TY - JOUR
T1 - Aquatic ecosystems in a newly formed ecospace
T2 - Early Pliocene lakes in the Central Andean Altiplano
AU - Vélez, M. I.
AU - Jaramillo, C.
AU - Salazar-Ríos, A.
AU - Benito, X.
AU - Fritz, S.
AU - Tapia, P.
AU - Lubiniecki, D.
AU - Kar, N.
AU - Escobar, J.
N1 - Funding Information:
C. Jaramillo is funded by Smithsonian Institution , the National Geographic Society , the Anders Foundation , 1923 Fund and Gregory D. and Jennifer Walston Johnson . The University of Regina/Faculty of Science provided funds for the field trip of M. Velez and supported field and lab assistants D. Lubiniecki and S. Meickel. Manuscript preparation was supported by NSF EAR-1338694 funds to S. Fritz. J. Escobar was funded in part by Colciencias grant 121566044585 – “Causas y consecuencias de la aridificacion de ecosistemas húmedos tropicales. Una mirada climatica y geologica durante el Neogeno de Suramerica”. We thank the community of Yaurí for welcoming us warmly. Finally, we thank two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2018/1/15
Y1 - 2018/1/15
N2 - Uplift of the Altiplano in the Central Andes of South America had profound effects on land, oceans and atmosphere. Very little, however, is known about the ecosystems that developed on the ecospaces first formed once the Altiplano reached its present high altitude. We present a micropaleontological (diatoms and ostracods) and stratigraphic analysis of Pliocene Member C of the El Descanso Formation that outcrops near the town of Yaurí Perú. Lithofacies analysis indicates that fluvial conditions were eventually replaced by several lacustrine and marsh environments. Diatom and ostracod assemblages indicate that these bodies of water were alkaline, slightly saline and shallow. Lacustrine conditions were favoured by a change in the tectonic regime from compressional to tensional, which led to formation of small isolated basins, and by wet conditions. We hypothesize that a stronger and/or longer rainy season prevailed during that time in the Altiplano, possibly as a consequence of an intensified South American Summer Monsoon, driven by a warmer atmosphere, imposed by high concentrations of atmospheric CO2.
AB - Uplift of the Altiplano in the Central Andes of South America had profound effects on land, oceans and atmosphere. Very little, however, is known about the ecosystems that developed on the ecospaces first formed once the Altiplano reached its present high altitude. We present a micropaleontological (diatoms and ostracods) and stratigraphic analysis of Pliocene Member C of the El Descanso Formation that outcrops near the town of Yaurí Perú. Lithofacies analysis indicates that fluvial conditions were eventually replaced by several lacustrine and marsh environments. Diatom and ostracod assemblages indicate that these bodies of water were alkaline, slightly saline and shallow. Lacustrine conditions were favoured by a change in the tectonic regime from compressional to tensional, which led to formation of small isolated basins, and by wet conditions. We hypothesize that a stronger and/or longer rainy season prevailed during that time in the Altiplano, possibly as a consequence of an intensified South American Summer Monsoon, driven by a warmer atmosphere, imposed by high concentrations of atmospheric CO2.
KW - Basins
KW - Cerro Púcara
KW - Hinterland
KW - Orogeny
KW - Piggyback
KW - Pseudostaurosira zeilleri
KW - Warmer atmosphere
KW - Yaurí
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U2 - 10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.11.001
DO - 10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.11.001
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85040973722
SN - 0031-0182
VL - 490
SP - 218
EP - 226
JO - Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
JF - Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
ER -