Reserva Nacional de Junín es escenario de importante investigación de variabilidad climática y ambiental de los últimos 200 mil años Según los investigadores, el polen, diatomeas, isotopos de hidrógeno y otros componentes geoquímicos contenidos en el sedimento del lago serán indicadores para detectar la variabilidad climática y ambiental de los últimos 200 mil años, periodo conocido como cuaternario tardio. Este proyecto de relevancia internacional viene siendo financiado por la Fundación Nacional de Ciencia de Estados Unidos, el Programa Internacional para la Extracción Continental de Sedimentos con fines Científicos, el Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra y el Centro de Investigación Limnologica de la Universidad de Minnesota. Los resultados del proyecto serán utilizados por climatólogos de diversas partes del mundo para la elaboración de modelos climáticos, los cuales serán necesarios para desarrolar mejores políticas de adaptación frente al cambio climático, fenómeno que afectaría de manera directa la seguridad alimentaria, economía y salud de las poblaciones altoandinas. El estudio implica también el desarrollo de talleres y reuniones con las autoridades y pobladores de las comunidades adyacentes al lago de Chinchaycocha, así como seminarios en los colegios y universidades de Junín y Cerro de Pasco. Junín, 14 de agosto de 2015 Comunicaciones SERNANP Promoviendo la investigación científica en las áreas protegidas. La Reserva Nacional de Junin será escenario de la primera reconstrucción climática, hidrológica y ambiental desarrollada en el Perú para los andes tropicales; investigación que estará basada en el análisis de sedimentos del lago Chinchaycocha. El estudio es desarrollado por más de 50 investigadores provenientes de 13 universidades de Estados Unidos y Perú, encabezados por Donald Rodbell (Union College), Mark Abbott (University of Pittsburg) y Pedro Tapia Ormeño (Universidad Cayetano Heredia).
El interes, entusiasmo y habilidad de las niñas y niños del grupo de guardaparques voluntarios junior en Ondores nos sorprendio. A sus cortos 10 años muchos de ellos saben los nombres cientificos de las plantas y animales que habitan el Lago Chinchaycocha. Trabajando con el grupo de guardaparques voluntarios junior promovido por la Reserva Nacional de Junín y Kristi Wilber del cuerpo de Paz-Peru. Con nuestros amigos de la Reserva Nacional de Junín, y los pobladores de Ondores - mit Reserva Nacional de Junín, Angela Rozas Dávila, Oscar Jesús Damián Baldeón et al.
Amigos les invitamos a este interesante Seminario de uno de los proyectos de investigación más grandes del neotrópico: "Reconstrucción climática durante el Cuaternario Tardío de los Andes Tropicales" Será en la Universidad Nacional del Centro del Perú - Huancayo - mit Liv Barzola, Rooslin Galvez Bendezu, Roxana Barra, Jhan Rojas Vicera, Abdias Villoslada, Lizbeth Melissa CP, Lizzy Mt, Alcides Garzon, Yerson Yovanny Urrutia Castro, Zhirley Kriss Quintanilla, Naye Quispe Castro, Deyvis Urbina Cesar, Ginita Cosser, Lucila Carito Bastidas Quispe, Susan Garcia Ramos, Esperanza Gálvez Gamarra, Julio César Vilcarano Quispe, Jerdy Quispe Ochoa, Susan Canchaya Garcia, Lesly Valer Gonzales, Raulito Quincho Pèrez, Stephani Pariona Barra, Carol Jessica Jauregui Fernandez, Celi Muñoz Quinto, Diana Paola Castillo, Santuario Histórico de Chacamarca, Rosa Zarate Quiñones, HuGo Madrid, Manuel Alejandro Rojas Osorio, Sthefany VC, Wendy Sanchez, Jacqueline Hernandez, Sintia Castellanos Uscata, Ezau Roy, Maricruz Hinostroza, Angela Rozas Dávila, Dafne Zaira Echegaray Cristobal, Caterine Huaman Quispe, Roxana Bernaola Flores, Eduardo B.Alcala., Walter Jesus Palacios Zamudio, Bryan Fredy Yarupaita Echevarria, Akari Elina Arteaga C, Kenia Pamela und Richard Rodriguez Flores.
