Hydrological Variability in South America Below the Tropic of Capricorn (Pampas and Patagonia, Argentina) During the Last 13.0 Ka

Abstract

New limnogeological results (Laguna Mar Chiquita, 30◦S) at the middle latitudes in the subtropical Pampean plains of Southern South America are used to establish comparisons with records spanning Late Glacial times and the Holocene covering the Northern Andean Patagonia and the Extra Andean Southern Patagonia. Historical and archaeological data were also used to enlarge existing environmental reconstructions in the central plains of Southern South America. Two groups of climate records – at both sides of the Arid Diagonal- can be distinguished according to their hydrological response during dominant warm or cold climatic phases. The first group includes records from the Pampean region and allows to reconstruct the past activity of the South America Monsoonal System. The second group includes archives of the Patagonian climate, as well as the Salinas del Bebedero, and provides a record of past changes in the strength and latitudinal position of the Southern Westerlies.