Lake van, Turkey - a potential new ICDP site: Paleoecological investigations based on lacustrine sediments (short cores from coring campaign 2004)
Final Report Abstract
Lake Van is the fourth largest terminal lake in the world (volume 607 km3, area 3,570 km2, maximum depth 460 m), extending for 130 km WSW-ENE on the Eastern Anatolian High Plateau, Turkey. The sedimentary record of Lake Van, partly laminated, has the potential to obtain a long and continuous continental sequence that covers several glacial-interglacial cycles (ca. 500 kyr). Therefore, Lake Van is a key site within the Intemational Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) for the investigation of the Quaternary climate evolution in the Near East ('PALEOVAN'). As preparation for an ICDP drilling campaign, a site survey was carried out during the past years. We collected 50 seismic profiles with a total length of ≈850 km to identify continuous undisturbed sedimentary sequences for potential ICDP locations. Based on the seismic results, we cored 10 different locations to water depths of up to 420 m. Multidisciplinary scientific work at positions of a proposed ICDP drill site included measurements of magnetic susceptibility, physical properties, stable isotopes, XRF scans, and pollen and spores. This core extends back to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), a more extended record than all the other Lake Van cores obtained to date. Both coring and seismic data do not show any indication that the deepest part of the lake (Tatvan Basin, Ahlat Ridge) was dry or almost dry during past times. These results show potential for obtaining a continuous undisturbed, long continental palaeoclimate record. The GLAD800 drill rig, combined with the RV Kerry Kelts platform operated by DOSECC, provides the technological support to drill and recover long and undisturbed cores of Lake Van.
Publications
- (2007): Lake Van Drilling Project: A Long Continental Record in Eastern Turkey. Scientific Drilling 4: 40-41
Litt, Th., Krastel, S., Örcen, S. & Karabiyikoglu, M.
