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Isotopic tracers of paleohydrologic change in large lakes of the Bolivian Altiplano

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Christa J. Placzek ,
Jay Quade  and
P. Jonathan Patchett
Christa J. Placzek*
Affiliation:
Los Alamos National Laboratory, MS-J514, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
Jay Quade
Affiliation:
Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
P. Jonathan Patchett
Affiliation:
Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
*
⁎Corresponding author. Fax: +1 505 665 4955.
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Abstract

We have developed an 87Sr/86Sr, 234U/238U, and δ18O data set from carbonates associated with late Quaternary paleolake cycles on the southern Bolivian Altiplano as a tool for tracking and understanding the causes of lake-level fluctuations. Distinctive groupings of 87Sr/86Sr ratios are observed. Ratios are highest for the Ouki lake cycle (120–95 ka) at 0.70932, lowest for Coipasa lake cycle (12.8–11.4 ka) at 0.70853, and intermediate at 0.70881 to 0.70884 for the Salinas (95–80 ka), Inca Huasi (~ 45 ka), Sajsi (24–20.5 ka), and Tauca (18.1–14.1 ka) lake cycles. These Sr ratios reflect variable contributions from the eastern and western Cordilleras. The Laca hydrologic divide exerts a primary influence on modern and paleolake 87Sr/86Sr ratios; waters show higher 87Sr/86Sr ratios north of this divide. Most lake cycles were sustained by slightly more rainfall north of this divide but with minimal input from Lake Titicaca. The Coipasa lake cycle appears to have been sustained mainly by rainfall south of this divide. In contrast, the Ouki lake cycle was an expansive lake, deepest in the northern (Poópo) basin, and spilling southward. These results indicate that regional variability in central Andean wet events can be reconstructed using geochemical patterns from this lake system.

Keywords

AltiplanoLakeClimateNorth AtlanticENSOBoliviaPaleolakesStrontium
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 75 , Issue 1 , January 2011 , pp. 231 - 244
Copyright
University of Washington

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