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A late Quaternary paleoenvironmental record in sand dunes of the northern Atacama Desert, Chile

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 April 2018

Kari M. Finstad ,
Marco Pfeiffer ,
Gavin McNicol ,
Michael Tuite ,
Kenneth Williford  and
Ronald Amundson
Kari M. Finstad*
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA Current Address: Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550, USA
Marco Pfeiffer
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA Departamento de Ingeniería y Suelos, Facultad de Ciencias Agronómicas, Universidad de Chile, Santa Rosa 11315, La Pintana, Chile
Gavin McNicol
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550, USA Current address: Alaska Coastal Rainforest Center, University of Alaska Southeast, Juneau, Alaska 99801, USA
Michael Tuite
Affiliation:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91009, USA
Kenneth Williford
Affiliation:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91009, USA
Ronald Amundson
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
*
*Corresponding author at: Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Ave, L-397, Livermore, CA 94550, USA. E-mail address: [email protected] (K.M. Finstad).
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Abstract

This paper reports a previously unidentified paleoenvironmental record found in sand dunes of the Atacama Desert, Chile. Long-term aeolian deflation by prevailing onshore winds has resulted in the deposition of sand on the irregular surface of a Miocene-aged anhydrite outcrop. Two deposits ~25 km apart, along the prevailing wind trajectory, were hand excavated then analyzed for vertical (and temporal) changes in physical and chemical composition. Radiocarbon ages of organic matter embedded within the deposits show that rapid accumulation of sediment began at the last glacial maximum and slowed considerably after the Pacific Ocean attained its present post-glacial level. Over this time period, grain sizes are seen to increase while accumulation rates simultaneously decrease, suggesting greater wind speeds and/or a change or decrease in sediment supply. Changes in δ34S values of sulfate in the sediment beginning ~10 ka indicate an increase in marine sources. Similarly, δ2H values from palmitic acid show a steady increase at ~10 ka, likely resulting from aridification of the region during the Holocene. Due to the extreme aridity in the region, these sand dunes retain a well-preserved chemical record that reflects changes in elevation and coastal proximity after the last glacial maximum.

Keywords

Hyperarid Atacama DesertSand dunePaleoenvironmentIsotope analysesBiological soil crust (BSC)LichenFog
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 90 , Issue 1 , July 2018 , pp. 127 - 138
Copyright
Copyright © University of Washington. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2018 

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