Goudge et al.

A 40,000 yr record of clay mineralogy at Lake Towuti,

Indonesia: Paleoclimate reconstruction from reflectance
spectroscopy and perspectives on paleolakes on Mars

Timothy A. Goudge1,2,†, James M. Russell1, John F. Mustard1, James W. Head1, and Satria Bijaksana3
1
Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, 324 Brook Street, Box 1846, Providence,
Rhode Island 02912, USA
2
Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712-1722, USA
3
Faculty of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jalan Ganesa 10, Bandung 40132, Indonesia

ABSTRACT
Sediment deposited within lake basins
can preserve detailed records of past envi-
ronmental conditions on planetary surfaces,
including both Earth and Mars. Establishing
how to best characterize these paleoclimate
records is thus critical for understanding the
evolution of past planetary climates. Here, we
present an ~40 k.y. lake sediment record from
Lake Towuti, Indonesia, developed using
visible to near-infrared (VNIR) reflectance
spectroscopy. Source sediment from the main
river input to Lake Towuti, the Mahalona
River, is spectrally dominated by Mg-rich
serpentine; however, we also identify a dis-
tinct Al-phyllosilicate component, which we
interpret as kaolinite, that increases in rela-
tive proportion to serpentine with decreasing
grain size. Sink sediment from two cores col-
lected at the distal margins of the Mahalona
River delta has similar spectral signatures to
the input source sediment. The cores capture
systematic variations in the proportion of Al-
phyllosilicate to serpentine over time, which
is also expressed in changes in bulk elemen-
tal chemistry of the sediment. We show that
the abundance of serpentine relative to Al-­
phyllosilicate increases dramatically during
the globally cooler, regionally drier climate
of the Last Glacial Maximum. This change
records the grain size–dependent mineral-
ogy of deltaic sediment, which is ultimately
driven by forced delta progradation and river
incision during lake lowstands. Our analyses
show that VNIR reflectance spectroscopy
offers a rapid, nondestructive, and effective
tgoudge@jsg.utexas.edu
†
method for developing paleoenvironmental
records from sedimentary phyllosilicate min-
eralogy. Exposed paleolake deposits on Mars
should preserve similar paleoenvironmental
information that can be accessed through de-
tailed remote sensing observations of stratig-
raphy and VNIR reflectance spectroscopy in
a source-to-sink framework.
INTRODUCTION
Lake basins on planetary surfaces are effec-
tive traps for sediment and can provide detailed
records of the evolution of past environmental
conditions throughout their lifetime of activ-
ity. Paleolimnological records are well known
from Earth (e.g., Sly, 1978; Cohen, 2003),
and paleolake basins have also been identi-
fied on Mars, where they provide some of the
most convincing geologic evidence for ancient
fluvial activity (e.g., Goldspiel and Squyres,
1991; Cabrol and Grin, 1999, 2001, 2010; Ir-
win et al., 2002, 2005; Malin and Edgett, 2003;
Fassett and Head, 2005, 2008). While paleo-
lake activity on Mars has been investigated
with in situ rover analyses in a handful of lo-
cations (e.g., Christensen et al., 2004; Squyres
et al., 2004a, 2004b; McGlynn et al., 2012;
Grotzinger et al., 2014, 2015; McLennan et
al., 2014; Mangold et al., 2016), the study of
martian paleolake basins and associated sedi-
mentary deposits is primarily restricted to the
analysis of orbital remote sensing data (e.g.,
Goldspiel and Squyres, 1991; Cabrol and Grin,
1999, 2001, 2010; Irwin et al., 2002, 2005;
Malin and Edgett, 2003; Fassett and Head,
2005, 2008; Ehlmann et al., 2008; Milliken
and Bish, 2010; Ansan et al., 2011; Wray et al.,
2011; Goudge et al., 2015).
A common remote sensing technique used to
study the surface mineralogy of Mars is visible
to near-infrared (VNIR) reflectance spectroscopy
(e.g., Bibring et al., 2005, 2006; Mustard et al.,
2005, 2008; Murchie et al., 2009; Ehlmann et
al., 2011; Carter et al., 2013). VNIR reflectance
spectroscopy studies how radiation in the VNIR
portion of the electromagnetic spectrum interacts
with a surface and is reflected back to a detector
(i.e., a spectrometer). Minerals with infrared ac-
tive components can have unique VNIR absorp-
tion features, and analysis of the precise position
and shape of absorptions in an unknown measured
spectrum can be used to confidently identify many
of the minerals present (Farmer, 1974; Clark et al.,
1990; Gaffey et al., 1993; Clark, 1999).
VNIR reflectance spectroscopy is par-
ticularly sensitive to vibrational absorptions
caused by molecular components (e.g., H2O,
OH–, or CO32–) in the structure of minerals
such as phyllosilicates (i.e., clay minerals) or
carbonates. These molecular components have
their fundamental vibrational absorptions in
the mid-infrared (MIR) portion of the electro-
magnetic spectrum, which manifest as strong
overtone and combination tone absorptions in
the VNIR (Farmer, 1974; Clark et al., 1990;
Gaffey et al., 1993). The sensitivity of infra-
red spectroscopy to H2O and OH– makes it an
ideal tool for studying clay mineralogy. Pre-
vious workers have investigated the detailed
structure of phyllosilicates using both MIR
(e.g., Cuadros and Dudek, 2006) and VNIR
(e.g., Petit et al., 1999) spectroscopy; however,
VNIR reflectance spectroscopy has proved
most useful for studying clay mineralogy on
Mars (e.g., Bibring et al., 2005, 2006; Mustard
et al., 2008; Murchie et al., 2009; Ehlmann et
al., 2011; Carter et al., 2013).

GSA Bulletin; July/August 2017; v. 129; no. 7/8; p. 806–819; doi: 10.1130/B31569.1; 9 figures; 1 table; Data Repository item 2017076;
published online 3 March 2017.

