Neoglacial increase in high-magnitude glacial lake outburst flood frequency, upper Baker River, Chilean Patagonia (47°S)

Vandekerkhove, Elke; Bertrand, Sébastien; Mauquoy, Dmitri; McWethy, David B.; Reid, Brian; Stammen, Sarah; Saunders, Krystyna M.; Torrejón, Fernando

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106572

Cited by 19 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 73 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Acquiring longer sediment cores would allow examining the signature of the higher-magnitude GLOFs that occurred between the 1880s and 1960s (De Agostini, 1945; Table S1), and they could eventually provide a record of pre-historical Baker River GLOFs. Although a late Holocene GLOF reconstruction of Baker River GLOFs was recently achieved from floodplain sediments (Vandekerkhove et al, 2020b), fjord sediments would certainly provide a higher temporal resolution. However, identifying GLOF deposits from background sediments may be more challenging during colder periods, for example, neoglaciations, during which vegetation density, and therefore organic matter content in background sediments, was likely reduced.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During such events, the Baker River triples in discharge and river water temperature drops by 3 to 4°C due to the input of glacial meltwater (Dussaillant et al, 2010). Floodplains located immediately upstream of the confluence with the Colonia River inundate (Vandekerkhove et al, 2020b), while downstream of the confluence, Baker River suspended sediment concentrations increase eight-fold, mostly due to the erosion of lake-bed and valley-fill deposits in the upper watershed (Quiroga et al, 2012;Bastianon et al, 2012). Cachet 2 Lake is not the only one triggering GLOFs in the Colonia valley.…”

Section: Baker River Glacial Lake Outburst Floodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, the late 2000 rockfall in Calafate Lake breached the lake terminal moraine and triggered a GLOF that displaced 2 × 10 6 m 3 of debris downslope in the Leones valley (Harrison et al, 2006). In addition to GLOFs, the Baker River region also experiences meteorological floods resulting from long-lasting (several days) extreme precipitation events (Dussaillant et al, 2012;Vandekerkhove et al, 2020b).…”

Section: Baker River Glacial Lake Outburst Floodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Signature of modern glacial lake outburst floods in fjord sediments (Baker River, southern Chile)

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) constitute a major hazard in glacierized regions. They are particularly pronounced in the Baker River watershed (Chilean Patagonia, 48°S), where 23 events occurred between 2008 and 2020. Although GLOF deposits have previously been studied in lake settings, how modern GLOFs are recorded in fjord sediments remains mostly unknown. To address this issue, ten sediment cores collected in the fjord immediately downstream of the Baker River (Martínez Channel) were investigated and compared to the recent GLOF history of the river. Results show that sediments accumulate at 2.0 to 3.4 cm year −1 and that GLOF deposits can be distinguished from background sediments by their finer grain size (5.98 AE 0.82 μm) and lower organic carbon content (0.31 AE 0.06%), reflecting the release and transport in suspension of high amounts of glacial rock flour during GLOFs. Although 21 GLOFs from Cachet 2 Lake occurred between 2008 and 2017, the first events left a stronger imprint in the sediment, suggesting that more sediment of glacial origin was released during those initial events, possibly due to lake-bed erosion. An older GLOF deposit was tentatively linked to the outburst of Las Lengas Lake in 1988. The sediment cores also contain fine-grained turbidites, especially in the prodelta area. These turbidites confirm recent channel activity, but most of them seem to have been triggered by processes other than GLOFs. Overall, the results of this study suggest that GLOF deposits are distinct from typical flood turbidites. They are best identified by their low grain size and total organic carbon content, and best archived on the delta slope, away from any submarine channel influence. Finally, these results highlight the potential of fjord sediment archives to establish pre-historical GLOF records and ultimately improve GLOF hazard assessments.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Baker River Glacial Lake Outburst Floodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Baker River Glacial Lake Outburst Floodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Signature of modern glacial lake outburst floods in fjord sediments (Baker River, southern Chile)

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Although some of the watersheds are <10% glaciated, e.g., the Baker River watershed, the glacier-covered areas contribute significantly more water and sediments to the fjords than the drier regions (Figure 1; Dussaillant et al, 2012;Liu et al, 2020). In addition, suspended sediment data from the outflow of lakes General Carrera, Cochrane, and O'Higgins indicate that these lakes act as efficient sediment traps (HidroAysén, 2010;Vandekerkhove et al, 2020). Consequently, sediments from the upper Baker and upper Pascua river watersheds rarely reach the Baker-Martínez fjord system (Figure 1).…”

Section: Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sediment Provenance in the Baker-Martínez Fjord System (Chile, 48°S) Indicated by Magnetic Susceptibility and Inorganic Geochemistry

