the interglacial of MIS5a between 84 and 72 ka, followed by a stadial between 72 and 59 ka that corresponds to MIS4. We modified the age models for the Lake Petén Itzá sediment sequences, extended the paleoclimate and paleoecological record for this Neotropical region to ∼400 ka, and determined the magnitude and timing of CAVA eruptions.

Description: International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) drilled a complete succession of the lacustrine sediment sequence deposited during the last ~500,000 years in Lake Van, Eastern Anatolia (Turkey). Based on a detailed seismic site survey, two sites at a water depth of up to 360 m were drilled in summer 2010, and cores were retrieved from sub-lake-floor depths of 140 m (Northern Basin) and 220 m (Ahlat Ridge). To obtain a complete sedimentary section, the two sites were multiple-cored in order to investigate the paleoclimate history of a sensitive semi-arid region between the Black, Caspian, and Mediterranean seas. Further scientific goals of the PALEOVAN project are the reconstruction of earthquake activity, as well as the temporal, spatial, and compositional evolution of volcanism as reflected in the deposition of tephra layers. The sediments host organic matter from different sources and hence composition, which will be unravelled using biomarkers. Pathways for migration of continental and mantle-derived noble gases will be analyzed in pore waters. Preliminary 40Ar/39Ar single crystal dating of tephra layers and pollen analyses suggest that the Ahlat Ridge record encompasses more than half a million years of paleoclimate and volcanic/geodynamic history, providing the longest continental record in the entire Near East to date.

Description: Subsurface fluid flow can be affected by earthquakes; increased spring activity, mud volcano eruptions, groundwater fluctuations, changes in geyser frequency, and other forms of altered subsurface fluid flow have been documented during, after, or even prior to seismic shaking. Recently discovered giant pockmarks on the bottom of Lake Neuchâtel, Switzerland, are the lake-floor expression of subsurface fluid flow. They discharge groundwater from the Jura Mountains karstic aquifers and experience episodically increased subsurface fluid flow documented by subsurface sediment mobilization deposits at the levees of the pockmarks. In this study, we present the spatio-temporal distribution of event deposits from these phases of sediment expulsion and of multiple time-correlative mass-transport deposits. We report five striking instances of concurrent multiple subsurface sediment deposits and multiple mass-transport deposits since late glacial times, for which we propose past earthquakes as a trigger. Comparison of this new event catalogue with historic earthquakes and other independent paleoseismic records suggests that initiation of sediment expulsion requires a minimum macroseismic intensity of VII. Thus, our study presents for the first time sedimentary deposits resulting from increased subsurface fluid flow as a paleoseismic proxy.

Description: Subsurface fluid flow can be affected by earthquakes; increased spring activity, mud volcano eruptions, groundwater fluctuations, changes in geyser frequency, and other forms of altered subsurface fluid flow have been documented during, after, or even prior to seismic shaking. Recently discovered giant pockmarks on the bottom of Lake Neuchâtel, Switzerland, are the lake-floor expression of subsurface fluid flow. They discharge groundwater from the Jura Mountains karstic aquifers and experience episodically increased subsurface fluid flow documented by subsurface sediment mobilization deposits at the levees of the pockmarks. In this study, we present the spatio-temporal distribution of event deposits from these phases of sediment expulsion and of multiple time-correlative mass-transport deposits. We report five striking instances of concurrent multiple subsurface sediment deposits and multiple mass-transport deposits since late glacial times, for which we propose past earthquakes as a trigger. Comparison of this new event catalogue with historic earthquakes and other independent paleoseismic records suggests that initiation of sediment expulsion requires a minimum macroseismic intensity of VII. Thus, our study presents for the first time sedimentary deposits resulting from increased subsurface fluid flow as a paleoseismic proxy.

