Project Details
Projekt
Environmental effects of climate and vulcanism during the Marine Isotope Stage 5 in lowland Central America
Applicant
Dr. Luis Rodrigo Martínez Abarca
Subject Area
Geology
Hydrogeology, Hydrology, Limnology, Urban Water Management, Water Chemistry, Integrated Water Resources Management
Hydrogeology, Hydrology, Limnology, Urban Water Management, Water Chemistry, Integrated Water Resources Management
Term
since 2025
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 560835087
Lake Petén Itzá, located in the northern Neotropics of Central America, is a unique site for understanding past and present climate change due to its susceptibility to major climate drivers, including the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Its proximity to major volcanic centers in western Central America provides an ideal setting to explore the role of volcanic events in shaping landscape and ecosystem responses. The critical location of Lake Petén Itzá is key for studying the interaction of climate and volcanism over time and assessing their combined impacts on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. In 2006, sediment cores from Lake Petén Itzá were recovered by the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP), revealing one of the longest and oldest continental sediment records in the northern Neotropics, spanning approximately 400 kyr. Recent improvements in the chronology of this record now allow for the examination of climate signals older than 80 kyr, including those from the MIS5 interglacial (Marine Isotope Stage 5; 130–70 ka BP). This period, considered a potential analog for present-day global warming, is particularly valuable for understanding ecosystem responses in a highly biodiverse and densely populated region like the Central American lowlands, with potential applications for future climate scenarios. This project aims to analyze environmental effects of past climate on lowland Central American terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems during MIS5. We will apply innovative biomarkers, including n-alkanes and GDGTs, to reconstruct variations in lake productivity, vegetation cover, water levels, bottom-water oxygenation, and atmospheric temperature. By assessing these proxies, we aim to identify interregional climate drivers and possible environmental differences across the Neotropics. The project will also examine ecosystem responses to two major Quaternary eruptions documented in Lake Petén Itzá sediments: L-Tephra (124 ka BP) and Los Chocoyos (75 ka BP), both occurring under different climate contexts. Specifically, we will explore whether a volcanic winter followed these events, and analyze lake and landscape recovery times. This research is expected to contribute valuable insights to paleoclimatology and vulcanology, as well as to the study of the late Quaternary climate in the global tropics, while providing data relevant to ecosystem resilience planning in lowland Central America.
DFG Programme
Infrastructure Priority Programmes
Subproject of
SPP 1006:
Infrastructure area - International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP)
International Connection
Mexico, Sweden, Switzerland, USA