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Fjord sediments are increasingly used as high-resolution archives of climate and environmental change, including variations in glacier mass balance and terrestrial hydrology. To accurately interpret such sediment records, it is crucial to comprehend sediment transport processes and determine sediment provenance. With this in mind, our main objective is to identify cost-effective parameters that can be used to reconstruct relative variations in the origin of sediments deposited in the Baker-Martínez fjord system, which is located between the Northern (NPI) and Southern (SPI) Patagonian Icefields. We focus on estimating the proportions of sediment derived from each icefield, taking advantage of the clearly distinct lithologies that underlie NPI (Patagonian Batholith) and SPI (Eastern Andean Metamorphic Complex) glaciers. The magnetic susceptibility and inorganic geochemistry of 21 surface sediment samples collected along the fjord system and that of suspended sediment samples from the four main rivers that discharge at its heads were investigated. Results indicate that sediments derived from the NPI are characterized by higher magnetic susceptibility and log(Ti/Al) values than those from the SPI, reflecting the mafic nature of the batholith. In fjords that receive contributions from both the NPI and SPI, magnetic susceptibility and log(Ti/Al) primarily reflect sediment provenance. In fjords receiving sediment from only one icefield, however, these parameters are positively correlated with grain size and reflect the progressive settling of particles from the surficial plume. Our results suggest that magnetic susceptibility and log(Ti/Al) can be used to reconstruct sediment provenance within the Baker-Martínez fjord system, but that only log(Ti/Al) can provide quantitative estimates of the proportions of sediment derived from each icefield. Ultimately, applying these provenance indicators to long sediment cores from the Baker-Martínez fjord system could allow reconstructing relative variations in sediment input from each icefield, which may in turn be interpreted as changes in river discharge and/or glacier mass balance.

show abstract

“…climate changes on glacial-dammed lakes in Chilean Patagonia (Vandekerkhove et al, 2020); aeolian and lacustrine archives controlled by climatic conditions in drainage basins of Mongolia (Lehmkuhl et al, 2018); and constraining the timing of alluvial fan response to paleoclimate fluctuations during the Late Pleistocene in southern Tunisia and south-eastern Australia (Gardner et al, 2006;White et al, 1996). Likewise, geomorphic processes in the north-eastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) have been intensively studied in recent decades due to its location at the interface between the Indian summer monsoon (ISM), the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM), and the mid-latitude westerlies.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Formation, mechanism and significance of alluvial‐dammed lakes in Golmud River catchment, north‐eastern Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau

Chen

et al. 2021

Earth Surf Processes Landf

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study investigated a series of dammed lakes and downstream-adjacent alluvial fans in the upstream to middle reaches of the Golmud River in the eastern Kunlun Mountain, on the north-eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). An optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) chronology shows the sediments of five dammed lakes developed from c. 45-40, 30-25, 18-14, and 12-8 ka, corresponding to MIS 3b, late MIS 3a, Last Deglaciation, and early Holocene, respectively. The remote sensing data show these dammed lakes have a total area of 109.4 km 2 , with the lake volume of more than 4.0 km 3 . Symmetric alluvial fans from north-south tributary valleys produced OSL ages of c. 61-52, 42-31, 26-20, and 16-10 ka, corresponding to glaciation periods: the MIS 3c and MIS 3a, MIS 2, and the Last Deglaciation. This suggests that glacial activity is responsible for the alluvial fan development, where dammed rivers occurred first, but lake formation did not take place synchronously until later periods of strong hydrologic activity, resulting from northward intrusions of the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) or glacier melt. Thus, the blocking pattern is that river valleys were dammed during periods of glacial activity and lakes formed during wet periods. The lake formation and subsequent drainage may have resulted in:(i) impeded headwater incision and strengthening of downstream dissection;(ii) enriched the halite and potash in the distal Qarhan Salt Lake through hydrologic and hydrochemical processes of abundant water input, the salt lake expansion, salt redissolution from playa and final resedimentation during later dry periods. The alluvial-dammed lake pattern in the mountain-basin systems of eastern Kunlun Mountain offers a model for assessing the linkages between monsoon dynamics, geomorphic processes and distal salt lake evolutions in other arid regions. K E Y W O R D S alluvial-dammed lakes, eastern Kunlun Mountain, OSL dating, paleoclimate changes, salt lake evolution 1 | INTRODUCTION Systematic investigation of the geomorphologic evolution of drainage basins can provide insight into the response of mountain-basin systems to global paleoclimate fluctuations (An, Liu et al., 2018c;Whipple, 2004;Whipple & Tucker, 1999). Reconstructed paleoclimate oscillations from geomorphic processes often focuses on specific sedimentary or geomorphological archives such as fluvial terraces, dammed lake relicts, aeolian sediment sections, and alluvial or glacial landforms. Studies of the coupling relationships between geomorphic dynamics and paleoclimate changes have been carried out worldwide in recent years, for example response of Late Quaternary terrace evolution to climate changes in western Europe and North America

show abstract

Neoglacial increase in high-magnitude glacial lake outburst flood frequency, upper Baker River, Chilean Patagonia (47°S)

Cited by 19 publications

References 73 publications

Signature of modern glacial lake outburst floods in fjord sediments (Baker River, southern Chile)

Signature of modern glacial lake outburst floods in fjord sediments (Baker River, southern Chile)

Sediment Provenance in the Baker-Martínez Fjord System (Chile, 48°S) Indicated by Magnetic Susceptibility and Inorganic Geochemistry

Formation, mechanism and significance of alluvial‐dammed lakes in Golmud River catchment, north‐eastern Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About