Description: This paper presents a detailed record of volcanism extending back to ~80 kyr BP for southern South America using the sediments of Laguna Potrok Aike (ICDP expedition 5022; Potrok Aike Maar Lake Sediment Archive Drilling Project - PASADO). Our analysis of tephra includes the morphology of glass, the mineral componentry, the abundance of glass-shards, lithics and minerals, and the composition of glass- shards in relation to the stratigraphy. Firstly, a reference database of glass compositions of known eruptions in the region was created to enable robust tephra correlations. This includes data published elsewhere, in addition to new glass-shard analyses of proximal tephra deposits from Hudson (eruption units H1 and H2), Aguilera (A1), Reclus (R1, R2-3), Mt Burney (MB1, MB2, MBx, MB1910) and historical Lautaro/Viedma deposits. The analysis of the ninety-four tephra layers observed in the Laguna Potrok Aike sedimentary sequence reveals that twenty-five tephra deposits in the record are the result of pri- mary fallout and are sourced from at least three different volcanoes in the Austral Andean Volcanic Zone (Mt Burney, Reclus, Lautaro/Viedma) and one in the southernmost Southern Volcanic Zone (Hudson). One new correlation to the widespread H1 eruption from Hudson volcano at 8.7 (8.6e9.0) cal ka BP during the Quaternary is identified. The identification of sixty-five discrete deposits that were pre- dominantly volcanic ashes (glass and minerals) with subtle characteristics of reworking (in addition to three likely reworked tephra, and one unknown layer) indicates that care must be taken in the analysis of both visible and invisible tephra layers to decipher their emplacement mechanisms.

Description: Lacustrine sediments retrieved from Laguna Potrok Aike in the framework of the Potrok Aike Maar Lake Sediment Archive Drilling Project (PASADO) offer the possibility to investigate climate variations of the past ~51 cal ka BP in Southern Hemispheric midlatitudes, Argentinean Patagonia. This study focuses on short-term cyclicities in the Ca and magnetic susceptibility data sets between 51 and 15 cal ka BP. The record yields a climate pattern with a periodicity of 1.5 ka during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 2 (MIS 2) detected in the Southern Hemisphere from 31 to 17 cal ka BP for the first time. MIS 2 is known for constantly cold temperatures, whereas prominent climate variations paced by a 1.5 ka periodicity occurred during MIS 3. Our study documents that minor latitudinal oscillations of the Southern Hemispheric westerlies and the polar easterlies with a 1.5 ka periodicity also took place during MIS 2. However, we assume that because of a major northward displacement of the Southern Hemispheric westerlies, these oscillations did not sufficiently affect the zone of Circumpolar Deep Waters and an increased greenhouse effect by upwelling of CO2-rich deep waters did not occur. This mechanism illustrates why prominent climate events fail to appear during MIS 2.

Description: The sedimentary archive from Laguna Potrok Aike is the only continuous record reaching back to the last Glacial period in continental southeastern Patagonia. Located in the path of the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds and in the source region of dust deposited in Antarctica during Glacial periods, southern Patagonia is a vantage point to reconstruct past changes in aeolian activity. Here we use high-resolution rock-magnetic and physical grain size data from site 2 of the International Continental scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) Potrok Aike maar lake Sediment Archive Drilling prOject (PASADO) in order to develop magnetic proxies of dust and wind intensity at 52◦S since 51,200 cal BP. Rock-magnetic analysis indicates the magnetic mineral assemblage is dominated by detrital magnetite. Based on the estimated flux of magnetite to the lake and comparison with distal dust records from the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, kLF is interpreted as a dust indicator in the dust source of southern Patagonia at the millennial time scale, when ferrimagnetic grain size and coercivity influence are minimal. Comparison to physical grain- size data indicates that the median destructive field of isothermal remanent magnetization (MDFIRM) mostly reflects medium to coarse magnetite bearing silts typically transported by winds for short-term suspension. Comparison with wind-intensity proxies from the Southern Hemisphere during the last Glacial period and with regional records from Patagonia since the last deglaciation including marine, lacustrine and peat bog sediments as well as speleothems reveals similar variability with MDFIRM up to the centennial time scale. MDFIRM is interpreted as a wind-intensity proxy independent of moisture changes for southeastern Patagonia, with stronger winds capable of transporting coarser magnetite bearing silts to the lake.

