Cosmogenic in situ 14C-10Be reveals abrupt Late Holocene soil loss in the Andean Altiplano

Kristina Hippe (), John D. Jansen, Daniel Søndergaard Skov, Maarten Lupker, Susan Ivy-Ochs, Florian Kober, Gerold Zeilinger, José Mariano Capriles, Marcus Christl, Colin Maden, Christof Vockenhuber and David Lundbek Egholm
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Kristina Hippe: ETH Zürich
John D. Jansen: GFÚ Institute of Geophysics, Czech Academy of Sciences
Daniel Søndergaard Skov: Aarhus University
Maarten Lupker: Geological Institute, ETH Zürich
Susan Ivy-Ochs: ETH Zürich
Florian Kober: National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (NAGRA)
Gerold Zeilinger: University of Potsdam
José Mariano Capriles: Pennsylvania State University
Marcus Christl: ETH Zürich
Colin Maden: Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology, ETH Zürich
Christof Vockenhuber: ETH Zürich
David Lundbek Egholm: Aarhus University

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Soil sustainability is reflected in a long-term balance between soil production and erosion for a given climate and geology. Here we evaluate soil sustainability in the Andean Altiplano where accelerated erosion has been linked to wetter climate from 4.5 ka and the rise of Neolithic agropastoralism in the millennium that followed. We measure in situ cosmogenic 14C directly on cultivated hilltops to quantify late Holocene soil loss, which we compare with background soil production rates determined from cosmogenic 26Al and 10Be. Our Monte Carlo-based inversion method identifies two scenarios to account for our data: an increase in erosion rate by 1–2 orders of magnitude between ~2.6 and 1.1 ka, or a discrete event stripping ~1–2 m of soil between ~1.9 and 1.1 ka. Coupled environmental and cultural factors in the Late Holocene signaled the onset of the pervasive human imprint in the Andean Altiplano seen today.

Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:12:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-22825-6

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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22825-6

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