Greetings from Lake Chinchaycocha! This week, after finishing Site #1 in the deeper part of the lake, we began extracting sediment core at two sites closer to the eastern shoreline (Site #2 and Site #3). We cored down to 20 meters at Site #2 and 50 meters at Site #3, running into sand at the base of both sites. Work continues today to finish up the last hole at Site #3! Here is a panorama of the day shift hard at work on the barge. Photo and post: Christine Y. Chen Saludos desde el Lago Chinchaycocha! Esta semana, despues de haber finalizado la extracción de sedimento en la zona #1, iniciamos la extracción de testigos de sedimento en dos zonas cercanas a la orilla este del lago (zonas #2 y #3). En la zona #2 se obtuvieron 20 metros y en la zona #3 colectamos 50 metros. En ambas zonas llegamos hasta un area en la cual existen arenillas. El trabajo continuará hoy hasta terminar el último hoyo en la zona #3. Aqui les dejamos una foto panorámica del turno que trabaja en durante la mañana.
This past week, the science team and drill crew extracted sediment cores from Holes B, C, and D at Drill Site #1, starting with Hole E as per August 8th. The reason multiple holes are drilled at approximately the same location is to increase the total sediment recovery. To further elaborate: Suppose we had a hole that was 100 meters deep. In the ideal world, we would be able to recover all 100 meters of sediment with no breaks or missing sections. However, in all scientific coring operations, sediment is retrieved in successive meter-scale intervals of core (in our case, it is 3 meters). Because of this, sometimes we only retrieve 85-90 meters of sediment from a 100 meter hole (85-90% recovery), due to problems like sediment falling out the bottom of the core in the hole before we can get our hands on it on the barge. To compensate for our problem of missing portions in our sediment core record, we drill multiple holes at each site so that material that is not present in one hole is represented in another. In this photograph, a driller is pulling out the HPC (hydraulic piston core) after a successful drive into the lake sediment. At the bottom of HPC is our precious record of past climate change! Photo: Kristina Brady Post: Christine Y. Chen
Bienvenidos Armando Alvarado (UNT, Universidad Nacional de Trujillo) y Milagros Chumacero (URP, Universidad Ricardo Palma, Lima) al laboratorio de campo, haciendo mas frotices de sedimentos Welcome to Armando Alvarado (UNT) y Milagros Chumacero (URP) to the Science Lab., here depicted while making smear slides. Post and photo: Pedro Tapia Ormeño
Presentation of the Lake Junin Project before the members of the Chinchaycocha Dialog Table at the Peruvian Ministry Council's Presidency. For us, it is of the utmost importance to work altogether with all the authorities and local population. The results of our project will help at these communities and authorities to improve public policies against Climate Change. Presentación del Proyecto ante los miembros de la mesa de dialogo del Lago Chinchaycocha en la Presidencia del Consejo de Ministros. Para nosotros es de suma importancia trabajar en conjunto con las autoridades y pobladores. Los resultados de nuestro proyecto ayudaran a estas comunidades y a sus autoridades a mejorar sus politicas frente al cambio climático. (Post and photos: Angela Rozas Dávila; English translation: Pedro Tapia Ormeño)
Today, we say farewell to Kristina Brady, curator at LacCore! We'll definitely miss her here at the Lake Junín Project. (PLJ on facebook) CYC: "What's the most challenging thing that's happened so far?" KB: "The first hole at any location is tricky because you don't know what's down there. When you start to replicate the material, it gets easier because you now know what to expect. But drilling in a new location is also exciting because it's all brand new!"
Grace Delgado (UNH) and Charlie Casey (Union) are pictured here preparing core tubes for the core catcher sections. Once a core tube has fully penetrated the sediment, the tube must be withdrawn without losing sample. Core catchers help to counteract the suction occurring at the base of the core tube as it is being withdrawn, literally "catching" the sediment at the bottom of the core. A little bit of each core catcher section is sampled and used for immediate paleoecological analysis back in the science lab (see our previous post on diatoms featuring Dr. Pedro Tapia).
