Quaternary International 68}71 (2000) 83}86

Patagonian dust in Antarctica

Martin Iriondo*
CONICET UNL, Casilla de Correo 487, 3100 Parana, Argentina

Abstract

Recent advances in the knowledge of Antarctica have demonstrated that the atmospheric dust trapped in the West Antarctica
glaciers during IS2, 4 and 6 has a Patagonian origin. A climatic scenario is developed in this article in order to explain such a process.
Patagonia is unique, as it is the only sizable land mass located in the belt of Westerlies in the Southern Hemisphere. The Westerlies are
formed by cyclonic structures, which normally elevate the air masses and aerosols to the upper troposphere. There, the phenomena of
mass compensation occur with the Antarctic anticyclone, which (as any anticyclone) sinks air and aerosols to the surface. Large
quantities of loose sur"cial sediments and atmospheric dust are typical of Patagonia and can easily be picked up by the wind.
According to this scenario, which is based on the general atmospheric circulation, Australia and Southern Africa are hindered in
providing aerosols to Antarctica, because those territories are located in the subtropical high-pressure belt.  2000 Published by
Elsevier Science Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction upper troposphere by a cyclonic circulation and later

In a recent publication, Basile et al. (1997) demon-
strated that, according to the isotopic relations of Stron-
tium and Neodymium, the dust contained in ice from the
glacial periods of Dome C and Vostok in Antarctica have
a Patagonian origin. The authors hypothesize on the
atmospheric pathway of the aerosols and consider the
in#uence of the peri-Antarctic trough in the sediment
dynamics. They also noted the absence of African or
Australian dust in the region. Only 10}15% of the
studied material has an unknown origin and could orig-
inate in those continents. According to Basile et al.
(1997), the isotopic relations of Strontium and Neody-
mium indicate that the South American platform which
emerged during low sea levels has not contributed dust
either.
The present contribution is an attempt to explain the
transport pattern of the Patagonian dust to Antarctica
on the basis of the general circulation of the atmosphere
and the contrasting dynamics of cyclones and anticy-
clones. Cyclones are air masses rotating in ascending
spirals, which reach several kilometers of altitude. Anti-
cyclones are analogous, descending spirals. Hence, one is
constrained to assume that, the dust is elevated to the
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: rnirionde@alpha.arcride.edu.ar (M. Iriondo).
transported down to surface by the action of an anticy-
clone. Several publications which have appeared in the
Argentine literature help to determine the probable
mechanism of transference of aerosols from Patagonia
to West Antarctica (Rivero et al., 1975; Iriondo, 1989;
Necco, 1989).
2. The general atmospheric circulation
Fig. 1 represents the schematic pattern of winds and
pressure belts in an idealized earth. Between the latitudes
of 0 and 40/423, the solar radiation reaching the surface
of the globe is not compensated by the night irradiation
to space. In higher latitudes, on the contrary, the heat
received during daytime is smaller than that lost during
the night. Consequently, a standing transfer of mass and
energy occurs in the lower atmosphere from the equato-
rial region to the poles in the form of winds.
Owing to the rotation of the earth and the viscosity of
the air, the wind pattern and distribution of atmospheric
pressure is more complex. It forms the general atmo-
spheric circulation (GAC) in parallel belts which sur-
round the planet. Fig. 1, taken from Critch"eld (1968), is
a classical schematic representation of the GAC. Note
that the circulation is tri-dimensional and the north}
south component of sur"cial winds has an inverse
counter current in the high-atmosphere (right side of the

