1. PASADO:
Potrok Aike maar lake
Sediment Archive Drilling project

2. Bernd Zolitschka, Flavio Anselmetti, Daniel Ariztegui,
Laguna Potrok Aike (southern Patagonia, Argentina) the site of the ICDP lake drilling project
Bernd Zolitschka, Flavio Anselmetti, Daniel Ariztegui,
Hugo Corbella, Pierre Francus, Andreas Lücke, Nora Maidana, Christian Ohlendorf, Frank Schäbitz, Stefan Wastegard
+ logo Pierre, stefan

3. Southern Hemisphere Laguna Potrok Aike (PTA) is climatically
LGM
Laguna Potrok Aike (PTA) is climatically
influenced by:
El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
Antarctic Oscillation (Polar Easterlies)
Southern Hemispheric Westerlies

4. South America Southern Patagonia Pali Aike Volcanic Field
Lago Cardiel
Lago Viedma
Lago Argentino
Southern
Patagonia
Crater lakes of the
Pali Aike
Volcanic Field
Southern
Patagonia

5. Volcanological map of the Pali Aike Volcanic Field
Laguna Potrok Aike
Age of the
backarc volcanism:
Pliocene to Holocene
( Ma)
Zolitschka et al., 2006
(Scientific Drilling)

6. Laguna Potrok Aike

7. Hydrological variability
LANDSAT 7, BANDAS 5,4,1 DEL 04/10/99
Landsat images from E. Mazzoni et al.
LANDSAT 7, BANDAS 5,4,1 DEL 26/09/02
Precipitation: 325,6 mm
Hydrologically sensitive area
PTA = only permanent lake
Topography = very flat
Precipitation: mm
INTA meteo station

8. Lake level changes Glacial? overflow: 21 m above PDLL Little Ice Age:
PDLL: present day lake level
Lake level changes
21 m
8.7 – 7.3 cal. BP:
35 m below PDLL
8.8 m
0 m = PDLL
-35 m
Overflow at +21m above PDLL
More indications, that this lake is hydrologically sensitive
Anselmetti et al., 2009
(Sedimentology)

9. Laguna Potrok Aike is hydrologically sensitive
Seismic (3.5 kHz) and sedimentological evidence of a lake level low stand, i.e. a hydrological extreme event, at the submerged -35 m lake level terrace
7300 cal. BP
44,800 BP
Documentation for unconformity at the lake shoulder and ist timing
Anselmetti et al., 2009 (Sedimentology)

10. Observed hydrological variations
Year
Lake level changes
Evidences
AD 2006
Reference level
Measurements
AD 2002
3,5 m lower
Measurements
Little Ice Age
(19th century)
9,0 m higher
Dated lake level terrace
~7300 cal. BP
36,8 m lower
Dated submerged lake level terrace
Pre-Holocene
21 m higher
Highest lake level terrace; geomorphological evidence of an outflow;
sedimentological evidence of a non-end-lake situation

11. Laguna Potrok Aike

12. Our vision

13. GLAD800 Deep drilling
Recovering sediments of up to several hundred meters was scheduled for September to November 2008

14. Time frame of PASADO in perspective
PTA
Dome C
Vostok
Marine record
200
400
600
800
Age (ka BP)
EPICA community members, 2004

15. Potrok Aike maar lake Sediment Archive Drilling project (PASADO)
International funding
Potrok Aike maar lake Sediment Archive Drilling project (PASADO)
is funded by:
is co-funded by:

16. Development of a maar
Schematic structure of the Tertiary Messel Maar (Germany) with:
lacustrine sediments
volcano-clastic sediments
diatreme breccia
basaltic vent
Felder & Harms 2004

17. Comparison of Messel with Laguna Potrok Aike
N-S seismic reflection profile
Pirrung et al., 2003
Schulze et al., 2005
Gebhardt et al., subm.

18. PASADO has two priorities
Focus A:
1. Lithosphere dynamics
2. Volcanic systems
Investigation of the Cenozoic back arc volcanism, phreatomagmatic formation and analysis of early sedimentation in a young maar diatreme and its volcanic history.
Focus B:
1. Earth history
2. Global environment
3. Climate change

19. Focus B
Climate reconstruction spanning several glacial cycles (the last 770 ka) based on
Monitoring approach to understand and quantify links between climatic and environmental forcing on the sedimentary record.
Multi-proxy approach combining different proxy parameters for quantitative climate reconstruction.
Modelling approach applying model-proxy intercomparisons to understand and quantify climatic processes and the links between climate variability and climatic forcing.
Inter-archive approach to link this lacustrine record with South Atlantic marine sediment records and with Antarctic ice cores.

