Active participation in ICDP Lake Drilling Projects

As of 2008, Switzerland becomes member of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) through contributions of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF), which are currently granted for five years. Together with the longtime membership in the Ocean Drilling ODP/IODP programs, this new ICDP membership completes the possibilities of Swiss scientists and strengthens the active involvement of the Swiss geoscience community in international scientific drilling operations anywhere on the earth's surface. > Swiss drilling
Eawag researchers are actively involved in ICDP projects that address past environmental and climate changes by the recovery of long drill cores from lakes. An available mobile platform (RV/Kerry Kelts) with a drill rig (GLAD800) allows unprecedented coring operations in lakes, which were so far restricted to the marine realm.

Lake Petén Itzá (Guatemala)

In the context of an International Continental Deep Drilling Program (ICDP)-project, the complete Late Quaternary sediment record of Lake Petén Itzá, Northern Guatemala, was drilled in 2006. The sediment succession reflects past climate and environmental changes in the tropical lowlands of Central America during at least the last 200'000 years, i.e. beyond the transition into marine isotope stage MIS 7. The sedimentological record from Lake Petén Itzá provides a complete and highly sensitive archive to reconstruct the late Quaternary history of tropical climate and environmental changes in the Circum Caribbean area. [...]

Project partners

Andreas Müller (ETH Zürich), Dave Hodell (Univ. Cambridge), Mark Brenner (Univ. of Florida), Daniel Ariztegui (Univ. of Geneva)

Publications

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• Anselmetti, F.S., Ariztegui, D., Hodell, D.A., Hillesheim, M., Brenner, M., Gilli, A., McKenzie, J.A., A.D. Mueller (2006) Late Quaternary climate-induced lake level variations in Lake Petén Itzá, Guatemala, inferred from seismic stratigraphic analysis. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 230, 52-69.
  
  
• Bush, M.B., Correa-Metrio, A., Hodell D.A., Brenner, M., Anselmetti, F.S, Ariztegui, D., Mueller, A.D., Curtis, J.H., Grzesik, D., Burton, C., and Gilli, A. (subm.) The Last Glacial Maximum in Lowland Central America: in Past Climate Variability from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene in South America and Surrounding Regions. Developments in Paleoenvironmental Research, Springer-Verlag.
  
  
• Hodell, D.A., Anselmetti, F.S., Ariztegui, D., Brenner, M., Curtis, J.H., Escobar, J. Gilli, A., Grzesik, D.A., Guilderson, T.J., Kutterolf, S. and Müller. A.D. (2008) An 85-ka record of climate change in lowland Central America. Quaternary Science Reviews 27, 1152-1165.
  
  
• Mueller, A.D., Islebe, G.A., Hillesheim, M.B., Grzesik, D.A., Anselmetti, F.S., Ariztegui, D., Brenner, M., Curstis, J., Hodell, D., Venz, K.A. (in press.) Climate drying and associated forest decline in the lowlands of northern Guatemala during the late Holocene. Quaternary Research.

Lake Potrok Aike (Southern Patagonia, Argentina)

Within the ICDP project PASADO, up to 106 m long sediment cores from Laguna Potrok Aike were recovered in 2008, a 770 ka old maar lake in the dry steppe of southern Patagonia (Province of Santa Cruz, Argentina). These sediments will likely contain a paleoenvironmental record spanning several glacial interglacial cycles that will allow to develop a comprehensive environmental, climatic and volcanological dataset providing unprecedented information on climate variability in the Southern Hemisphere. With its maximum water depth of 100 m this lake is the best candidate in southernmost Patagonia for obtaining a continuous sedimentary record over such an extended time span. [...]

Project partners

Bernd Zolitschka, Christian Ohlendorf (Univ. Bremen), Daniel Ariztegui (Univ, of Geneva), Catalina Gebhardt (AWI Bremerhaven)

Publications

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• Anselmetti, F.S., Ariztegui, D., De Batist, M., Gebhardt, C., Haberzettl, T., Niessen, F., Ohlendorf, C. and Zolitschka. B. (in press) Environmental history of southern Patagonia unraveled by the seismic stratigraphy of Laguna Potrok Aike. Sedimentology.
  
  
• Gebhardt A.C., De Batist, M., Niessen, F., Anselmetti, F.S., Ariztegui, D., Kopsch. C., Ohlendorf, C. and Zolitschka, B. (subm.) Origin and evolution of Laguna Potrok Aike maar (Southern Patagonia, Argentina). subm. to Basin research.
  
  
• Haberzettl, T., Kück, B., Anselmetti, F.S., Ariztegui, D., Fey, M., Janssen, A., Lücke, A., Mayr, C., Ohlendorf, C., Schäbitz, F., Schleser, G.H., Wille, M., Wulf, S. and Zolitschka, B. (2008) Hydrological variability in southeastern Patagonia and explosive volcanic activity in the southern Andean Cordillera during Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 and the Holocene inferred from lake sediments of Laguna Potrok Aike, Argentina. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 259, 213-229.

Lake Van (Eastern Anatolia, Turkey)

Lake Van is the fourth largest terminal lake in the world, extending for 130 km WSW-ENE on a high plateau at 1674 a.s.l. in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. The lake is surrounded by active volcanoes within a tectonically active area. The annually-laminated sedimentary record of Lake Van promises to be an excellent paleoclimate, paleoenvironment and paleoseismic archive because it potentially yields a long and continuous continental sequence that covers several glacial-interglacial cycles (~500 kyr). Therefore, Lake Van is a key site within the ICDP activities for the investigation of the Quaternary climatic, environmental, volcanic and tectonic evolution in the Near East at the cradle of human civilization. Drilling operations are expected to take place in summer 2009. [...]

Project partners

Thomas Litt (Univ. Bonn, Germany), Sefer Örcen (University of Yüzüncü Yil, Van, Turkey), Sebastian Krastel (Geomar, Kiel, Germany), Jürg Beer, Rolf Kipfer, Carsten Schubert, Mona Stockhecke, Mike Sturm, Yama Tomonaga (all Eawag)

Publication

Litt, T., Krastel, S., Sturm, M., Kipfer, R., Örcen, S., Heumann, G., Franz, S.O., Ülgen, U.B. and Niessen, F. (in press) Lake Van Drilling Project 'PALEOVAN', International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP). Results of a recent pre-site survey and perspectives. Quat. Sci. Res.