Geochemical and mineralogical characterization of sediments from Lake Futalaufquen (42.8°S, Andean Patagonia) to evaluate their potential as paleoclimatic proxies

A sediment core from Lake Futalaufquen in Los Alerces National Park reveals no evidence of late-twentieth-century global warming, despite capturing a 1600-year climate record. The study identified a warm period around AD 800–1000, linked to the Medieval Climatic Anomaly, but found that frequent tephra layers since the mid-16th century obscured potential signals of the Little Ice Age. However, it detected increased zinc deposition in recent decades, suggesting long-distance atmospheric transport of anthropogenic origin. Researchers analyzed geochemical and mineralogical parameters to assess the lake's sediment as a paleoclimatic proxy, integrating findings with other Patagonian climate reconstructions for broader context.

Daga, R., Ribeiro Guevara, S., Rizzo, A., Vreča, P., Lojen, S., Williams, N., Musso, T., León, V., Poiré, D., Arcagni, M., & Arribére, M. (2020). Geochemical and mineralogical characterization of sediments from Lake Futalaufquen (42.8°S, Andean Patagonia) to evaluate their potential as paleoclimatic proxies. Quaternary Research, 98, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2020.34