A HIGH RESOLUTION PÁRAMO RECORD OF LAGUNA DE SISCUNSI, BOYACÁ, COLOMBIA

Laguna de Siscunsi (3685.6 m asl; 5.647390°N, -72.787570°W) is a small alpine lake located in a páramo environment in Boyacá, Colombia. Sediment records spanning the Holocene have not yet been produced from lakes in this area, which likely contain continuous sediment archives of Northern Hemisphere SASM variability. Here, we present initial limnology (lake and watershed characterization, lake sediment coring, and geochronology), sedimentology (loss on ignition, magnetic susceptibility, and grain size), and geochemistry (organic carbon and nitrogen isotopic analysis) from a sediment core obtained from Siscunsi in order to gain further understanding of the local paleoclimate and hydrological cycles. Data from Siscunsi will be used to provide a high-resolution perspective of change in the páramo environment, which is an important component of the local water cycle, and an ecological niche in its own right. Variations in the climatic zone represented by Siscunsi affect other regional lakes, including nearby Lago de Tota, which provides water resources for more than ~400,000 people. An improved record of past and present changes in this regional hydrological system will allow for a better understanding of how continued global and local climate change might affect these sensitive hydrologic systems.