ABSTRACT
The study of the Holocene of Argentine Tierra del Fuego, has shown that: (i) the Late-Glacial was characterized by fluctuating climates that prevailed during the retreat of the large Pleistocenic glaciers-, with two cool climatic events, of which the younger has been correlated with the Younger Dryas of Northern Europe; (ii) several readvances of the Holocene mountain glaciers took place, corresponding the last one to the “Little Ice Age”, as it has been recognized in other parts of the Patagonian Andes; (iii) glacial and marine landforms and processes interacted during Holocene time, a unique fact for the Argentine coast; (iv) climatic amelioration enabled a temporary recovery of the Nothofagus forest after deglaciation, as early as 14,600 years B.P., and later, a complete recovery at or near the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary, after an interval or relative impoverishment of the terrestrial ecosystems, between 11,000 and 10,000 14-C years B.P.; (v) relative sea-level rose to conditions similar to the present as early as 8,000 yr B.P., achieving a local maximum of +12 m a.s.l. in the Beagle Channel at 6,000 yr B.P.; (vi) a high continental uplift rate, with an average of 1.5-2.0 mm/yr for the last 8,000 14-C years, is deduced from the altitudinal distribution of mid- to late Holocene coastal marine deposits in the Beagle Channel; (vi) aminostratigraphy has proven to be a viable method of determining the relative age, estimating absolute ages and evaluating radiocarbon dates of Late Quaternary deposits in this region.
