A high-resolution diatom reconstruction between 21,000 and 17,4000 14C yr BP from the southern Bolivian Altiplano (18–23°S)

A diatom study of lacustrine sediments in the southern part of the Bolivian Altiplano (Salar of Coipasa) provides a continuous record of the period 21,000–17,500 ¹⁴C yr BP. Constrained by seven AMS ¹⁴C dates, this record provides evidence that the Coipasa basin was filled by a shallow body of water during this time. Diatom/salinity and diatom/ionic composition transfer functions indicate that the lake was saline, dominated by sodium-chloride throughout all the period.A comparison with regional data shows that Lake Titicaca could not have overflowed towards the southern Bolivian Altiplano at that time. As this dry phase was not registered in Lake Coipasa, this lake was probably supplied by winter precipitation originating from the Pacific. But, recent data from the deep basin of Lake Titicaca show that the lake-level was higher during this time interval, and the question arises whether precipitation from Atlantic and Amazonia sources could have played an important role on the Altiplano during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). This hypothesis needs to match other available paleoclimatic data from the lowlands of tropical South America, where there is evidence that during the LGM, conditions were drier than today. Global climate simulations suggest a positive P-E on the Altiplano, due to a strong cooling, reducing evaporative demand more than any increase in precipitations. An increase of winter precipitation from the Pacific is in agreement with data from the Chilean coast showing a northward locations of the Westerlies during the LGM. This paleoclimatic hypothesis is also in agreement with a coupled ocean-atmosphere model, which indicates weaker summer precipitation and stronger winter precipitation in the tropical areas.