20. The potential of Laguna Potrok Aike
prior to drilling
GLAD-800
1 m
~400 m
19 m
~600 m
last millennium
last 16,000 years
Diatreme flank
diatreme-
bedrock
transition
last glacial cycles +
diatreme breccia
Anselmetti et al., 2009 (Sedimentology)

21. New techniques need to be applied and international scientific cooperation as well as funding is necessary to recover more than the intended 450 m of lacustrine sediments from 100 m deep Laguna Potrok Aike.
This calls into action:
&
To achieve these goals, …
Drilling, Observation and
Sampling of the Earth’s
Continental Crust
International Continental Scientific Drilling Program

22. The active PIs of PASADO PASADO workshop 2006
Bernd Zolitschka1, GER
Flavio Anselmetti, CH
Daniel Ariztegui2, CH
Hugo Corbella4, ARG
Pierre Francus, CAN
Andreas Lücke6, GER
Nora Maidana7, ARG
Christian Ohlendorf8, GER
Frank Schäbitz9, GER
Stefan Wastegard10, SWE 8 10 4
Missing on this
group photo are:
Flavio
Anselmetti
and
Pierre
Francus 6 9 2 7 1

23. PASADO project design Completed in 2008 Ongoing, completed in 2009
Started in June 2009
To come in 2010 and later
Ongoing

24. Reality: Report about the field work in 2008 and first data

25. Mobilisation: Only after two weeks of delay trucks were able to drive to Laguna Potrok Aike…

26. … and finally were unloaded near the lake!

27. In the meantime the camp* was set up
*Potrok City

28. The „Launcher“ almost ready to go!

29. Trucks, winches, crane, forklift: most welcome help during the process of launching

30. With a delay of one month the platform was operational

31. Drilling was carried out at these sites
Due to this delay of one month we cancelled the first site at the 35 m lake level terraces completely and started with drilling in the center of the lake at almost 100 m of water depth.

32. Almost exclusively the Hydraulic Piston Corer (HPC) was used…

33. … to recover 533 m of sediments with a mean recovery rate of 94.3 %.

34. MSCL at work in the field laboratory
MSCL analyzed only magnetic susceptibility. Gamma ray density (GRAPE) could not be measured because we were not able to import the gamma ray source into Argentina. Measurements are currently redone with the gamma ray source at the Alfred-Wegener-Institute in Bremerhaven to obtain this data set for physical properties. It provides information about density, porosity, water content and grain sizes.
MSCL at work in the field laboratory

35. Sedimentology section of the field laboratory

36. Pore water sampling in the field laboratory

37. Distress at lake
During a heavy storm anchors did not hold and the platform was drifting towards the eastern shore with two of DOSECC staff and two downhole loggers onboard.

38. Drilling summary Drilling time applied for: 60 days
Potential drilling time on the lake: 34 days
Actual drilling days: 12
Weather-related downtime: 16 days
Downtime for technical reasons: 6 days
Total hole depth applied for: 1850 m
Realised total hole depth: 533 m
Drilling time applied for: 60 days
Potential drilling time on the lake: 34 days
Total hole depth applied for: 1850 m
Realised total hole depth: 533 m
Drilling time applied for: 60 days
Total hole depth applied for: 1850

39. What we have achieved after field work was over…
GLAD-800
1 m
19 m
100 m
last millennium
last 16,000 years
Diatreme flank
… is the longest lake record for South America south of the tropics!!!
last ≈100,000 years
Anselmetti et al., 2009 (Sedimentology)

40. Ultimate goals of PASADO: well dated multi-proxy quantitative climate reconstructions in combination with a climate-model intercomparison
Several „absolute“ dating methods (AMS 14C, Ar/Ar, OSL) will be applied in combination with stratigraphic „dating“ methods (tephra, pollen, paleomagnetic intensity)  multiple dating approach
Quantitative climate reconstructions:
First results are available for pollen transfer functions
Establishment of training sets is ongoing for chironomid and diatom transfer functions
Tests have been successfully carried out for biomarker (TEX86)
Proxy-model intercomparisons evaluated proxy-based hypotheses with GCM climate simulations applying regional climate modelling

41. Scientific goals
Core opening started in March 2009 and will continue throuhghout the year. Based on a precise chronology we will obtain data and reconstructions about:
Microbial activity (deep biosphere)
Provenance of organic and minerogenic sediments
Volcanic activity
Dust storm frequency
Occurrences of natural fires
Variations of the Earth‘s magnetic field
Evolution of the lacustrine ecosystem
Water balance
Quantitative and qualitative climate parameters
Temporal and regional variability of Southern Hemispheric Westerlies

42. Information about PASADO is available in the world wide web
PASADO project homepage:
ICDP homepage: or

43. Merci beaucoup! Muchísimas gracias! Thank you for your attention!
Vielen Dank!
Coring conditions
Merci beaucoup! Muchísimas gracias! Thank you for your attention!

44. Merci beaucoup! Muchísimas gracias! Thank you for your attention!
Vielen Dank!
Merci beaucoup! Muchísimas gracias! Thank you for your attention!