Lake Peten-Itza (Guatemala) Drilling Project http://plaza.ufl.edu/hodell

Lake Peten-Itza (Guatemala) Drilling Project http://plaza.ufl.edu/hodell

Lake Peten-Itza (Guatemala) Drilling Project
Website:
http://plaza.ufl.edu/hodell
Sponsored by:
International Continental Drilling Program (ICDP)
Peten Lake District
Peten, Guatemala
Guatemala
Yaxha
Perdida
Sacnab
Sacpuy
Macanche
Peten-Itza
Quexil
Petenxil
Salpeten
Latitude 16o55’N
Longitude 89o50’W
Elevation 110 m
Surface area 99.6 km2
Length >20 km
Width 3-4 km
Max. depth 160 m
Why drill Lake Peten-Itza?
Legend
!
Primary Sites
")
Secondary Sites
Depth (m)
NoData
0 - 15
N
15 - 30
Jobompiche Launch
30 - 45
Site
45 - 60
60 - 75
Camino Real
75 - 90
90 - 105
105 - 120
120 - 135
135 - 160
El Remate
San Andreas
Flores
0
4
8
Kms
Tropic of Cancer
17oN
Equator
Annual Rainfall (mm/yr)
Peten-Itza
Water depth
60.9 m
•Holocene piston cores have
demonstrated the potential of
Lake Peten Itza sediments for
paleoclimatic studies and their
correlation to the Cariaco Basin.
Gypsum
Haug et al. (2001)
Subtropical Dry Broadleaf
Subtropical Moist Broadleaf
Mangrove
Tropical/Subtropical Moist
•The Peten is set within
the Maya forest, which is
the largest continuous
expanse of tropical forest
remaining in Central
America and Mexico
today.
•Pollen is generally well
preserved in Peten lake
sediments, providing an
opportunity to study
changes that occurred in
lowland Neotropical
vegetation in response to
climate change, fire, and
human disturbance.
•The Peten has had a 4000-yr
history of human occupation by
the Maya civilization.
•Cores from the deep basins of
Peten-Itza will permit
comparative studies of the
complex interactions among
humans, climate, and
environment.
HCO
Ca
3
SO
Mg
4
Cl Na
pH = 8.0
Ca 2+
Mg 2+
K+
Na +
Cl SO 42HCO 3-
3.68 meq l-1
1.88 meq l-1
0.10 meq l-1
0.45 meq l-1
0.32 meq l-1
3.05 meq l-1
2.74 meq l-1
Total
12.22 meq l-1
•High organic matter, high
temperature, and presence of
dissolved and solid sulfate
(CaSO4) constitute a “bio-reactor”
for subsurface microbial activity.
CaCO3
CaMg(CO3)2
CaSO4
OrgC
•The sediments and pore waters
of Lake Peten-Itza provide an
opportunity to conduct integrated
studies of microbial ecology,
biogeochemistry, and mineral
authigenesis/diagenesis.
1. Paleoclimatic history of the northern lowland Neotropics
on orbital to suborbital time scales emphasizing marineterrestrial linkages (e.g., Cariaco Basin, Greenland ice
cores, etc.).
2. Paleoecology and biogeography of the Maya tropical
lowland forest and the response of vegetation
to disturbance by humans, climate change, and fire.
3. Biogeochemical cycling in deep lake sediments including
integrated studies of subsurface microbiology,
geochemistry (interstitial waters), and mineral
authigenesis/diagenesis.
N
1999
2002
(t)
Gypsum
Core 11A (60.9 m)
Scanning XRF (1-mm spatial resolution)
)
m
440
c
(
7,025 cal yr BP
e460
r
o
C
7,470 cal yr BP
n480
i
8,720 cal yr BP
h
t 500
p
e
D
9,475 cal yr BP
520
Holocene
Pleistocene
540
10,820 cal yr BP
11,015 cal yr BP
0
6000
Sulfur (cts)
Sulfur
(cts)
12000
(t)
(Holocene)