PhD students

Diego A. Montecino Jara

Topic: Accumulation dynamics of Pampean loess during the Holocene: Regional paleoclimatic implications

Desription: From a spatial and high temporal resolution analysis accompanied by the granulometric, mineralogical, geochemical and isotopic characterization of the Pampas loess, it is intended to identify the variations in the source and estimate rates of accumulation of atmospheric dust during the Holocene. This will allow to rebuild changes in position and intensity of wind systems during the last 11.7 ka in southern South America, as well as helping to understand the role of dust flows in the climatic variability of the southern hemisphere, particularly, the changes caused by feedbacks between climate and atmospheric dust.

Contact: diego.montecino@mi.unc.edu.ar

Victoria Nogués

Topic: Atmospheric conditions in southern South America in the last glacial period: Inferences from Pampean loess studies

Description: This project explores the possibilities of using the Pampean loess properties as paleo-climate indicators of the atmospheric conditions that reigned over the sources of dust and in the Pampean region (southern South América) at the time of the last glacial period (~70-12 ka BP). From the recollection and dating of samples of loess within the pampean region (east-center of Argentina (i.e.: Córdoba, Santa Fe and Buenos Aires provinces), age-depth models are derived, and with they, dust accumulation rates. This, together with the descriptive characterization of the deposits (i.e.: chemical and mineralogical contents) allows, in an advanced stage of the research, the using of this data to modify some parameters of atmospheric-coupled models (i.e.: CESM packages) to simulate and evaluate the atmospheric conditions over the regional dust input from the sources (i.e.: Puna-Altiplano, south-center West , local sources) and in the pampean dust accumulation region, within the period of the last-glacial maximum.

Contact: vinogues@mi.unc.edu.ar