Diatoms as indicators of hydrological and climatic changes in Laguna Potrok Aike (Patagonia) since the Late Pleistocene

This contribution is centered in the diatom record of a core covering over the last 50 cal. ka BP. Nine statistically significant zones were determined based on changes in the assemblages of more than 200 species of diatoms, showing changes in productivity throughout time. Although it appears that the presence of mass waste events may have triggered some peaks in productivity, large fluctuations in diatom abundance and changes in species assemblages coincide with distinctive Antarctic warm events, A2 and A1, described for Antarctic ice cores at around 44.5 and 38.5 kyr BP respectively (Blunier and Brook, 2001). Furthermore, a smaller diatom peak may account for the A3 event compatible with a new OSL-based chronological model. Up to now they have only been described for Antarctica, but the fact that these events are recorded in southern Patagonia indicates their magnitude and importance for climate in the Southern Hemisphere.