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 A 40,000 yr record of clay mineralogy at Lake Towuti, Indonesia

VNIR reflectance spectroscopy has also been

used to study the mineralogy and biogeochemical
characteristics of lacustrine sediment from terres-
trial lake basins, and has the potential for use in
paleolimnologic studies (e.g., Bishop et al., 1996,
2003; Vogel et al., 2008; Rosén et al., 2010; Lynch
et al., 2015; Weber et al., 2015). However, the sen-
sitivity of VNIR reflectance spectroscopy to the
presence of clay minerals in terrestrial lake sedi-
ment has yet to be widely exploited (e.g., Lynch et
al., 2015; Weber et al., 2015).
Here, we use VNIR reflectance spectroscopy,
complemented with more traditional laboratory
analysis techniques, to study the mineralogy
and chemistry of sediment from Lake Towuti, a
large tectonic lake basin in Indonesia. We char-
acterize the source-to-sink mineralogy of Lake
Towuti and demonstrate the utility of VNIR
reflectance spectroscopy for assessing paleoen-
vironmental signals preserved within lake sedi-
ment. We observe large changes in Lake Towuti
sediment mineralogy and composition during
the past ~40,000  yr that improve our under-
standing of lake sedimentation and regional cli-
mate variability for this basin. Our work also in-
dicates that paleoenvironmental records may be
developed through remote sensing analyses of
paleolake deposits on Mars, which we suggest
will be best achieved through careful analysis of
both mineralogy and stratigraphy in the frame-
work of a source-to-sink analysis (e.g., Milliken
and Bish, 2010; Goudge et al., 2015).

METHODS

Lake Towuti, Indonesia—Geologic Context

and Sampling

Lake Towuti (2.5°S, 121.5°E) is a hydrologi-

cally open lake located on the island of Sulawesi,
Indonesia (Fig.  1). Lake Towuti has a surface

Figure  1. Lake Towuti, Indonesia. (A) Re-

gional context for Lake Towuti on the is-
land of Sulawesi in Indonesia. Red box
indicates approximate location of part B.
Background is the Ocean base map from
ESRI et al. (2015). (B) Generalized geologic
map of Lake Towuti and the surrounding
area showing the dominance of ultramafic
material. Map is modified from Costa et
al. (2015). (C) Bathymetry of Lake Towuti
showing the location of the two analyzed
sediment cores at the distal margins of the
Mahalona River delta (white dots labeled 4
for TOW4 and 5 for TOW5). River inputs
are shown in thin blue lines, with the Maha-
lona River shown as a thick blue line.

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area of ~560 km2, a maximum depth of 203 m,
and a catchment area of ~1500  km2 (Russell et
al., 2014). The catchment area primarily consists
of laterites/Oxisols (Golightly and Arancibia,
1979; Soil Survey Staff, 1999) derived from, and
overlain on, the East Sulawesi ophiolite, which
is largely composed of harzburgite, dunite, and
serpentinized lherzolite (Monnier et al., 1995;
Kadarusman et al., 2004; Fig. 1B). Lake Towuti
is fed by a number of river networks, although the
primary input is the Mahalona River, which feeds
the lake from the north (Fig. 1C) and supplies the
majority of water and sediment flux to the basin
(Costa et al., 2015).
For our source-to-sink analysis, we have fo-
cused on source sediment input to the lake from
the Mahalona River, and sink sediment depos-
ited at the distal margins of a delta deposit build-
ing out from the mouth of this river (Fig. 1C).
We analyzed three sets of input sediment sam-
ples from the Mahalona River collected during
the 2013 field season: (1) suspended load and
(2) bed load sediment collected ~500  m up-
stream from the river mouth, and (3) river mouth
sediment collected within the lake in water ~1 m
deep. We also analyzed sink sediment from two
cores ~10 m in length collected from both the
eastern and southern distal margins of the Ma-
halona River delta (Fig. 1C). The two sediment
cores, IDLE-TOW10-4B (herein referred to as
TOW4) and IDLE-TOW10–5B (herein referred
to as TOW5), were both collected from Lake
Towuti during the 2010 field season using a
modified Kullenberg piston corer.
Initial Sample Preparation
The Mahalona River sediment samples were
freeze-dried, and bulk samples were sieved to
grain sizes: >1  mm, 0.25–1  mm, 63–250 µm,
32–63 µm, and <32 µm. The bed load and river
mouth samples were dry sieved, while the sus-
pended load sample was wet sieved and subse-
quently freeze-dried. Bulk sample aliquots were
also kept for analysis.
We extracted continuous 1–1.5-m-long subsec-
tions (U-channels, ~2.5 × 2.5 cm in cross section)
from the two sediment cores. The U-channels
were frozen and freeze-dried using a custom-built
polyvinyl chloride (PVC) chamber. Based on our
analysis of the freeze-dried lake cores, we selected
subsamples (11 from TOW4 and 10 from TOW5)
from each of the two cores for further laboratory
analysis. The subsamples were extracted from the
original core sections and freeze-dried.
VNIR Spectroscopy
We measured the VNIR reflectance spectra
of the input and core sediment using an Analyti-
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Goudge et al.
cal Spectral Devices (ASD) FieldSpec 3 spec-
trometer, which covers the wavelength range
350–2500 nm at a spectral resolution of ~10 nm
and a spectral sampling of 1 nm. VNIR spectra
of the input sediment samples were measured
with an external light source and the bare ASD
fiber optic cable. Spectra of the two sediment
cores were measured at 1 cm intervals along the
entire core length using the ASD contact probe
attached to the instrument stage of a Geotek™
multisensor core logger (MSCL). The scanned
VNIR reflectance data for the two sediment
cores were then converted from a data set rela-
tive to core depth (i.e., a spectrum each 1  cm
along the entire length of core) to one relative
to absolute age using linear interpolated age
models (see the GSA Data Repository1 for ad-
ditional details).
Major Element Chemistry
Major element chemistry (Al, Ca, Cr, Fe, K,
Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Si, and Ti) of the input sedi-
ment samples and lake core subsamples was
measured using inductively coupled plasma–
atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES).
Prior to analysis by ICP-AES, aliquots of the
samples were prepared via flux fusion using Li-
metaborate flux following the methods of Mur-
ray et al. (2000). Aliquots of the bulk, >1 mm,
0.25–1  mm, and 63–250 µm input sediment
grain-size separates were ground to <100 µm
prior to flux fusion. All data are reported as wt%
elemental oxide, with all Fe reported as FeO
(see the GSA Data Repository for additional
details on ICP-AES methods [see footnote 1]).
X-Ray Diffraction
Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) data were
collected for all of the grain-size separates of the
input sediment samples. Prior to analysis, ali-
quots of the >1 mm, 0.25–1 mm, and 63–250 µm
input sediment grain-size separates were ground
to <45 µm. Randomly oriented samples were
measured using a Bruker D2 PHASER instru-
ment, and the data were analyzed using the
Bruker DIFFRAC.EVA (v3.1) program, with
the International Centre for Diffraction Data
(ICDD) PDF-2 mineral database used for ma-
jor mineral phase identifications. The Bruker
D2 PHASER instrument uses a CuKα radia-
1
GSA Data Repository item 2017076, ad-
ditional detail on methods, Figures  DR1–DR3,
and Table  DR1, is available at http://www
.­geosociety.org/datarepository/2017 or by request to
editing@geosociety.org.
tion source with a Ni filter that operates with
10 mA and 30 kV. Measurements were made
with a 0.6  mm divergence, a 3  mm antiscatter
shield, and a 2.5° Soller slit. Our samples were
run over the 2θ range 2°–70° with a step size of
~0.02°. We used a dwell time of 4 s per step for
the >1 mm, 0.25–1 mm, and 63–250 µm input
sediment grain-size separates, and 12 s per step
for all other samples.
RESULTS
VNIR Spectroscopy
Input Sediment Samples
The VNIR reflectance spectra of the input
sediment samples are characterized by a series
of distinct vibrational absorptions related to
the presence of phyllosilicate minerals (Fig. 2;
Table 1). All of the grain-size separates are spec-
trally dominated by absorption features charac-
teristic of Mg-rich serpentine, including narrow,
vibrational absorptions centered at ~1390, 2150,
and 2320 nm (Fig.  2). The absorption feature
centered at ~1390 nm is caused by the first over-
tone of OH stretch, and the absorption feature
centered at ~2320 nm is caused by a combina-
tion tone of Mg-OH bend and OH stretch (King
and Clark, 1989; Clark et al., 1990). The broader
absorption feature centered at ~2150 nm is char-
acteristic of serpentine (King and Clark, 1989;
Clark et al., 1990; Fig. 2D); however, the under-
lying structural cause of this absorption is not
fully understood, although it is likely to be re-
lated to fundamental vibrational modes of Mg-
OH (Clark et al., 1990).
Additionally, all of the input sediment spectra
have a strong absorption centered near ~1900 nm
(Fig.  2), which is caused by a combination
tone of OH stretch and H-O-H bend from
H2O (Gaffey et al., 1993; Clark et al., 1990).
While the ideal formula of Mg-rich serpentine,
Mg3Si2O5(OH)4, contains no structural water,
laboratory spectra of pure serpentine com-
monly show a broad ~1900 nm absorption due
to either adsorbed water or small amounts of
structural water (King and Clark, 1989; Clark
et al., 1990; Fig. 2D).
The input sediment samples also exhibit sev-
eral spectral differences associated with varia-
tions in grain size. The ~2150 nm absorption
is greatly subdued with decreasing grain size
(Fig. 2). Additionally, spectra of the finest grain-
size separates (i.e., 32–63 µm and <32 µm) show
a subtle absorption feature centered at ~2200 nm
(Fig.  2), which is caused by a combination
tone of Al-OH bend and OH stretch within the
structure of an Al-bearing phyllosilicate, such
as kaolinite or montmorillonite (Clark et al.,
1990; Bishop et al., 2008). Finally, the shape
 A 40,000 yr record of clay mineralogy at Lake Towuti, Indonesia