1040-6182/00/$20.00  2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
PII: S 1 0 4 0 - 6 1 8 2 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 3 5 - 5
84 M. Iriondo / Quaternary International 68}71 (2000) 83}86
Fig. 1. Schematic pattern of winds and pressure belts in an idealized
Earth (Critch"eld, 1968). The arrow at the corner of the "gure indicates
the link between Westerlies and the polar anticyclone. The e!ects of
di!erential heating of land and water surfaces are neglected.
"gure), forming three `circulation cellsa in each hemi-
sphere: a tropical one, another temperate, and the last
polar.
The Patagonian origin of the Antarctic dust should be
considered according to the interrelationship between
the temperate and the polar circulation cells. The temper-
ate circulation cell corresponds to the belt of Westerlies.
It is located between the latitudes of 40/42 S and 70/723S.
The `Westerliesa are not simple winds, but a quasi-
permanent sequence of cyclonic waves, which slowly
migrate to the east. Hence, winds can #ow from any
direction, but they have a westerly statistical resultant.
The polar circulation cell is located in the polar perma-
nent anticyclone, which is always surrounded by a cy-
clonic belt. The axis of such a belt is located at 61/64 and
oscillates in a semi-annual period. It is formed by cy-
clonic cells, 600}1000 km in diameter, that are derived
from the west (Hanna, 1996).
Occasionally, the polar anticyclone produces katha-
batic winds, generating a `polar wavea that crosses the
belt of Westerlies and reaches the tropical latitudes.
Large polar waves can cover half of South America (an
area of several million square kilometers) in winter.
3. Patagonia at present times
Patagonia is a single land mass of signi"cant size
located inside the belt of Westerlies in the Southern
Fig. 2. Stormtracks of the Southern Westerly lows, according to Rivero
et al. (1975).
Hemisphere. It extends from 40}563S. Its typical width
varies between 500 and 700 km. The present surface
above sea level is 1300 000 km, more than 700 000 km
(60%) of which is occupied by a meset located east of the
Andes. Volcanic activity was dominant in Patagonia
throughout most of the Phanerozoic Eon.
The climate is controlled by the dynamics of the
Westerlies, which arrive from the Paci"c Ocean, cross
the Andes discharging most of their water content and
continue as dry winds to the east. Hence, an orographic
desert is produced in the meset. As explained above,
the belt is composed of a quasi-permanent sequence of
cyclonic waves with a general tendency to form rising
air masses and aerosols (not simple winds). Such waves
are unstable areas, 400}800 km in diameter, formed by
winds rotating in a clockwise direction. Once a wave is
generated, it shifts to the east and south-east direction
(Fig. 2) over a few days, until it fades out (Rivero et al.,
1975).
The mechanism of formation of cyclones east of the
Andes is the following: a cyclonic wave reaches South
America from the west. It is occluded by the Andes
Mountains, loses its humidity and fades out at the sur-
face. Through a mechanism of energy transfer in the
upper atmosphere, the system crosses to the east and
re-generates a cyclone on the meset or on the platform.
The newborn cyclone moves to the east-southeast (occa-
sionally to the south) and "nally fades out. The southern
limit of the cyclone tract penetrates deeply over the
Weddel Sea, crossing the latitude of 803S.
Owing to the extreme dryness of the air (the relative
humidity can be less than 5%) cyclones generated on the
meset pick up large volumes of dust, which rise in the
atmosphere, displaying the typical cyclonic dynamics.
Eolian erosion is visible in the extra-Andean Patagonia
(Iriondo, 1989). Fine-grained, unconsolidated sediments
of Tertiary age undergo severe eolian erosion and
 M. Iriondo / Quaternary International 68}71 (2000) 83}86
thousands of de#ation hollows develop in the landscape.
Another type of eolian feature is formed by large depres-
sions with areas in the order of a hundred to a few
thousand square kilometers, which began to form prob-
ably during the Middle Pleistocene.
The association of salts dissolved in the Andean rivers
indicate a signi"cant contribution of solids from the
meset, conveyed by eastern winds of cyclonic cells. Such
winds #ow during 30% of the time to the eastern slopes
of the Andes (Pizzolon, 1999). In short, the Patagonian
climate is an e$cient machine for pumping dust to the
high atmosphere (Coronato, 1993).
4. Patagonia in glacial times
The area of Patagonia above sea level during glacial
times was double that of today (Fig. 3). The lowering of
the sea level and the shifting of the Patagonian climate
(Iriondo and Garcia, 1993) added about 1 million km to
the present surface. If one considers only the territory
located south of the parallel of 403S, 600,000 km, of
platform emerged east of the meset, that resulted in an
area of 1.4 million km east of the Andes, south of 403S.
The Patagonian climate advanced several hundred kilo-
meters; the belt of Westerlies migrated north to the lati-
tude of 343S, reaching the realm of the Pampean Ranges,
Fig. 3. Patagonia at Last Glacial Maximum compared with today
(Iriondo and KroK hling, 1995).
85
composed of granitic-metamorphic rocks (Iriondo and
Krohling, 1995).
The Patagonian glaciation was a `piedmont-typea
event, covering the Andes and neighboring valleys. The
main environmental characteristic of the region was the
dryness of the air, which precluded the growing of arbo-
real vegetation and the development of glaciers in the
Malvinas/Falkland archipelago (Clapperton, 1993). The
meset and platform remained free of ice.
5. Australia and Southern Africa
Australia and Southern Africa are two continental
masses, located relatively near the South-Pole. Hence,
at "rst glance, it can be supposed that they provided
aerosols to the Antarctic archives. But according to the
geographic position of both territories and the general
circulation pattern of the atmosphere, such areas are
not favorable for conveying sizable amounts of dust to
the high atmosphere.
Both land masses are located in the tropical high-
pressure belt, characterized by anticyclones, which have
a general tendency to force air to sink from high altitudes
to the surface. The Australian anticyclone covers  of the

continent and persists throughout all seasons of the year.
In Southern Africa, the mean circulation of the atmo-
sphere is also anticyclonic through the year, with a winter
intensi"cation (Preston-White and Tyson, 1993). Both
anticyclones were enhanced during the LGM (Wasson,
1986; Chen et al., 1995). Hence, their capacity to lift dust
upwards was presumably less than today (Iriondo, 1998).
6. Conclusions
The transfer of dust from Patagonia to Antarctica can
be explained by the mechanism of mass compensation
which occurs at high altitudes between the Antarctic
anticyclone and the low-pressure belt of the Westerlies
(see arrow in Fig. 1).
The anticyclone tracks showed in Fig. 2, indicate clearly
that Patagonian anticyclones reach high latitudes and
their upper levels can penetrate the polar anticyclone. The
absence of aerosols originating in other continents is ex-
plained by the existence of permanent anticyclones on them.
Disagreement with the conclusions obtained by Basile
et al. (1997) appears in two second-order points:
(a) According to our scenario, the non-Patagonian dust
found in Antarctica can originate in Pampean loess
formed around the Pampean Ranges (a region char-
acterized by granitic/metamorphic rocks), instead of
Africa and Australia.
(b) Considering the large extension of emerged platform
during glacial times, it is di$cult to assume that it
has not been a source area of dust.
86 M. Iriondo / Quaternary International 68}71 (2000) 83}86
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