Dr. Don Rodbell (center), Professor of Geology at Union College, is one of the principal investigators of the Lake Junín Project (Proyecto Lago Junín). He has conducted research in the Peruvian Andes for over thirty years, starting with his PhD, which involved the study of glacial deposits and their implications for how the regional climate has changed in the past. He has refined the technique of integrating glacial moraine and lake sediment core data to establish a more complete picture of past climate changes and the impacts such changes had on the surrounding flora and fauna, including humans. To say that Dr. Rodbell is excited for the science being conducted here is an understatement. The sediment record from Lake Junín will be the first continuous record of glaciation and glacial erosion spanning several hundred millennia in tropical South America. El Dr. Don Rodbell (Al centro), Profesor de Geología en Union College, es uno de los investigadores principales del Proyecto Lago Junín. Ha dirigido investigaciones en los Andes de Perú durante 30 años, su primer estudio en Perú fue su tesis doctoral, sobre los yacimientos glaciales y sus consecuencias en cambios regionales pasados. Él ha mejorado la técnica de integrar datos de morrenas glaciales y sedimentos de lagos para establecer un conocimiento más completo de cambios climáticos pasados, y los impactos que estos cambios tuvieron en la flora y fauna, incluyendo en los humanos. Él está muy entusiasmado con este proyecto porque la cronología del sedimento del Lago Junín será el primer estudio cronológico ininterrumpido de la glaciación y erosión glacial que ha durado varios miles de milenios en la Sudamerica tropical. Photo: Kristina Brady Post: Christine Y. Chen Spanish translation: Arielle Woods
It's ?#?ScienceSunday (https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/sciencesunday?source=feed_text&story_id=855268471218442)?, and we are busy as bees in the lab! Here is Dr. Rob Hatfield (OSU) standing with all the sediment cores that have been processed as of the afternoon of Aug.1st. The cores are arranged in order of increasing depth/age from left to right. What could these dramatic changes in color mean? Read our previous post for some ideas: http://tinyurl.com/okuje2k Meanwhile, the day shift (on Aug.2nd) hit a thick layer of sand that was impenetrable. That makes Hole A at Drill Site #1 complete at just over 100 meters depth! The ICDP logging team from GFZ Potsdam is now on the rig taking in-situ measurements from the borehole. We will move the barge to Hole B soon after. Photo and post: Christine Y. Chen
This photograph features the RV G.O. Seltzer pulling the barge out onto the lake. The crew boat was named in memory of Geoffrey Owen Seltzer (1959-2005), one of the most influential contributors to the field of Quaternary science. Geoff laid much of the foundational work on Lake Junín and the surrounding region, making a lasting impact not only on future studies in the area, but also on many students with his generosity, genuine care, and excellent mentorship. If he were here today, he would be very proud of this project. Read more about Geoff Seltzer here: ftp://rock.geosociety.org/pub/Memorials/v34/Seltzer.pdf Photo: Don Rodbell Post: Christine Y. Chen
The night shift has returned with plenty of core for the science team nearly 22 meters! Check them out in this photograph. The sediment cores are arranged in order of depth, with the uppermost/youngest sediment at the far right where Dr. Pedro Tapia is pointing. Notice the dramatic changes in color as we drill deeper into the lake. These transitions in color represent changes in the composition of the lake sediments. For instance, the light tan-brown sediment is mostly made of carbonate and contains bits of organic material, like grasses, gastropods, and bivalves. In contrast, the light gray sediment is made of fine, silty -glacial flour- transported to the site during colder glacial periods when glaciers were actively eroding the valleys in the eastern cordillera. Photo and post: Christine Chen
Good news - deep drilling has officially begun! The barge carrying the drilling rig is now anchored at the first drilling site. Teams from LacCore, DOSECC, Geotec Peru, and GeoForschungszentrum Potsdam, as well as scientists from both Peru and the United States, are now all working together around the clock to extract the sediment cores that record a story of Earth's past climate changes. Truly an international effort! The first drill core has arrived in the science lab! While the day shift crew heads to bed, the night shift crew heads out to continue pulling out sediment cores from the lake. It's the winter season here in Peru - notice our fluffy down jackets! The science team will begin preliminary analysis of the core first thing in the morning. Stay tuned. (PLJ on facebook)
All of the barge pieces are at the site and the platform is coming together. We finished assembling the barge and pulled it partway out by hand to verify that the dogleg on the dredged channel is wide enough. It is! The equipment is being rapidly loaded onto the barge, and will be welded onto the flotation modules today! Yesterday we marched in the national independence day parade in the town of Junín. What an incredible experience! Thanks to everyone for your interest in the project! (PLJ on facebook)
Yesterday the trucks arrived and we began assembling the barge! The Geotek multi sensor core logger from ICDP is up and running. Check out this video of Kristina Brady (LacCore/CSDCO) and Rob Hatfield (Oregon State) putting it all together. (PLJ on facebook)
Printing informational flyers for outreach, and a vinyl banner for the independence day parade in the town of Junín tomorrow morning! (PLJ on facebook)
