Name : Liadira Kusuma Widya

Student ID : 202215249

Understanding Sedimentation Processes in Lake Towuti, Indonesia

In eastern Indonesia, the island of Sulawesi is characterized by four elongated 'arms,'

each corresponding to distinct lithotectonic units. Lake Towuti is situated in the southeastern
part of Sulawesi, and the area around the lake is underlaid by the Eocene East Sulawesi
Ophiolite (Russell et al., 2020). The objective of this study is to investigate the sedimentation
processes in Lake Towuti, focusing on identifying sediment sources, and analyzing sediment
composition.

The sediment sources in Lake Towuti have highlighted effects of in-lake circulation and
organic matter production on the spatial patterns of sediment infill in Lake Towuti
(Hasberg et al., 2019)
. The sediment composition in various parts of the lake reveals the presence of
specific rock types, including mafic and ultramafic rocks (Monnier et al., 1995) , as well as
organic-rich sediments in different parts of the lake. Mafic and ultramafic rocks, which are
rich in minerals like Magnesium, Iron, Silicon and Aluminium, are found in the sediments,
indicating the geological composition of the surrounding areas (Hasberg et al., 2019) .
Moreover, the study of sediment geochemistry from Lake Towuti over the last 60,000 years
by (Costa et al., 2015), marked changes in hydrological connectivity and redox variability in
response to climate change in the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool (IPWP). Although the Last Glacial
Maximum (LGM) period was dry (15-35 ka), the analysis of major and trace element data
from river sediments indicates a consistent sediment source, indicating the existence of
continuous hydrological connectivity. However, a decrease in weathering intensity during the
LGM, possibly caused by reduced rainfall and temperature, led to a shift in sediment
geochemistry, with higher oxygen availability.

Previous research investigates sediment dynamics, particularly in response to varying

climatic patterns.Previous studies have utilized this exceptional system to explore sediment
dynamics in the face of climatic variations (Russell et al., 2016) . By drilling into Lake
Towuti, located at the downstream end of the lake system in southern Sulawesi, aims to
explore the impacts of geological and environmental shifts on aquatic taxa's biological
evolution. Initial data from core and borehole logging indicate clear evidence of orbital-scale
climate variability during the mid- to late Pleistocene period.
 References :

Costa, K. M., Russell, J. M., Vogel, H., & Bijaksana, S. (2015). Hydrological connectivity and mixing of Lake
Towuti, Indonesia in response to paleoclimatic changes over the last 60,000years. Palaeogeography,
Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 417, 467–475. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2014.10.009

Hasberg, A. K. M., Bijaksana, S., Held, P., Just, J., Melles, M., Morlock, M. A., Opitz, S., Russell, J. M., Vogel,
H., & Wennrich, V. (2019). Modern sedimentation processes in Lake Towuti, Indonesia, revealed by
the composition of surface sediments. Sedimentology, 66(2), 675–698.
https://doi.org/10.1111/sed.12503

Monnier, C., Girardeau, J., Maury, R. C., & Cotten, J. (1995). Back-arc basin origin for the East Sulawesi
ophiolite (eastern Indonesia). Geology, 23(9), 851–854.

Russell, J. M., Bijaksana, S., Vogel, H., Melles, M., Kallmeyer, J., Ariztegui, D., Crowe, S., Fajar, S., Hafidz, A.,
Haffner, D., Hasberg, A., Ivory, S., Kelly, C., King, J., Kirana, K., Morlock, M., Noren, A., O’Grady, R.,
Ordonez, L., … Tamuntuan, G. (2016). The Towuti Drilling Project: paleoenvironments, biological
evolution, and geomicrobiology of a tropical Pacific lake. Scientific Drilling, 21, 29–40.
https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-21-29-2016

Russell, J. M., Vogel, H., Bijaksana, S., Melles, M., Deino, A., Hafidz, A., Haffner, D., Hasberg, A. K. M.,
Morlock, M., von Rintelen, T., Sheppard, R., Stelbrink, B., & Stevenson, J. (2020). The late quaternary
tectonic, biogeochemical, and environmental evolution of ferruginous Lake Towuti, Indonesia.
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 556, 109905.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2020.109905