of the ~1900 nm absorption feature exhibits

changes associated with grain-size variations.
The coarsest grain-size separates have a broad,
“boxy” ~1900 nm absorption (Fig.  2), similar
to that seen in laboratory serpentine (King and
Clark, 1989; Clark et al., 1990; Fig.  2D). As
grain size decreases, the width of the ~1900 nm
absorption decreases, and it becomes more
asymmetric (Fig.  2), similar to the ~1900 nm
absorption feature seen for many other phyllo-
silicate minerals (Fig. 2D).
Differences in the spectra of the input sedi-
ment associated with variations in grain size
may be due to either changes in the mineral-
ogy of the samples or spectral effects associated
with variations in grain size of a homogeneous
material (e.g., Pieters, 1983; King and Clark,
1989; Mustard and Hays, 1997). The change in
strength of the ~2150 nm absorption feature is
likely to be due to the latter, as the same trend
was observed by King and Clark (1989) in
spectra of grain-size separates of pure serpen-
tine. However, the cause(s) of the ~2200 nm
absorption and the change in the shape of the
~1900 nm absorption is not as readily apparent.
To investigate this issue further, we took the
coarsest grain-size separate (>1 mm) of the river
mouth sediment and ground it to the same size
fractions as the natural size separates. We then
measured these powdered grain-size separates
with the ASD FieldSpec and compared the spec-
tra of the powdered and natural grain-size sepa-
rates (Fig.  DR1 [see footnote 1]). The change

Figure  2. (A–C) Visible to near-infrared

(VNIR) reflectance spectra of input sedi-
ment from the Mahalona River: (A) river
mouth, (B) bed load, (C) and suspended
load sediment. Top plots show VNIR reflec-
tance for grain-size separates. Dashed lines
are located at ~1400, 1900, 2100, 2200, and
2320 nm. Bottom plots show continuum-
removed reflectance in the ~2200 nm region
showing the subtle Al-OH absorption fea-
ture. Continuum-removed reflectance was
calculated by dividing the original spectrum
by a continuum spectrum calculated using a
convex hull method, which accentuates local
absorption features as opposed to broader
spectral shapes. (D) VNIR reflectance spec-
tra of phyllosilicate minerals from the U.S.
Geological Survey spectral library (Clark
et al., 2007). Dashed lines are located at
~1400, 1900, 2100, 2200, and 2320 nm. Spec-
tra are of samples SapCa-1 (saponite), NG-
1.a (nontronite), NMNH17958 (antigorite
serpentine), KGa-2 (kaolinite), and SWy-1
(montmorillonite).

