https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2020-129 Preprint. Discussion started: 15 October 2020 c Author(s) 2020. CC BY 4.0 License. Dust record in an ice core from tropical Andes (Nevado Illimani – Bolivia), potential for climate variability analyses in the Amazon basin Filipe G. L. Lindau1, Jefferson C. Simões1,2, Rafael R. Ribeiro1, Patrick Ginot3, Barbara Delmonte4, Giovanni Baccolo4, Stanislav Kutuzov5, Valter Maggi4, and Edson Ramirez6 1Centro Polar e Climático, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, 91501-970, Brazil 2Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA 3Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IRD, Grenoble INP, IGE, 38000 Grenoble, France 4Environmental and Earth Sciences Department, University Milano-Bicocca, Milan, 20126, Italy 5Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119017, Russia 6Instituto de Hidráulica e Hidrología, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz, Bolivia Correspondence: Filipe G. L. Lindau (fi
[email protected]) Abstract. Understanding the mechanisms controlling glacial retreat in the tropical Andes can strengthen future predictions of ice cover in the region. As glaciers are a dominant freshwater source in these regions, accurate ice cover predictions are necessary for developing effective strategies to protect future water resources. In this study, we investigated a 97-year dust record from two Nevado Illimani ice cores to determine the dominant factors controlling particle concentration and size distri- 5 bution. In addition, we measured the area of a Nevado Illimani glacier (glacier n°8) using aerial photographs from 1956 and 2009. We identified two dustier periods during the 20th century (1930s–1940s and 1980s–2016), which were linked to reduced moisture transport from the Amazon basin.