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Paleohydrological changes in an Amazonian floodplain lake: Santa Ninha Lake

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Abstract

Holocene environments have been reconstructed by sedimentological, mineralogical and organic geochemical analysis of a 270-cm core from Santa Ninha Lake, a floodplain lake in lower Amazonia. Dated by fourteen AMS-radiocarbon dates, the sediment core has a basal age of 5,600 cal years BP and different sedimentary units were identified. These units document various hydrologic phases in the evolution of this lake. Reduced Amazon River influence, with reduced high-water levels of the river, characterized the period between 5,600 and 5,100 cal years BP. Comparison with other Amazonian and Andean paleoclimate studies point to a dryer climate during this phase. After 5,100 cal years BP coarse sediments and quartz increase which suggest a higher inflow of the Amazon River. Between 5,000 and 2,300 cal years BP the coarse sediments and quartz remain high but the organic carbon showed the lowest values. The riverine inflow caused dilution of the organic material produced in the lake and consequently low rates of carbon flux in these phases were recorded. These results show that the hydrodynamics of the Amazon River strongly influence the behavior, productivity and consequently the sedimentation process in the floodplain lakes.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the French Research Institute for the Development (IRD), by the HyBAm Research Program (Hydrology and Geochemistry of the Amazonian Basin, http://www.mpl.ird.fr/hybam/) in the frame of its cooperation agreement with the Brazilian Research Centre (CNPq process nos. 492685/2004–05 and 690139/2003–09). The authors would like to thank the technical groups of Agencia Nacional das Aguas from Brazil (ANA) and Companhia de Pesquisa dos Recursos Minerais (CPRM, Manaus) for their help during the cruise. L. Moreira’s work is supported by a fellowship of CNPq, Brazil. We are also grateful for the comments from the reviewers that helped us to improve this paper. Thanks to Christine Omuombo Atieno and Ursula Abdala for the English revisions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Niterói, Brazil

    L. S. Moreira & R. C. Cordeiro

  2. Institut de Recherche pour Développement (IRD), LMTG, Bondy, France

    P. Moreira-Turcq

  3. IRD-LOCEAN, Bondy, France

    B. Turcq & S. Caquineau

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  1. L. S. Moreira
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Correspondence to L. S. Moreira.

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Moreira, L.S., Moreira-Turcq, P., Turcq, B. et al. Paleohydrological changes in an Amazonian floodplain lake: Santa Ninha Lake. J Paleolimnol 48, 339–350 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-012-9601-x

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