A new Andean deep ice core from Nevado Illimani (6350 m), Bolivia

A new ice core record from the Nevado Illimani (16°S), Bolivia, covers approximately the last 18 000 years BP. A comparison with two published ice records, from Sajama (18°S), Bolivia [Thompson et al., Science 282 (1998) 1858–1864] and Huascarán (9°S), Peru [Thompson et al., Science 269 (1996) 46–50], documents a regionally coherent transition from glacial to modern climate conditions in South America north of 20°S. The strong resemblance between the Illimani and Huascarán water isotope records and their differences from the Sajama record, in particular during the period from 9000 years BP to 14 000 years BP, suggest that local water recycling or local circulation changes played a major role for Sajama. We interpret the common Illimani/Huascarán water isotope history in terms of a common change from wetter/cooler conditions during glacial times to drier/warmer conditions in the Early Holocene.