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TABLE 1. MAJOR IDENTIFIED PHYLLOSILICATE ABSORPTION FEATURES
Approximate Structural cause
absorption center
(nm)
1390 First overtone of OH stretch
(primarily serpentine in our samples).
1900 Combination tone of OH stretch and
H-O-H bend in structural/adsorbed H2O.
2150 Characteristic of serpentine, but unassigned;
likely related to vibrational modes of Mg-OH.
2200 Combination tone of Al-OH bend and
OH stretch in Al-phyllosilicate.
2320 Combination tone of Mg-OH bend and
OH stretch in serpentine.
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Goudge et al.
Reference(s)
King and Clark (1989),
Clark et al. (1990)
Clark et al. (1990),
Gaffey et al. (1993)
Clark et al. (1990)
Clark et al. (1990),
Bishop et al. (2008)
King and Clark (1989),
Clark et al. (1990)
in the strength of the ~2150 nm absorption
occurs in both the natural and powdered grain-
size separates; however, both the presence of an
~2200 nm absorption and the narrowing of
the ~1900 nm absorption at finer grain sizes
occur only in the natural grain-size separates
(Fig. DR1 [see footnote 1]).
Therefore, we interpret these spectral
changes to indicate mineralogic differences in
the grain-size separates. The ~2200 nm absorp-
tion indicates a proportionally larger component
of Al-rich phyllosilicate compared to Mg-rich
serpentine in the finest grain-size separates. The
narrowing of the ~1900 nm absorption indicates
a change in the location of bound or adsorbed
water. We interpret the cause of this change as a
decrease in the relative amount of Mg-rich ser-
pentine, which has a broad ~1900 nm absorp-
tion (King and Clark, 1989; Clark et al., 1990;
Fig. 2D), in the finest grain-size separates.
The observed qualitative spectral changes
(Fig.  2) can be readily quantified using spec-
tral parameters, such as band depth (Clark and
Roush, 1984; Clark, 1999; Pelkey et al., 2007).
Absorption strength measured as a band depth
(BD) is typically correlated with mineral abun-
dance, and combinations of BD measurements
provide discrimination among closely spaced
absorption features (Clark and Roush, 1984;
Clark, 1999; Pelkey et al., 2007). The primary
parameter we make use of, BD1975:BD1915,
quantifies the shape of the ~1900 nm absorption
feature by comparing the relative absorption
strength at 1975 and 1915 nm (Fig.  3; see the
GSA Data Repository for additional details [see
Figure  3. (A) Schematic explanation of the
BD1975:BD1915 parameter, which quanti-
fies the shape of the ~1900 nm absorption
feature by comparing the relative absorp-
tion strength at 1975 and 1915 nm. Spec-
tra with broader ~1900 nm absorptions
will have larger BD1975:BD1915 values.
(B) BD1975:BD1915 values vs. grain size
for the input river mouth (diamonds), bed
load (circles), and suspended load (squares)
sediment from the Mahalona River. Right
plot shows a histogram of BD1975:BD1915
values for cores TOW4 and TOW5. Note
the similarity in absolute parameter values
for the input and lake core sediment. (C–D)
BD1975:BD1915 values vs. time for (C)
core TOW4 and (D) core TOW5. Thin line
indicates raw data, thick line is a 21 point
moving average, and thickest line is a 101
point moving average. Triangles at bottom
of both plots indicate locations of collected
subsamples.
 A 40,000 yr record of clay mineralogy at Lake Towuti, Indonesia

footnote 1]). The BD1975:BD1915 parameter is

also strongly negatively correlated to the band
depth at 2200 nm (BD2200; Fig. DR2 [see foot-
note 1]), indicating this parameter accurately
records the spectral differences we observe in
association with variations in grain size.
Application of the BD1975:BD1915 param-
eter to the input sediment spectra shows, as ex-
pected, smaller BD1975:BD1915 values (i.e.,
narrower, more asymmetric ~1900 nm absorp-
tions) for finer grain-size samples (Fig.  3B).
An exception to this is the >1  mm grain-size
separates, which have BD1975:BD1915 values
that are lower than expected (Fig. 3B). We sug-
gest that this is due to the very low albedo and
low overall ~1900 nm band strength for these
samples (Figs. 2A and 2B).

Lake Cores
VNIR reflectance spectra of the two sediment
cores show the same primary vibrational ab-
sorption features as the input sediment, and both
cores are spectrally dominated by serpentine
along their entire length. However, qualitative
analysis of the spectra from each of the cores
reveals systematic changes in the down-core
spectral signature. This is best observed in varia-
tions in BD1975:BD1915 values for each of the
>1000 spectra from the two cores, which show
coherent variability (Figs. 3C and 3D). The ab-
solute BD1975:BD1915 values of the sediment
cores are also very similar to those of the input
sediment (Fig.  3B), emphasizing the spectral
similarity of the source and sink sediment.
The spectral parameter records from both
cores show the same trends over the past
~20  k.y. (Figs.  3C and 3D), with a period of
high BD1975:BD1915 values prior to ca.  17–
15  ka, followed by a rapid transition to low

Figure 4. Variations in major element chem-

istry from inductively coupled plasma–
atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES)
data. (A) Al2O3 (wt%) vs. grain size and
(B) MgO (wt%) vs. grain size for input
river mouth (diamonds), bed load (circles),
and suspended load (squares) sediment
from the Mahalona River. (C, E) Al2O3
(wt%) vs. time and (D, F) MgO (wt%) vs.
time for core TOW4 (C, D) and TOW5 (E,
F) subsamples. The 21 point moving aver-
age of BD1975:BD1915 values versus time
(Figs.  3C and 3D) is shown in the back-
ground for qualitative comparison. The
y-axis scale for BD1975:BD1915 is inverted
for the Al2O3 plot. Note that changes in
major element chemistry track changes in
spectral signature.

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 Goudge et al.