Description: Laguna Potrok Aike, a maar lake in southern-most Patagonia, is located at about 110 m a.s.l. in the Pliocene to late Quaternary Pali Aike Volcanic Field (Santa Cruz, southern Patagonia, Argentina) at about 52°S and 70°W, some 20 km north of the Strait of Magellan and approximately 90 km west of the city of Rio Gallegos. The lake is almost circular and bowl-shaped with a 100 m deep, flat plain in its central part and an approximate diameter of 3.5 km. Steep slopes separate the central plain from the lake shoulder at about 35 m water depth. At present, strong winds permanently mix the entire water column. The closed lake basin contains a sub saline water body and has only episodic inflows with the most important episodic tributary situated on the western shore. Discharge is restricted to major snowmelt events. Laguna Potrok Aike is presently located at the boundary between the Southern Hemispheric Westerlies and the Antarctic Polar Front. The sedimentary regime is thus influenced by climatic and hydrologic conditions related to the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, the Southern Hemispheric Westerlies and sporadic outbreaks of Antarctic polar air masses. Previous studies demonstrated that closed lakes in southern South America are sensitive to variations in the evaporation/precipitation ratio and have experienced drastic lake level changes in the past causing for example the desiccation of the 75 m deep Lago Cardiel during the Late Glacial (Gilli et al., 2001, Markgraf et al., 2003, Gilli et al., 2005). Multiproxy environmental reconstruction of the last 16 ka documents that Laguna Potrok Aike is highly sensitive to climate change. Based on an Ar/Ar age determination, the phreatomagmatic tephra that is assumed to relate to the Potrok Aike maar eruption was formed around 770 ka (Zolitschka et al., 2006). Thus Laguna Potrok Aike sediments contain almost 0.8 million years of climate history spanning several past glacial-interglacial cycles making it a unique archive for non-tropical and non-polar regions of the Southern Hemisphere. In particular, variations of the hydrological cycle, changes in eolian dust deposition, frequencies and consequences of volcanic activities and other natural forces controlling climatic and environmental responses can be tracked throughout time. Laguna Potrok Aike has thus become a major focus of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program. Drilling operations started within PASADO (Potrok Aike Maar Lake Sediment Archive Drilling Project) in late 2008 and were not finished prior to the abstract deadline. Please refer to Zolitschka et al. (this volume) for details of the drilling operations. Laguna Potrok Aike is surrounded by a series of subaerial paleo-shorelines of modern to Holocene age (Zolitschka et al., 2006) that reach up to 21 m above the 2003 AD lake level. An erosional unconformity which can be observed basin-wide along the lake shoulder at about 33 m below the 2003 AD lake level marks the lowest lake level reached during Late Glacial to Holocene times (Anselmetti et al., in press). A high-resolution seismic survey revealed a series of buried, subaquatic paleo-shorelines that hold a record of the complex transgressional history of the past approximately 6800 years, which was temporarily interrupted by two regressional phases from approximately 5800 to 5400 and 4700 to 4000 cal BP (Anselmetti et al., in press). Seismic reflection and refraction data provide insights into the sedimentary infill and the underlying volcanic structure of Laguna Potrok Aike (Gebhardt et al., submitted). Reflection data show undisturbed, stratified lacustrine sediments at least in the upper ~100 m of the sedimentary infill. Two stratigraphic boundaries were identified in the seismic profiles (separating subunits I-ab, I-c and I-d) that are likely related to changes in lake level. Subunits I-ab and I-d are quite similar even though velocities are enhanced in subunit I-d. This might point at cementation in subunit I-d. Subunit I-c is restricted to the central parts of the lake and thins out laterally.A velocity-depth model calculated from seismic refraction data reveals a funnel-shaped structure embedded in the sandstone rocks of the surrounding Santa Cruz Formation. This funnel structure is filled by lacustrine sediments of up to 370 m in thickness. These can be separated into two distinct subunits with i) low acoustic velocities of 1500-1800 m s-1 in the upper part pointing at unconsolidated lacustrine mud, and ii) enhanced velocities of 2000-2350 m s-1 in the lower part that support the occurrence of cemented sediments. Below the lacustrine sediments, a unit of probably volcanoclastic origin is observed (〉2400 m s-1). This sedimentary succession is perfectly comparable to other well-studied sequences (e.g. Messel and Baruth maars, Germany), confirming phreatomagmatic maar explosions as the origin of Laguna Potrok Aike.AcknowledgementsWe thank all expedition members in 2004 and 2005 for their excellent cooperation and support during field work at the lake, and especially François Charlet and Koen De Rycker for their help with the acquisition of the sparker data as well as Hugo Corbella and Torsten Haberzettl for logistical support. Financial support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG grants GE-1924/2-1 and ZO-102/5-1, 2, 3) is gratefully acknowledged. ReferencesAnselmetti, F. et al. (in press). Environmental history of southern Patagonia unravelled by the seismic stratigraphy of Laguna Potrok Aike. Sedimentology.Gebhardt, A.C., et al. (subm). Origin and evolution of Laguna Potrok Aike Maar (Southern Patagonia, Argentina). Basin Research.Gilli, A. et al. (2001). Tracking Abrupt Climate Change in the Southern Hemisphere: A Seismic Stratigraphic Study of Lago Cardiel, Argentina (49°S). Terra Nova, 13: 443-448.Gilli, A. et al. (2005) Seismic Stratigraphy, Buried Beach Ridges and Contourite Drifts: The Late Quaternary History of the Closed Lago Cardiel Basin, Argentina (49°S). Sedimentology, 52: 1-23.Markgraf, V. et al. (2003) Holocene Palaeoclimates of Southern Patagonia: Limnological and Environmental History of Lago Cardiel, Argentina. The Holocene, 13: 581-591.Zolitschka, B. et al. (2006). Crater lakes of the Pali Aike Volcanic Field as key sites of paleoclimatic and paleoecological reconstructions in southern Patagonia, Argentina. Journal of South American Earth Sciences 21: 294-309.

