Tephrochronology of lacustrine ash layers in Lake Petén Itzá sediments: Implications for regional volcanology and Central American palaeoclimate

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The proposed research on sediments from the deep drilling program at lake Petén Itzá, Guatemala, combines the fields of volcanology, paleoclimate, paleoecology, in order to establish the longest paleo-record for climate proxies in Central America as well as a continuation of the tephra record beyond 200 ka. Preliminary tephrachronology of the Petén Itzá ashes based on major element fingerprinting will be strengthend by trace lement correlations. Additionally the correlations to eruptions of the Central American volcanic front will contribute greatly to the determination of the magnitude of those eruptions since especially the distal part of the eruption deposits preserves the key to better constraint eruptive volumes. Direct age dating of lacustrine tephras but also the Los Chocoyos tephra, a major key bed in the entire region, will further assist and calibrate the resulting age model. Another aspect of the proposal is to link marine and lacustrine tephrostratigraphy, and therefore also the large continental and marine drilling programs, where the correlation to field tephras from Central America is beyond the known well-constrained tephra succession from the volcanic arc.