BD1975:BD1915 values in the Holocene, tionally, all but the >1 mm grain-size separates ment from the Mahalona River and the sink
which persist from ca.  12  ka to the present. contain quartz, identified by 101 and 100 reflec- sediment from the Lake Towuti basin are domi-
Core TOW4 ends at ca. 20 ka, during the phase tion peaks, which both increase in strength with nated by Mg-rich serpentine. This conclusion
of high BD1975:BD1915 values; core TOW5 decreasing grain size. The primary systematic is confirmed by XRD analyses of sample min-
shows low BD1975:BD1915 values (similar to variations in the XRD patterns of the input sedi- eralogy (Fig. 5) and ICP-AES analyses of ma-
Holocene levels) prior to ca. 35 ka that transi- ment grain-size separates are subtle changes to jor element chemistry (Fig. 4; Table DR1 [see
tion to the period of high values by ca.  27  ka the 001 and 100 serpentine peaks (Fig.  5). As footnote 1]). This conclusion is also consistent
(Fig. 3D). grain size decreases, the primary serpentine 001 with the catchment geology of the East Sulawesi
peak develops a notable shoulder at slightly ophiolite, which contains large regions of ser-
Major Element Chemistry (ICP-AES) larger 2θ values. Additionally, the position of pentinized lherzolite (Kadarusman et al., 2004;
the 100 serpentine peak near ~20° 2θ shifts Fig. 1B).
Both the input sediment and lake core sub- to slightly larger 2θ values with decreasing While serpentine is the dominant mineral
samples have distinct variations in their major grain size. phase in all of our samples, we also identify a
element chemistry (Table  DR1 [see footnote distinct, systematically varying Al-rich phyllo-
1]). Al2O3, K2O, NiO, Na2O, and TiO2 concen- DISCUSSION silicate phase in both the input and lake sediment
trations vary coherently and inversely to varia- (Figs.  2–5). We interpret this Al-­phyllosilicate
tions in MgO concentrations. CaO, Cr2O3, FeO, Overview of Lake Towuti Clay Mineralogy to be kaolinite based on three primary obser-
MnO, and SiO2 concentrations show either very vations from both our data and previous work
weak coherence with other major elements or VNIR spectra (Figs.  2 and 3) of river and on Lake Towuti sediment. First, Weber et al.
no systematic variation. lake sediment show that both the source sedi- (2015) identified kaolinite in sediment samples
Systematic trends in major element chem-
istry of both the input sediment samples and
lake core subsamples are best observed through
relative variations in Al2O3 and MgO concen-
tration (Fig.  4). Input sediment samples have
increasing Al2O3 concentration and decreasing
MgO concentration with decreasing grain size
(Figs.  4A and 4B). Thus, MgO concentration
is positively correlated with BD1975:BD1915
values across varying sediment grain sizes,
while the Al2O3 concentration trend is inverse
to that of BD1975:BD1915 (Figs. 3B, 4A, and
4B). The lake core subsamples show a simi-
lar agreement with BD1975:BD1915 values,
with Al2O3 concentration negatively correlated
with BD1975:BD1915 and MgO concentration
positively correlated with BD1975:BD1915
(Figs. 4C–4F).
Additionally, in both the input sediment
samples and the lake core subsamples, the MgO
concentration is generally higher than the Al2O3
concentration, by up to an order of magnitude in
some cases (Fig. 4). This is consistent with our
VNIR spectral interpretation that the samples
are dominated by Mg-rich serpentine with a mi-
nor component of Al-rich phyllosilicate (Fig. 2).

X-Ray Diffraction

Results from XRD analysis of the input

sediment samples indicate that the major min-
eral phase in all of these samples is serpentine
(Fig. 5), consistent with our interpretation from
VNIR reflectance spectroscopy (Fig.  2). Ser-
pentine is identified from strong 001 and 002
reflection peaks, as well as a prominent 100 re-
flection. All of the samples also have a minor
component of smectite, indicated by a weak
001 peak; however, the peak position and height
do not vary significantly with grain size. Addi-
Figure  5. X-ray diffraction patterns for (A) the river mouth, (B) bed load, and
(C) suspended load sediment from the Mahalona River. Left plots show the diffrac-
tion pattern over the 2θ range 5°–40°. The major peaks used for mineral interpreta-
tions are labeled, with the diffraction plane shown in parentheses, with Sm—smectite,
S—serpentine, K—kaolinite, and Q—quartz. Right plots show the diffraction pattern
over the 2θ range 18°–22°, showing the subtle shift in the serpentine 100 peak to
larger 2θ values, consistent with the kaolinite 020 peak.

