Reconstruction of the Páramo Paleoclimate Record in Tres Lagunas, Ecuador

Abstract:

Tres Lagunas, Ecuador is both a unique and poorly understood ecosystem. Characterized as a volcanic Páramo, these lakes (elevation ~3800 meters) contain a pristine Holocene climatic history. A previous study by Jantz and Behling [Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 21, 169 (2012)] reported a 5000 year hiatus in a bog core collected from the Tres Lagunas region. This gap in sedimentation indicates a period where the bog was completely dry, suggesting a very severe drought event. However, it is still undetermined if this event represents a widespread climate record since bog cores are prone to reflect localized anomalies. In order to obtain a widespread climate record, two lake sediment cores totaling 120 cm, were collected from Tres Lagunas during the summer of 2014. The samples were obtained using a Gravity Corer and a Livingston Modified Piston Corer. Sediment from the cores were subsampled and analyzed for magnetic susceptibility and charcoal in order to reconstruct natural range and variability of Páramo fire regimes. Pollen analysis and radiocarbon dating on pollen isolates will also be completed for the subsampled sediment. Additionally, X-ray fluorescence will be used to reconstruct the paleo geochemical environment. The goal of this study is to provide a widespread paleoclimate record of the region and extend upon the results of Jantz and Behling to determine if severe drought events occurred in the region.