Project Description

Initial studies of fluvial, lacustrine, and volcaniclastic sediments in the Rio Ilave drainage (one of the five major rivers that flow into Lake Titicaca), suggest that this southwestern Lake Titicaca tributary contains a record of climate and environmental change that is correlative with both the region's pre-ceramic through Tiwanaku-period archeological records and geologic records from the lake, from Rio Desaguadero valley, and from the central and southern Altiplano (Rigsby et al., in press). This project attempts to document the nature and timing of climate change as recorded in the terraced river valleys of the curcum-Titicaca basin and the relationships between changing climate and cultural history.

Our studies of the human dimensions of climate change in this region will focus on the sedimentary history of the major tributaries to Lake Titicaca -- tributaries with rich archeological records that date back to at least 8,000 yrs. BP. By undertaking a detailed examination of these strata, we will unravel the alluvial history of the river valleys with several objectives in mind: 1) to delineate the geologic history of the drainage basins, thereby providing a stratigraphic framework on which to reference other data; 2) to interpret the geological sequence of events in an effort to gain insight into lateral and vertical changes in paleovelocity and paleodischarge; 3) to correlate sedimentary data with lake level changes (wet vs. dry periods) and chronological data, in order to determine causes of intrabasinal variabilities in the sedimentary and morphological record and in the record of human occupation; 4) to determine paleoclimatic or other (e.g. anthropogenic) causes of temporal changes in the fluvial record; and 5) ultimately, to determine the impact of the (past and future) climate of the Altiplano on (past and future) human cultural and economic development.

The results of this study will provide the data necessary to delineate the changes in fluvial conditions that occurred during the latest Pleistocene and Holocene and to correlate those changes to changes in lake level, climate, and human activities.
  For more information read the recently funded NSF proposal for this project.

Student Involvement

Students participating in this project will be involved in field and laboratory studies aimed at defining depositional environments of the strata present in river terraces. Specifically, students will map the exposed Holocene strata (paying particular attention to the morphology and position of the Holocene river terraces), construct detailed geologic cross sections of key sequences, take samples for radiocarbon dating, pollen, and other analyses, and do lithostratigraphic correlations of the late Pleistocene and Holocene units. Laboratory and computer analysis of field data will also be involved and students should expect to use/acquire sedimentological, GIS, and basic geochemical skills as well.

This project, which involves extensive field work on Altiplano of Peru, is for the adventurous! Graduate student funding is available as research assistantships (the project is NSF funded) and as teaching assistantships from the East Carolina University Geology Department. Out-of-state tuition waivers may be available for qualified students.

Interested students should contact the project leader, Dr. Catherine A. Rigsby (Department of Geology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858) for more information. E-mail inquiries are encouraged and will receive the most prompt response. Applications to the ECU M.S. program in Geology can be obtained by submitting a request via the Geology Department web site. Information on ECU’s interdisciplinary coastal resources management Ph.D. program -- which includes climate change research -- can be obtained via the CRM web site.