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 A 40,000 yr record of clay mineralogy at Lake Towuti, Indonesia
from Lake Towuti to the south of our study area
based on VNIR spectra that show an ~2200 nm
absorption with a distinct shoulder near ~2160
nm, which is diagnostic of kaolinite (Clark et
al., 1990; Bishop et al., 2008). Those sedi-
ments were finer grained and more Al-rich than
our samples, which led to a more diagnostic
~2200 nm absorption.
The variations in the XRD patterns of our
grain-size separates (Fig.  5) further suggest
the presence of kaolinite. The position of the
shoulder at larger 2θ values on the serpentine
001 peak is consistent with the position of the
kaolinite 001 peak. Additionally, the shift of
the serpentine 100 peak near ~20° 2θ to larger
2θ values with decreasing grain size is consis-
tent with an increasing abundance of kaolinite,
as the kaolinite 020 peak is at slightly larger
2θ values than the serpentine 100 peak.
Finally, there are no systematic variations
in the weak smectite 001 peak associated with
changes in grain size (Fig.  5), which would
be expected if the Al-phyllosilicate were an
Al-rich smectite, such as montmorillonite.
Therefore, we conclude that kaolinite is the
most probable interpretation for the identified
Al-phyllosilicate, and we refer to the identified
Al-phyllosilicate as kaolinite in the rest of the
discussion. However, we note that our interpre-
tation of kaolinite is not a definitive identifica-
tion and that our data are also potentially con-
sistent with a different Al-rich phyllosilicate.
In both the input and lake sediment, we
tracked the variation in kaolinite content rela-
tive to serpentine using our developed VNIR
parameter BD1975:BD1915. While, strictly
speaking, this parameter measures the shape
of the ~1900 nm absorption due to structural/
adsorbed water, it is a reliable proxy for the
grain size–dependent mineralogy of our stud-
ied samples (Fig.  3). Calculated values of
BD2200, which quantify the strength of the
Al-OH absorption centered at ~2200 nm and
more accurately capture the variation in ka-
olinite abundance, show the same trends as
those observed in the BD1975:BD1915 pa-
rameter, and the two parameters are strongly
negatively correlated (Fig.  DR2 [see foot-
note 1]). However, many of our measured
samples have no clear absorption at ~2200
nm (Fig. 2), which results in a BD2200 value
of 0 (Fig. DR2 [see footnote 1]). In contrast,
measured BD1975:BD1915 values vary con-
tinuously from ~0.5 to 0.9 (Fig.  2), making
for easier data analysis and interpretation.
Furthermore, the general subtlety of the
~2200 nm absorption (Fig.  2) leads to in-
creased scatter in the trends for BD2200 as
compared to BD1975:BD1915, which again
hinders data interpretation.
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In the input sediment, the proportion of ka-
olinite increases relative to serpentine with
decreasing grain size (Figs.  2–5). In the lake
sediment, the proportion of kaolinite relative
to serpentine is high prior to ca. 35 ka, during
marine isotope stage 3 (MIS 3), lowest from
ca. 27–17 ka, during the Last Glacial Maximum
(LGM), and again high from ca.  12  ka to the
present, during the Holocene. There are also
higher-frequency fluctuations in the proportion
of kaolinite to serpentine superimposed on these
orbital-scale trends (Figs. 3C and 3D).
Based on the similarity of both the spectral
signature (Fig.  3) and elemental chemistry
(Fig. 4; Table DR1 [see footnote 1]) of the in-
put source compared to the lake sink sediment,
we conclude that the core sediment is primarily
detrital in origin and that there is no evidence
for major in situ alteration or authigenesis of
phyllosilicate minerals. This conclusion is con-
sistent with the relatively low salinity of Lake
Towuti (Costa et al., 2015), as in situ altera-
tion and authigenesis of phyllosilicate minerals
is most common in highly alkaline and saline
lakes (e.g., Jones and Weir, 1983; Deocampo et
al., 2009). The provenance of this detrital sedi-
ment represents a mix of materials from Lake
Towuti’s catchment, including primary phases
from the serpentinized East Sulawesi ophiolite
(Kadarusman et al., 2004) and pedogenic altera-
tion phases from laterites/Oxisols (Golightly
and Arancibia, 1979; Golightly, 1981; Soil Sur-
vey Staff, 1999).
Variation in Input Sediment Mineralogy
The systematic variation in the proportion
of kaolinite to serpentine with changes in grain
size of the input sediment (Figs. 2–5) indicates
that there is mineralogic sorting operating in
the catchment of the Mahalona River, or per-
haps within the river itself, whereby kaolin-
ite is preferentially accumulated in finer grain
sizes compared to serpentine. Al-rich alteration
phases, such as kaolinite, are expected only with
progressive alteration of crustal materials due to
the relative stability of Al to leaching (e.g., Nes-
bitt and Young, 1982, 1989; Nesbitt and Wilson,
1992). Lake Towuti’s catchment is characterized
by highly weathered laterites/Oxisols that are
enriched in Al, Fe, Cr, and other recalcitrant ele-
ments relative to the underlying parent bedrock,
which is enriched in Mg, among other leachable
elements (Golightly and Arancibia, 1979; Go-
lightly, 1981; Soil Survey Staff, 1999).
The relationship between grain size and
alteration can be tested using the chemical in-
dex of alteration (CIA), which is a measure of
the overall degree of chemical weathering of a
sample (Nesbitt and Young, 1982). The origi-
nal formulation of the CIA was developed for
upper-crustal materials such as granite or ba-
salt (Nesbitt and Young, 1982, 1989; Nesbitt
and Wilson, 1992); however, our sediment
samples—derived from the partially serpen-
­
tinized East Sulawesi ophiolite (Kadarusman
et al., 2004)—have very low concentrations of
CaO, Na2O, and K2O (<2 wt%; Table DR1 [see
footnote 1]), the labile oxides traditionally used
to calculate CIA. This makes calculation of CIA
values less robust and more prone to influence
from sample variability and systematic propaga-
tion of measurement error. Therefore, we used
a modified CIA value to incorporate MgO as
a labile oxide, since MgO is expected to leach
out of basaltic and mafic materials before Al2O3
(Nesbitt and Wilson, 1992). The modified CIA
is calculated as:
modified CIA = [Al2O3/(Al2O3 + CaO +
Na2O + K2O + MgO)] × 100, (1)
where all the oxide values are in molecular pro-
portions, and higher values indicate increased
degrees of chemical weathering (Nesbitt and
Young, 1982).
The river input sediment samples show a
clear trend of increasing modified CIA values
with decreasing grain size (Fig. 6A). The same
general trend is observed with traditional CIA
values, although there is increased scatter due
to the low overall concentrations of CaO, Na2O,
and K2O (Table DR1 [see footnote 1]). The river
input sediment samples also show a distinct
trend of increasing TiO2/Al2O3 ratios with de-
creasing grain size (Fig. 6B). Ti-rich phases are
typically more resistant to chemical weather-
ing than Al-rich phases, and in heavily leached
soils, TiO2/Al2O3 ratios are expected to increase
in the most weathered portions of the soil profile
(e.g., Young and Nesbitt, 1998).
Therefore, these data indicate that the fin-
est grain-size input sediment has experienced
the highest degree of chemical alteration and
leaching, including loss of MgO. In light of
the chemical gradients that exist in regional
soil profiles (Golightly and Arancibia, 1979;
Golightly, 1981), we conclude that the increase
in the proportion of kaolinite to serpentine in
the finest grain-size separates of the Mahalona
River input sediment is primarily controlled by
varying sources of the detrital sediment from
the Lake Towuti catchment. The fine, more
chemically weathered, kaolinite-enriched
sediment is derived from fluvial erosion and
transport of the heavily leached soil (Golightly
and Arancibia, 1979; Golightly, 1981). In con-
trast, the coarse, less chemically weathered,
­serpentine-rich sediment is derived from flu-
vial erosion and transport of bedrock, i.e., the

