This U.S. - Chile award will support a small workshop on alluvial fan research, accompanied with a field visit to the semiarid region of central Chile. The conditions under which climate variability in arid and semiarid regions affects sediment transfer and deposition from hillslopes to alluvial landforms are well documented in only a few regions in the world. In order to successfully expand knowledge on this multidisciplinary subject, research collaborations in paleoenvironmental reconstruction, paleoclimate, pedology and geomorphology are needed. This project will link complementary research expertise in Chile (Universidad del Norte, Universidad de La Serena, and Universidad de Chile) and the US (Desert Research Institute, DRI). Additionally, this new collaboration will link alluvial processes and landforms to Quaternary climate variability and result in the development of joint research projects. DRI will contribute expertise on soil and chronological analyses of alluvial landforms in arid regions around the world, while the Chilean researchers will contribute extensive experience on South America paleoclimate and geomorphology. The workshop will be organized by Dr. Jose Antinao from DRI in collaboration with Drs. Antonio Maldonado, Rodrigo Riquelme, and Gabriel Vargas from Universidad de la Serena, Universidad del Norte, and Universidad de Chile, respectively.
The multidisciplinary nature of the proposed workshop and field visit will promote field-based interactions between researchers and students from both countries and will involve one early-career PI and one graduate student from the US. Furthermore, this project will allow for a broader testing of conceptual geomorphic models for alluvial fan evolution. Currently most of these models are derived from Northern Hemisphere sites. A more precise calibration of variables involved in these models will have a positive impact in our ability to predict effects of future global change in arid and semiarid alluvial landscapes. Improved forecasts of the combined hydrologic, ecological and geomorphic response of hillslopes, and associated alluvial systems, are of high societal relevance. They allow for efficient planning of resource allocation and mitigation of natural hazards, which benefits a large, vulnerable population across the globe. This workshop is supported by the Office of International Science and Engineering, Americas Program and the Directorate for Geosciences, Division of Earth Sciences, Geomorphology and Land Use Dynamics Program.
The project goal was to establish collaborative linkages between a group of Chilean and US- based researchers with broad interests in Late Quaternary paleoclimate and geomorphology in arid regions. This goal would have been accomplished during a planned workshop to exchange ideas and during a field visit to different sites in Central and North Chile (Fig. 1, 2). Choice of sites was based on their potential for collaborative studies with broader application for arid region geomorphology. During the last years, there has been an steady growth in scientific publications by different Chilean groups involving the study of paleoclimate of arid and semiarid west South America in the last 20 thousand years, in a period known as the Late Quaternary. In the meanwhile, US research groups have advanced in their studies of how landscapes of arid zones respond to climate change at different timescales. During the workshop and field visit, a nice complement could be reached once US-based researchers get involved in the discussion of general implications of the studies performed in South America. Exchange of ideas during the project contributed to development of research proposals with participation of both parties. One of these proposals has been especifically aimed to address questions regarding one of the areas visited during the field zone. An unexpected, interesting outcome developed during 2012 from contacts made during this project was the preparation and submission of proposals that included additional, related subjects like glaciology and hazards of the same region, broadening the possibilities of future interaction. The project contributed to the training of an early career scientist at the Desert Research Institute (DRI) from an underrepresented group, and of an advanced undergraduatestudent at UCLA (now a Caltech graduate student). It developed continuing, active collaboration between the PI and co-PI at DRI, and researchers at the involved Chilean institutes. Most importantly, the project linked for the first time DRi with the Chilean Center for Advanced Research in Arid Regions (CEAZA), which shares strategic goals with DRI and serves similar regional and local communities. It is expected that in the future this collaboration can be expanded to research areas other than geomorhology within DRI, like arid regions hydrology, sustainable agriculture and renewable energy research.