Description: When using biomarkers such as n-alkanes as tools for paleo-environmental reconstructions, it is imperative to determine their specific sources for each setting. Towards that goal, we analysed a set of various potential organic matter (OM) sources such as aquatic and terrestrial plants, dust, and soils from Laguna Potrok Aike (LPA) and surrounding areas in Southern Patagonia. We determined chain length distributions and hydrogen (δD) and carbon (δ13C) isotopic compositions of n-alkanes of different OM sources in order to quantify their relative contributions to lake sediments. Our results reveal that mid-chain n-alkane, n-C23, is predominantly produced by submerged aquatic plants, whereas long-chain n-alkanes (n-C29 to n-C31) are derived from various terrestrial sources. We estimated their relative contributions to the sediment using two approaches, i.e. based on the n-alkane distributions and their δD and δ13C values. Both approaches result in similar estimates of aquatic and terrestrial contributions for mid- and long-chain n-alkanes to the sediment. 62-73% of the mid-chain n-C23 alkanes originate from aquatic sources while 66-77% of the long-chain n-alkanes originate from dust and 14-30% from terrestrial plants. Our study shows that mid-chain n-alkanes such as n-C23 alkane in LPA are derived mainly from aquatic macrophytes and thus have the potential to record changes in lake-water isotopic composition. In contrast, the n-C29 alkane reflects the isotopic signal of various terrestrial sources from Southern Patagonia.

Description: Laguna Potrok Aike is an exceptional site in the southern hemisphere’s mid-latitudes because it records changes in the hydrological regime through lake-level variations in a continuous, high-resolution sedi- ment record back into the late Pleistocene. In this study, driving forces of lake-level changes at Laguna Potrok Aike are evaluated by means of process studies using data from an extensive multi-year moni- toring in and around the lake. Lake-volume changes were calculated with an energy-budget/bulk- transfer approach and translated into lake-level variations, which were then compared to pressure sensor data. Calculated lake levels are in broad agreement with measured data. We hypothesize that on short time scales, lake-level fluctuations are mainly driven by the precipitation-to-evaporation ratio. Apart from changing catchment conditions, relative humidity, precipitation, temperature, wind strength and wind direction have the most important influence on the hydrological balance of the lake. Lake level decreases during periods of persistently high wind speeds from westerly directions, whereas, during periods with more frequent occurrences of easterly winds, it increases. These situations are linked to a strengthening of the Southern Hemispheric Westerlies in the first and more frequent blocking situa- tions in the latter case. Although lake-level changes at Laguna Potrok Aike show some degree of simi- larity to variations of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Southern Hemisphere Annular Mode (SAM), a persistent correspondence remains to be documented. Water chemistry and sediment-trap data suggest that lake-internal carbonate precipitation is highly sensitive to short-term changes in the lake water volume and, thus, to lake-level variations. However, it becomes obvious that the sedimentary carbonate record, representing changes on longer time scales, is not linearly linked to lake-level changes, hence complicating quantitative lake-level reconstructions back in time. We suggest that short-term changes in authigenic carbonate production are mainly driven by changing precipitation/evaporation ratios probably superimposed on longer-term changes in ground- water input that represent a buffered climate signal. Scenario calculations for a period of 60 years show that changes of the controlling meteorological parameters in the range of 15-17% can lead to lake-level changes with a magnitude comparable to the reconstructed Holocene and Lateglacial extreme situations. In addition, modifications in the water- retaining capacity of the lake can also produce large lake-level changes. It is hypothesized that the development or disappearance of permafrost in the catchment of Laguna Potrok Aike during the Last Glacial/Interglacial transition may have changed the water-retaining capacity tremendously. The lake- level reconstructions for Laguna Potrok Aike might express some of the meridional climate variability observed in coupled general circulation model (CGCM) simulations for southern South America for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the mid Holocene.