serpentinized East Sulawesi ophiolite (Kada-
rusman et al., 2004).
Variation in Lake Core Mineralogy
Our ~40  k.y. VNIR spectroscopy record of
clay mineralogy from the Mahalona River delta
sediment shows coherent changes in the relative
abundances of kaolinite and serpentine through
time (Figs.  3C and 3D). We hypothesize that
this variation in mineralogy is controlled by sys-
tematic changes over time in: (1) the chemical
weathering intensity on the landscape and/or
(2) the relative proportion of fine versus coarse
sediment accumulated at the core sites.
Changes in the chemical weathering intensity
on the landscape would change the proportion
of kaolinite produced from chemical weather-
ing of the partially serpentinized East Sulawesi
Figure  6. (A) Modified chemical index of
alteration (CIA) values and (B) TiO2/Al2O3
ratios vs. grain size for the input river
mouth (diamonds), bed load (circles), and
suspended load (squares) sediment from
the Mahalona River, as well as the grain-
size separates of lake core subsamples C4-
7, C5-5, and C5-8 (triangles). Symbol for
the lake core subsamples is the mean value,
and error bars denote the range of values.
TiO2/Al2O3 ratios were calculated in molar
proportions.
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Goudge et al.
ophiolite. In theory, decreased chemical weath-
ering intensity would lead to a decreased pro-
portion of kaolinite in the weathered soil (Go-
lightly and Arancibia, 1979; Nesbitt and Young,
1982, 1989; Nesbitt and Wilson, 1992). Assum-
ing no change in physical transport processes,
this should result in a decrease in the amount of
kaolinite input to the basin relative to serpentine.
Changes in the dominant grain size accu-
mulated at the core sites should also result in
a change in mineralogy given the strong grain
size dependence we observe in input sediment
composition (Figs. 2–5). Decreased input (e.g.,
by changes in the grain-size distribution of input
sediment) or accumulation (e.g., by changes in
hydrodynamic sorting processes during trans-
port and deposition) of fine-grained sediment at
the distal margins of the Mahalona River delta
would result in a decrease in the proportion of
kaolinite compared to serpentine in the cores.
To test between these two hypotheses, we ex-
amined lacustrine grain-size separates of three
sediment core subsamples collected from pe-
lagic clay beds spanning a wide range of ages
(ca.  11.6  ka to ca.  32.0  ka). While the fine-
grained nature of the samples precludes analyses
of coarse sediment fractions, VNIR reflectance
data from these subsamples show that the finest
grain-size separates (<32 µm) have a stronger
~2200 nm absorption and a weaker ~2320 nm
absorption than the coarser, 32–63 µm fraction
(Fig. 7). This observation is consistent with an
increasing component of kaolinite relative to
serpentine in the finest grain-size separates, as
is also seen for modern input sediment (Figs. 2
and 3). Similarly, ICP-AES analyses show that
the lake core subsamples have an MgO/Al2O3
ratio that is very similar to values for the same
grain sizes of modern input sediment (Fig. 8).
Taken together, these data suggest that there
are similar proportions of kaolinite to serpen-
tine in the silt and clay grain-size fractions of
both the modern input sediment and the lake
core sediment. Furthermore, the lake core sub-
sample grain-size separates have similar modi-
fied CIA values (Fig. 6A) and TiO2/Al2O3 ratios
(Fig. 6B) as modern input sediment, indicating
similar degrees of chemical weathering for the
same grain-size fractions through time. These
data argue against dramatic changes in chemi-
cal weathering intensity at this site over the
past ~40 k.y.
While this result may seem surprising in light
of paleoclimate records that document a drier
climate from ca. 33 to 16 ka in this region dur-
ing the LGM (e.g., Russell et al., 2014), we sug-
gest that the Lake Towuti basin remained warm
and moist enough to maintain strong chemical
weathering throughout this time period. There-
fore, we conclude that the observed changes
in the mineralogy and spectral signature of the
sediment cores (Figs. 3C and 3D) are primarily
indicative of grain size–controlled variations in
the relative proportion of (fine) kaolinite com-
pared to (coarse) serpentine accumulated at the
core sites over the past ~40 k.y. This conclusion
is also consistent with the sedimentologic analy-
sis of Vogel et al. (2015).
VNIR Spectroscopy as a
Paleoenvironmental Record
Modern Holocene sediment in both cores
is composed of fine-grained material that is
enriched in kaolinite (Figs.  3C and 3D). Dur-
ing MIS 3, prior to ca. 35 ka, sediment deposi-
tion at the TOW5 site was similar to Holocene
conditions, with deposition of fine-grained,
kaolinite-enriched sediment. This was followed
by a gradual transition to an interval composed
of serpentine-rich, coarse-grained sediment,
from ca. 27 to 17 ka, i.e., during the LGM. We
have no record of MIS 3 in core TOW4, but
both cores record a relatively abrupt ~3–5 k.y.
transition during the last glacial termination to
the regime of kaolinite-enriched, fine-grained
sediment deposition occurring from ca. 12 ka to
the present.
What was the cause for the period of de-
position of serpentine-rich, coarse-grained
sediment during the LGM? One potential ex-
planation is an increase in the discharge of the
Mahalona River, which might be expected to
lead to increased fluvial transport of coarse
sediment. However, increased surface runoff
should also deliver more fine-grained, kaolin-
ite-enriched sediment to the basin, which may
lead to a nonlinear net change in the proportion
of transported serpentine to kaolinite with in-
creasing discharge. Furthermore, recent work
on geochemical and sedimentological proxy
records from Lake Towuti has shown that
during the last glacial period, from ca.  33 to
16 ka, this part of Indonesia experienced rela-
tively drier conditions compared with the Ho-
locene and MIS 3 (Russell et al., 2014; Costa
et al., 2015; Tamuntuan et al., 2015; Vogel et
al., 2015).
Increased hydrodynamic sorting processes,
namely, winnowing of fine-grained sediment
from strong bottom currents, could also lead to a
decrease in the amount of kaolinite accumulated
at the core sites during the LGM. Changes in
hydrodynamic sorting processes within the ba-
sin would be expected in association with major
changes in lake level and circulation, and indeed
previous workers have shown that water levels
in Lake Towuti dropped during the drier LGM
interval (Russell et al., 2014; Costa et al., 2015;
Tamuntuan et al., 2015; Vogel et al., 2015).
 A 40,000 yr record of clay mineralogy at Lake Towuti, Indonesia

Figure 7. Visible to near-infrared (VNIR) reflectance spectra of the grain-size separates of lake core subsamples (A) C4-7, (B) C5-5,
and (C) C5-8. Top plots show full VNIR reflectance spectra. Dashed lines are located at ~1400, 1900, 2100, 2200, and 2320 nm. Bottom
plots show continuum-removed reflectance in the ~2200–2400 nm region, showing a stronger ~2200 nm absorption and a weaker ~2320
nm absorption for the <32 μm grain-size fraction. Dashed lines are located at ~2205 and 2325 nm. Continuum-removed reflectance was
calculated by dividing the original spectrum by a continuum spectrum calculated using a convex hull method.

