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A new estimate of the Holocene lowstand level of Lake Titicaca, central Andes, and implications for tropical palaeohydrology

Publication ,  Journal Article
Cross, SL; Baker, PA; Seltzer, GO; Fritz, SC; Dunbar, RB
Published in: Holocene
January 1, 2000

New evidence from piston cores and high-resolution seismic reflection data shows that water levels in Lake Titicaca were as much as 100 m below the present level during the early to mid-Holocene (between >6 and 3.8 14C kyr BP). Climatological and modelling studies indicate that Lake Titicaca rainfall depends on convective activity in upwind Amazonia; the lake-level data therefore suggest a drier Amazon Basin during this time. This view is bolstered by an excellent match between the Titicaca lake-level curve and decreased methane concentrations in Greenland ice, previously ascribed to drying of low-latitude wetlands (Blunier et al., 1995). The postglacial history of Lake Titicaca fits a global pattern of lake-level change in the tropics, characterized by opposite phasing between the Southern and Northern Hemispheres. This pattern is most likely the result of orbital controls over the intensity of summer insolation.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Holocene

DOI

ISSN

0959-6836

Publication Date

January 1, 2000

Volume

10

Issue

1

Start / End Page

21 / 32

Related Subject Headings

  • Paleontology
  • 4301 Archaeology
  • 3709 Physical geography and environmental geoscience
  • 3705 Geology
  • 2101 Archaeology
  • 0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience
  • 0403 Geology
 

Citation

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Cross, S. L., Baker, P. A., Seltzer, G. O., Fritz, S. C., & Dunbar, R. B. (2000). A new estimate of the Holocene lowstand level of Lake Titicaca, central Andes, and implications for tropical palaeohydrology. Holocene, 10(1), 21–32. https://doi.org/10.1191/095968300671452546
Cross, S. L., P. A. Baker, G. O. Seltzer, S. C. Fritz, and R. B. Dunbar. “A new estimate of the Holocene lowstand level of Lake Titicaca, central Andes, and implications for tropical palaeohydrology.” Holocene 10, no. 1 (January 1, 2000): 21–32. https://doi.org/10.1191/095968300671452546.
Cross SL, Baker PA, Seltzer GO, Fritz SC, Dunbar RB. A new estimate of the Holocene lowstand level of Lake Titicaca, central Andes, and implications for tropical palaeohydrology. Holocene. 2000 Jan 1;10(1):21–32.
Cross, S. L., et al. “A new estimate of the Holocene lowstand level of Lake Titicaca, central Andes, and implications for tropical palaeohydrology.” Holocene, vol. 10, no. 1, Jan. 2000, pp. 21–32. Scopus, doi:10.1191/095968300671452546.
Cross SL, Baker PA, Seltzer GO, Fritz SC, Dunbar RB. A new estimate of the Holocene lowstand level of Lake Titicaca, central Andes, and implications for tropical palaeohydrology. Holocene. 2000 Jan 1;10(1):21–32.
Journal cover image

Published In

Holocene

DOI

ISSN

0959-6836

Publication Date

January 1, 2000

Volume

10

Issue

1

Start / End Page

21 / 32

Related Subject Headings

  • Paleontology
  • 4301 Archaeology
  • 3709 Physical geography and environmental geoscience
  • 3705 Geology
  • 2101 Archaeology
  • 0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience
  • 0403 Geology