Late Quaternary environmental dynamics in the Atacama Desert reconstructed from rodent midden pollen records

In the past two decades, much has been learned about the late Quaternary climate history of the Atacama Desert with some details still unclear about the seasonality, timing and extent of wet and dry phases. Modern climate studies reveal that, far from exhibiting a unique pattern, seasonal precipitation originates from many sources and mechanisms. For the last 16 ka, we attempt to sort out these complexities in pollen records from four fossil rodent midden series spanning 22°–25°S in northern Chile. Widespread wet conditions prevailed during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene, particularly between 13 and 9 ka, evidenced by