Holocene paleoclimate characterization in Lago Fagnano (Tierra del Fuego) using sedimentary, physical and geochemical proxies

Tierra del Fuego is the world's southernmost landmass outside of Antarctica. Two features of ocean circulation control the climate of Tierra del Fuego: the Southern Ocean circumpolar flow and the South Pacific Gyre. Together with Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego is the only terrestrial region directly influenced by the southern hemisphere westerly winds. This region is also a tectonically active area affected by volcanic and seismic activity related to South American and Scotia-Antarctic plate boundaries. Accommodated along the Magallanes-Fagnano fault system, as part of the plate boundary, the Lago Fagnano is the largest lake in Tierra del Fuego. This E-W trending lake is 100 km long and 5-15 km wide. Our investigations were carried out on the upper 4 meters of an 8.4 m long piston core obtained at 69 m water depth in Bahía Grande (LF06-PC8); a southwestern lake sub-basin separated from the main lake by a shallow sill. Our studies are based on the integration of sediment description, physical properties, pollen, and geochemical analyses including C and N isotopes (1cm interval) and XRF scan (1mm interval). The age model for the core is based on radiocarbon ages and tephrochronology. Additionally, a 800 km long grid of high resolution seismic profiles support the sedimentary analyses and allow the correlation with other cores from within the lake basin. LF06-PC8 yields continuous and high accumulation-rate sedimentary sections for Lago Fagnano. The presented sediment record corresponds to a laminated hemipelagite with presence of a single but complex mass transport deposit interval. An accurate sedimentological interpretation of the core together with the radiocarbon ages and tephra dates allow to identify and characterize the main sedimentary processes occurring in the lake over the last 8 kyr. In addition, proxy data (C and N isotopes and XRF scan data) from the laminated hemipelagic interval provide a reliable record of past variability in the westerly wind field as well as the regional precipitation regime. The very high frequency measurements from XRF scan allows us to obtain decadal scale resolution from the lamination. Pollen analysis identifies local shifts in the forest-steppe ecotone over time. Results from this core represent an important contribution to our knowledge of Southern South American Holocene paleoclimate. Its ideal location in a climatically sensitive and hydrologically protected site, its stratigraphic integrity, and the high temporal resolution of the isotopic record as a consequence of the short residence time of water in the lake, and its proximity to a dense network of paleoclimate records from the region provide a unique paleoclimate reconstruction for this region.