Paleoclimatological observations of the late Holocene on Isla de los Estados, Argentina

A large amount of paleoclimatological studies have been done on both continents, but the information from Isla de los Estados is scarce: this work gives the first palaeoenvironmental and palinological data of the Late Holocene. In a small old glacial circus at ca. 400 m above sea level, a peat bed of 1.2 m thick was logged and sampled.

The botton of the peat was 14C dated in 1870 + - 60 year BP. Due climate changes, the ice mass retreated (and perhaps disappeared completely) to be replaced by glaciolacustrine deposits and then the growth of the vegetation. The glaciolacustrine deposits presents a good polinical concentration and conservation, suggesting the co-existence of Nothofagus forest in the lower surrounding areas of the island with a glacial environment, similar to present Patagonia.