REPOSITORIO DIGITAL DEL INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE INVESTIGACIÓN EN GLACIARES Y ECOSISTEMAS DE MONTAÑA
El Repositorio Digital del INAIGEM es una plataforma de acceso abierto que preserva, organiza y difunde documentos científicos generados por nuestra institución, relacionados con el estudio de glaciares, ecosistemas de montaña y cambio climático. Facilita el acceso al conocimiento, promoviendo la conservación y gestión sostenible de los recursos de montaña para el bienestar de la sociedad.

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A pre-Inca pot from underwater ruins discovered in an Andean lake provides a sedimentary record of marked hydrological change
(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2019-12-16) Neal Michelutti; Preston Sowell; Pedro M. Tapia; Christopher Grooms; Martin Polo; Alexandra Gambetta; Carlos Ausejo; John P. Smol
Pre-Hispanic artifacts and sacred architecture were recently discovered submerged in a large lake (Laguna Sibinacocha) in the Peruvian Andes. The underwater ruins indicate a dramatic shift in the region’s hydrology but the timing and triggers of this shift remain unknown. In a novel approach blending archaeology and paleoecology, we analyzed a sediment sequence from within one of the recovered artifacts, specifically a pot from the Late Intermediate Period (~1000–1400 CE). Radioisotopic dating of discrete sediment intervals sampled from the pot show a stratigraphically intact profile that preserves a history of change at this site. The pot’s basal sediment age places the timing of lake-level rise during the late ~1600s CE, which post-dates the end of the Inca Empire (1400–1532 CE) by approximately 150 years. The ubiquity of planktonic algae throughout the sediment profile suggests water levels remained high above the pot since its submergence. Paleoclimate data from the nearby Quelccaya ice core records indicate lake flooding followed a pronounced wet period beginning ~1520 CE. These data show the permanence of mean state changes in climate on the region’s hydrology, with clear implications for the study site (an important water resource for ~500,000 people) and other lakes in the rapidly warming Andes.
A pre-Inca pot from underwater ruins discovered in an Andean lake provides a sedimentary record of marked hydrological change
(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2019-12-16) Neal Michelutti; Preston Sowell; Pedro M. Tapia; Christopher Grooms; Martin Polo; Alexandra Gambetta; Carlos Ausejo; John P. Smol
Pre-Hispanic artifacts and sacred architecture were recently discovered submerged in a large lake (Laguna Sibinacocha) in the Peruvian Andes. The underwater ruins indicate a dramatic shift in the region’s hydrology but the timing and triggers of this shift remain unknown. In a novel approach blending archaeology and paleoecology, we analyzed a sediment sequence from within one of the recovered artifacts, specifically a pot from the Late Intermediate Period (~1000–1400 CE). Radioisotopic dating of discrete sediment intervals sampled from the pot show a stratigraphically intact profile that preserves a history of change at this site. The pot’s basal sediment age places the timing of lake-level rise during the late ~1600s CE, which post-dates the end of the Inca Empire (1400–1532 CE) by approximately 150 years. The ubiquity of planktonic algae throughout the sediment profile suggests water levels remained high above the pot since its submergence. Paleoclimate data from the nearby Quelccaya ice core records indicate lake flooding followed a pronounced wet period beginning ~1520 CE. These data show the permanence of mean state changes in climate on the region’s hydrology, with clear implications for the study site (an important water resource for ~500,000 people) and other lakes in the rapidly warming Andes.
Ecological Change and Livestock Governance in a Peruvian National Park
(MDPI AG, 2023-11-11) Kenneth Young; Eyner Alata; Rodney Chimner; Randall Boone; Gillian Bowser; Laura Bourgeau-Chavez; Beatriz Fuentealba; Jessica Gilbert; Javier Ñaupari; Molly Polk; Sigrid Resh; Cecilia Turin; Melody Zarria-Samanamud
While the grazing of livestock has occurred for millennia in the Andes, current sustainability debates center on concerns with co-managing climate change and pastoralism. These discussions have special resonance in places protected by the state for biodiversity, scenery, and sustainable and traditional land uses, such as those found in protected areas and biosphere reserves. For this article, we integrate data from a social-ecological research project on the land use systems that affect high-elevation ecosystems in Peru’s Huascarán National Park, with special emphasis on the wetlands. We used land cover and land use data and insights from interactions with pastoralists to show that (1) wet meadows dominate the lower reaches of the park, while peatlands predominate above 4000 m elevation; (2) wet meadows are most useful for traditional grazing systems, while the peatlands are especially susceptible to trampling by livestock; and (3) there is limited ecological space at the highest elevations for the successful future upward relocation of either land use or potential habitats for species identified as of concern. We explore the implications of these findings for the adaptive strategies of biophysical and social processes in terms of livelihoods and biodiversity in and around a protected area. We conclude that there are many additional opportunities to be explored to inform the management of ecosystem services and provide improvements for the adaptive capacity of communities and park managers.
Differing limnological responses to late Holocene climate variability in the Cordillera Vilcanota, Peruvian Andes
(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2020-05-19) Neal Michelutti; Pedro M. Tapia; Christopher Grooms; Andrew L. Labaj; John P. Smol
In recent decades, climate change in Peru’s Cordillera Vilcanota has resulted in massive reductions to its cryosphere and the upslope migration of species and agriculture. Little, however, is known about the response of the region’s many lakes that support local biodiversity and supply water to downstream populations. We analyzed fossil diatom assemblages in dated sediment cores from three lakes with differing morphometry and catchment characteristics to document the limnological response to climate variability over the late Holocene. The study lakes contained similar dominant diatom taxa but recorded markedly different assemblage shifts over time. The two deeper lakes, Laguna Sibinacocha (zmax = 92 m) and Chaca Cocha (zmax = 18 m), contained diatom assemblages that oscillated in dominance between benthic fragilarioids (Staurosirella pinnata, Pseudostaurosira brevistriata) and the planktonic Discostella stelligera. The Chaca Cocha diatom record closely matched the mean state changes in climate inferred from independent proxy records, whereas the record from the glacially influenced Laguna Sibinacocha did not match independent records. In contrast, the shallow study site, Lado del Quelccaya (zmax = 5 m), recorded a complacent diatom profile dominated by benthic fragilarioids with negligible planktonic taxa. The disparate diatom trajectories among the study lakes reflect variations in morphometry and glacial influence and the assemblage shifts appear best explained by climate-driven alterations to thermal stratification. These data offer insight into the primary mechanisms driving limnological change in this region and how different lake types throughout the Andes may respond to future warming.
GC Insights: Lessons from participatory water quality research in the upper Santa River basin, Peru
(Copernicus GmbH, 2024-06-27) Sally Rangecroft; Caroline Clason; Rosa Maria Dextre; Isabel Richter; Claire Kelly; Cecilia Turin; Claudia V. Grados-Bueno; Beatriz Fuentealba; Mirtha Camacho Hernandez; Sergio Morera Julca; John Martin; John Adam Guy
Aquí compartimos cuatro lecciones clave de un proyecto interdisciplinario (Nuestro Río) que recopiló perspectivas comunitarias sobre la calidad del agua local en la cuenca del río Santa (Perú) mediante un enfoque tecnológico digital. Recopilamos datos a través de una novedosa aplicación de captura de imágenes, con el apoyo de una campaña de trabajo de campo. Las lecciones exploradas en este artículo ofrecen perspectivas sobre los desafíos y las oportunidades para los investigadores que consideran desarrollar herramientas tecnológicas para fomentar la participación y el compromiso en comunidades marginadas