Climatic and Environmental History of Isla De Los Estados, Argentina Springerbriefs in Earth System Sciences

SPRINGER BRIEFS IN EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCES SOUTH AMERICA AND THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE Juan Federico Ponce Marilén Fernández Climatic and Environmental History of Isla de los Estados, Argentina SpringerBriefs in Earth System Sciences South America and the Southern Hemisphere Series Editors Gerrit Lohmann Jorge Rabassa Justus Notholt Lawrence A. Mysak Vikram Unnithan For further volumes: http://www.springer.com/series/10032 Juan Federico Ponce · Marilén Fernández Climatic and Environmental History of Isla de los Estados, Argentina 1 3 Juan Federico Ponce Marilén Fernández Centro Austral de Investigaciones Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas Científicas Ushuaia Ushuaia Argentina Argentina ISSN 2191-589X ISSN 2191-5903 (electronic) ISBN 978-94-007-4362-5 ISBN 978-94-007-4363-2 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-4363-2 Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg New York London Library of Congress Control Number: 2013940304 © The Author(s) 2014 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Copyright Law of the Publisher’s location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Permissions for use may be obtained through RightsLink at the Copyright Clearance Center. Violations are liable to prosecution under the respective Copyright Law. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) Preface Isla de los Estados is located in the extreme south of South America. It has been described by numerous sailors who have visited it at different times since 1616, categorizing it as one of the most inhospitable but spectacular islands in the world. It is separated by a distance of 30 km from the Mitre Peninsula by the Le Maire Strait to the southeast of the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego. Isla de los Estados occupies a strategically important position between the Antarctic Peninsula and the South American continent providing important paleoenvironmental information concerning the weather and impact of climate changes that have taken place since the last glaciation. Botanically, the island is situated in the extreme eastern end of the Subantarctic Evergreen Forest that constitutes the world’s southernmost forest, extending down to 56°S only 800 km from the Antarctic Peninsula. The climate changes that occurred in the far south of Patagonia and the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego in the recent geological past have been investigated mainly through geomorphological and paleoecological studies (Coronato et al. 2007). The Beagle Channel (54° 53′S and between 66° 30′ and 70°W) to the south of Tierra del Fuego is an ancient tectonic valley that was completely filled with ice during the last glacial maximum (LGM, ca. 24 ka B.P.; Rabassa 2008). The ancient Beagle Glacier originated from the Darwin Mountain Range ice field, receiving tributary glaciers from the internal cirques and valleys of the mountainous branches of both margins of the range. At its maximum extent during the Last Glaciation, the ice front was located at Moat Point in the northern margin of the Beagle Channel (120 km to the west of Isla de los Estados), where many moraine arcs can be still seen. Judging by the basal ages of the peat bogs found along the Beagle Channel it may be inferred that around 14.6 ka B.P. the ice front had retreated some 100 km to the west of its point of maximum extension. The final retreat of the ice occurred at least around 10 ka B.P., when the first communities of steppe/tundra environment vegetation established themselves (Markgraf 1993a; Heusser 1989a, b). The Quaternary deposits of the Isla de los Estados constitute an invaluable resource for the investigation of past climate events in the highest latitudes. This is particularly true in those places where the Subantarctic forest and the non- arboreal vegetation make up areas of tension that are sensitive to changing climatic parameters. v vi Preface This book is the result of 10 years of scientific research made by the authors on Isla de los Estados. The research includes their doctoral thesis and many published scientific papers related to the island. Dr. J. F. Ponce arrive for first time to Isla de los Estados to carry out fieldwork activities on 2003. Dr. M. Fernández started with diatom analysis on 2006. This book can be divided into two principal parts. The first part contains different social and natural aspects of this remote island and includes chapters on the scientific and historical background, physiography with topographical and hydro- graphical descriptions, climate and oceanographic circulation, vegetation and geology (including stratigraphy, structural geology, and geological history). The second part comprises a reconstruction of the paleoenvironmental, paleoclimatic, and paleogeographic history of the island from the Last Glacial Maximum to the present, correlating with other paleoecological records from the southern part of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia. This second part also includes a geomorphological chapter with a characterization of the principal erosive glacial landforms in Isla de los Estados constructed by means of morpho- metric analysis, inventories, maps, paleogeographic, and glacial models, and a paleoecological chapter evaluating the palaeoenvironment and palaeoclimatic con- ditions that prevailed during the Late Pleistocene-Holocene times based on pollen and diatom analysis from three 14C-dated peat bogs and lakes. Finally, the book concludes with a review of the island’s archaeology and the relationship between the palaeoenvironmental history and human occupation of this island. References Coronato A, Borromei AM, Rabassa J (2007) Paleoclimas y Paleoescenarios en la Patagonia Austral y en Tierra del Fuego durante el Cuaternario. Boletín Geográfico de la Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Número especial Jornadas sobre Calentamiento Global: Neuquén, 18–28 Heusser CJ (1989a) Late quaternary vegetation and climate of Tierra del Fuego. Quat Res 31: 396–406 Heusser CJ (1989b) Polar perspective of late quaternary climates in the southern Hemisphere. Quat Res 32: 60–71 Markgraf V (1993a) Palaeoenvironments and paleoclimates in Tierra del Fuego and southernmost patagonia, South America. Palaeogeogr, Palaeoclim, Palaeoecol 102:53–68 Rabassa J (2008) Late cenozoic glaciations of patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. In: Rabassa J (ed) Late cenozoic of patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. Developments in quaternary science, vol 11. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 13–56 Acknowledgments We thank Adrián Schiavini, Andrea Raya Rey, and colleagues for arranging travel and stay in Isla de los Estados. Argentine Navy and the crew of the “Sobral” ship are acknowledged for their logistical support and travel assistance to get to the island during the 2003 expedition. The authors would like to express a special thanks to the Professor Dr. Svante Bjorck (Lund University, Sweden), expedition leader of the Argentinian-Swedish Expedition to the island (2005), and also to the scientific crew members Dr. Barbara Wolfarth, Dr. Chirstian Hjort, Dr. Per Möller, Dr. Kalle Ljung, Dr. Oscar Martínez, Dr. Jorge Rabassa, Dr. Enrique Pianzola. Particularly thanks to the National Academy of Swedish Science, Lund, and Stockholm University for funding and supported the expedition. A particular thanks to Dr. J. Rabassa for all the valuable observations and suggestions made. Thank to Dr. Ana María Borromei who has made an important contribution to the knowledge of Isla de los Estados′s palinology. Thanks to Dr. Nora I. Maidana, Dr. Hannelore Håkansson and Dr. Linda Ampel who has helped with the diatom analysis and taxonomy. To INGEOSUR- CONICET, Departamento de Geología, Universidad Nacional del Sur, Department of GeoBiosphere Science Center (Quaternary Sciences) (Lund University), Laboratorio de Diatomeas Continentales del Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental de F. Cs. Exactas y Naturales (UBA) and CADIC-CONICET for having made available the required space and facilities to enable the carrying out of experimental and lab activities. vii Contents 1 History, Previous Works and Physiography ...................... 1 1.1 Geographical Location

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