Description: Laguna Potrok Aike, a maar lake in southern-most Patagonia, is located at about 110 m a.s.l. in the Pliocene to late Quaternary Pali Aike Volcanic Field (Santa Cruz, southern Patagonia, Argentina) at about 52°S and 70°W, some 20 km north of the Strait of Magellan and approximately 90 km west of the city of Rio Gallegos. The lake is almost circular and bowl-shaped with a 100 m deep, flat plain in its central part and an approximate diameter of 3.5 km. Steep slopes separate the central plain from the lake shoulder at about 35 m water depth. At present, strong winds permanently mix the entire water column. The closed lake basin contains a sub saline water body and has only episodic inflows with the most important episodic tributary situated on the western shore. Discharge is restricted to major snowmelt events. Laguna Potrok Aike is presently located at the boundary between the Southern Hemispheric Westerlies and the Antarctic Polar Front. The sedimentary regime is thus influenced by climatic and hydrologic conditions related to the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, the Southern Hemispheric Westerlies and sporadic outbreaks of Antarctic polar air masses. Previous studies demonstrated that closed lakes in southern South America are sensitive to variations in the evaporation/precipitation ratio and have experienced drastic lake level changes in the past causing for example the desiccation of the 75 m deep Lago Cardiel during the Late Glacial. Multiproxy environmental reconstruction of the last 16 ka documents that Laguna Potrok Aike is highly sensitive to climate change. Based on an Ar/Ar age determination, the phreatomagmatic tephra that is assumed to relate to the Potrok Aike maar eruption was formed around 770 ka. Thus Laguna Potrok Aike sediments contain almost 0.8 million years of climate history spanning several past glacial-interglacial cycles making it a unique archive for non-tropical and non-polar regions of the Southern Hemisphere. In particular, variations of the hydrological cycle, changes in eolian dust deposition, frequencies and consequences of volcanic activities and other natural forces controlling climatic and environmental responses can be tracked throughout time. Laguna Potrok Aike has thus become a major focus of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program. Drilling operations were carried out within PASADO (Potrok Aike Maar Lake Sediment Archive Drilling Project) in late 2008 and penetrated ~100 m into the lacustrine sediment. Laguna Potrok Aike is surrounded by a series of subaerial paleo-shorelines of modern to Holocene age that reach up to 21 m above the 2003 AD lake level. An erosional unconformity which can be observed basin-wide along the lake shoulder at about 33 m below the 2003 AD lake level marks the lowest lake level reached during Late Glacial to Holocene times. A high-resolution seismic survey revealed a series of buried, subaquatic paleo-shorelines that hold a record of the complex transgressional history of the past approximately 6800 years, which was temporarily interrupted by two regressional phases from approximately 5800 to 5400 and 4700 to 4000 cal BP.Seismic reflection and refraction data provide insights into the sedimentary infill and the underlying volcanic structure of Laguna Potrok Aike. Reflection data show undisturbed, stratified lacustrine sediments at least in the upper ~100 m of the sedimentary infill. Two stratigraphic boundaries were identified in the seismic profiles (separating subunits I-ab, I-c and I-d) that are likely related to changes in lake level. Subunits I-ab and I-d are quite similar even though velocities are enhanced in subunit I-d. This might point at cementation in subunit I-d. Subunit I-c is restricted to the central parts of the lake and thins out laterally.A velocity-depth model calculated from seismic refraction data reveals a funnel-shaped structure embedded in the sandstone rocks of the surrounding Santa Cruz Formation. This funnel structure is filled by lacustrine sediments of up to 370 m in thickness. These can be separated into two distinct subunits with i) low acoustic velocities of 1500-1800 m s-1 in the upper part, and ii) enhanced velocities of 2000-2350 m s-1 in the lower part. Below these sediments, a unit of probably volcanoclastic origin is observed (〉2400 m s-1). This sedimentary succession is perfectly comparable to other well-studied sequences (e.g. Messel and Baruth maars, Germany), confirming phreatomagmatic maar explosions as the origin of Laguna Potrok Aike.