- 1Department of Physical Geography - Landscape Geoscience, Institute of Geography, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Goldschmidtstr. 5, 37077 Göttingen, Germany (lisa.feist@uni-goettingen.de)
- 2Department of Sedimentology/ Environmental Geology, Geoscience Center, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Goldschmidtstr. 3, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- 3Department of Past Landscape Dynamics, Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization, Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warsaw, Poland
- 4Organic Biogeochemistry in Geo-systems, RWTH Aachen University, Lochnerstr. 4-20, 52056 Aachen, Germany
- 5Instituto Geofísico, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Ladrón de Guevara E11-253, Aptdo. 2759 Quito, Ecuador
- 6Grupo de Investigación de Ciencias en Red, Universidad Técnica del Norte (UTN), Av. 17 de Julio 5-21 y Gral. José María Córdova, 100150, Ibarra, Ecuador
- 7Tropical Silviculture and Forest Ecology, Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Büsgenweg 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- 8Fundación Cambugán and INABIO, Atacames N26-48 y Humberto Albornoz, Quito, Ecuador
Lake sediments are excellent natural archives of environmental change. These records provide valuable insights for predicting the potential impacts of future changes, particularly in the context of anthropogenic climate change and biodiversity loss. Tropical high-mountain regions, known as biodiversity hotspots, are particularly vulnerable to climate change, with profound implications for the ecosystems and millions of people who rely on their resources and services. To better understand the landscape evolution and past environmental change in the northern Andes, we analyzed lake sediment archives from three areas near Ecuador's capital, Quito, located at elevations of 3000-4000 m a.s.l. Our pilot study combined sub-bottom profiling (SBP) with a multi-proxy analysis of short sediment cores from lakes San Pablo, Muertepungo (SBP only), and Caricocha and Chiriyacu in the Mojanda Lake Region. All of these lakes are of different volcanic origins: Caricocha is a caldera lake, San Pablo developed from a flank collapse, and Muertepungo was formed by blockage from a lava flow.
In this contribution, we focus on SBP data to understand the bathymetry (first record for Muertepungo), morphology, and sediment infill characteristics of the studied lakes, providing a first interpretation of the sedimentary evolution. An Innomar “compact” parametric sediment profiler was used to record sub-bottom profiles in lakes with maximum water depths ranging from a few meters to more than 100 m. Stratigraphic correlation was supported by five short sediment cores collected from different water depths. Radiocarbon and tephra analysis was used to establish a chronological framework. Preliminary results indicate differences in sediment properties and thicknesses, as well as distinct layering patters, possibly linked to past environmental conditions such as shifts in water levels, temperature, trophic state and other factors.
The long-term goal of the pilot study is to integrate the findings on lake evolution with local knowledge, fostering a collaborative transdisciplinary approach to address the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss while supporting adaptative strategies for the future.
How to cite: Feist, L., Heyer, B., Karius, V., Halaś, A., Słowiński, M., Pérez, L., Mothes, P., Velarde-Cruz, E., Valdés-Uribe, A., Mariscal Chávez, A., and Dietze, E.: Reconstructing Landscape Changes in the Northern Ecuadorian Andes using Lake Sediment Archives, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-10439, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-10439, 2025.