However, Vogel et al. (2015) demonstrated that
water level changes in the Lake Towuti basin
during the LGM were on the order of tens of
meters, which would be insufficient to drive sig-
nificant changes in lake circulation and hydro-
dynamic sorting processes affecting the distal
portions of the Mahalona River delta.
Instead, we interpret the increase in coarse-
grained, serpentine-rich sediment in the two
cores during the LGM as a signal of multiple
sedimentologic processes internal to the Lake
Towuti basin driven by the Mahalona River
and delta responding to the external forcing
of a drier climate. Lower water levels in Lake
Towuti, such as those experienced during the
LGM (Russell et al., 2014; Costa et al., 2015;
Figure 8. MgO/Al2O3 (in molar proportions)
vs. grain size for the input river mouth (dia-
monds), bed load (circles), and suspended
load (squares) sediment from the Mahalona
River, as well as the grain-size separates
of lake core subsamples C4-7, C5-5, and
C5-8 (triangles). Symbol for the lake core
subsamples is the mean value, and error
bars denote the range of values (range for
<32 μm samples is smaller than the symbol).
Tamuntuan et al., 2015; Vogel et al., 2015),
should cause progradation of the Mahalona
River delta, exposure of coarse-grained topset
sediment, and increased river incision due to the
fall in local base level.
Delta progradation would cause increased
coarse sediment deposition further into the ba-
sin, including at the core sites, which would
have been enhanced by the readily available
coarse-grained topset sediment exposed from
lowered lake levels. As suggested by sedimen-
tologic analyses (Vogel et al., 2015), additional
coarse sediment was delivered to the core sites
through discrete slumping and turbidity current
events along the delta front. The drop in local
base level from lower Lake Towuti water lev-
els would also have driven increased bedrock
incision by the Mahalona River. The resultant
increase in fluvially transported coarse-grained,
bedrock-derived sediment relative to fine-
grained, soil-derived sediment would cause an
increase in the amount of serpentine delivered

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 Goudge et al.

to the basin relative to kaolinite. All of these
processes would result in increased deposition
of coarse-grained, serpentine-rich sediment
relative to fine-grained, kaolinite-enriched sedi-
ment at the distal deltaic core sites during the
drier LGM climate, a signal that is accurately
captured by our VNIR spectroscopy record
(Figs. 3C and 3D).
A comparison of our VNIR spectroscopy re-
cord to previous paleoclimate reconstructions
from Lake Towuti (Russell et al., 2014) shows
highly consistent trends (Fig. 9); however, there
are notable systematic differences between our
VNIR spectroscopy record and the record pre-
sented by Russell et al. (2014). In particular,
our VNIR spectroscopy record captures a cyclic
variation in the Mahalona River delta miner-
alogy with a period of ~11  k.y. superimposed
upon the MIS 3/2/1 trends (Fig. 9).
Interestingly, this periodicity is suggestive of
a half-precession rainfall cycle. At the equato-
rial latitude of Lake Towuti, insolation is stron-
gest during both the spring and fall equinoxes
(Berger, 1978; Fig.  9), which coincide with
the twice-annual passage of the tropical rain
belt over the equator. Equatorial rainfall might
therefore exhibit a half-precession cycle if the
intensity of rainfall within the tropical rain belt
responds to the strength of local insolation dur-
ing the spring and fall equinoxes, which each
oscillate on a 21,000 yr cycle due to Earth’s pre-
cession (Short et al., 1991; Fig. 9).
In the present day, seasonal precipitation at
Lake Towuti does peak during March and April
as the tropical rain belt migrates over the equa-
tor (Russell et al., 2014). Speleothem-based
rainfall reconstructions from nearby Borneo
also suggest that changes in rainfall and convec-
tion responded to variations in boreal fall (Sep-
tember to November) insolation intensity during
the last glacial cycle (Carolin et al., 2013). How-
ever, Lake Towuti experiences a dry season dur-
ing boreal fall due to local air-sea interactions
(Hendon, 2003). More importantly, during the
past 40,000 yr, boreal spring and fall insolation
at the equator peaked at ~6, 17, 28, and 39 k.y.
B.P., which correspond to drier intervals in our
record (Fig. 9).
Instead, wetter time periods in our data align
most closely with insolation maxima during
austral and boreal summer (December and June,
respectively; Fig.  9). Thus, our data may indi-
cate that the half-precession cycle observed at
Lake Towuti reflects the intensification of the
austral and boreal summer Asian monsoons.
Similar dynamics have been observed in a re-
cord from equatorial East Africa (Verschuren
et al., 2009); however, a longer paleoclimate
record from Lake Towuti is needed to robustly
document the relationship between insolation
and rainfall through the Pleistocene.
Regardless, the general coherence between
our VNIR spectroscopy record and a more tradi-
tional geochemical proxy record (Russell et al.,
2014; Fig. 9) clearly indicates that our record ac-
curately captures the major paleoclimatic forc-
ings affecting this basin over the past ~40 k.y.
Our approach of core scanning VNIR reflec-
tance spectroscopy provides an effective method
for rapidly and nondestructively characterizing
the phyllosilicate mineralogy of terrestrial lake
sediment. Our results show that this technique
can be used to develop high-­resolution records
of paleoenvironmental change, similar to re-
cords from more traditionally used geochemical
proxies (e.g., Hughen et al., 2004; Castaneda et
al., 2009; Russell et al., 2014).

Figure 9. (A) Previously published paleoclimate reconstruction from Lake Towuti sediment, Implications for Paleolakes on Mars
d13Cwax (Russell et al., 2014), compared to (B–C) BD1975:BD1915 values vs. time for core
TOW4 (B) and core TOW5 (C) and (D–G) equatorial insolation curves. Note the coher- The ultramafic nature of the East Sulawesi
ence of the overall structure for the top three records (A–C). Interpretations for driving ophiolite (Monnier et al., 1995; Kadarusman
mechanisms of variation in both d13Cwax and BD1975:BD1915 values are shown on right. et al., 2004) makes the Lake Towuti catchment
Vertical gray bars highlight periods with insolation maxima at the winter and summer sol- area compositionally comparable to the mafic,
stices, which correspond to wetter time intervals in our visible to near-infrared (VNIR) basaltic martian crust (e.g., Mustard et al., 2005;
spectroscopy record. The Russell et al. (2014) paleoclimate reconstruction was developed us- McSween et al., 2009); however, the specific
ing d13Cwax, a proxy for regional precipitation based on carbon isotopic values of terrestrial alteration mineral phases that dominate the in-
leaf waxes buried in lacustrine sediment. Insolation curves were calculated for the fall (D) put and lake sediment in the Lake Towuti sys-
and spring (E) equinoxes and the winter (F) and summer (G) solstices at 0° latitude using tem (serpentine and kaolinite) are not as com-
the Analyseries software package (Paillard et al., 1996). monly identified on the martian surface as other­

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 A 40,000 yr record of clay mineralogy at Lake Towuti, Indonesia
basaltic weathering products, primarily Fe- and
Mg-rich smectites (e.g., Poulet et al., 2005;
Bibring et al., 2006; Mustard et al., 2008; Ehl-
mann et al., 2011; Carter et al., 2013, 2015).
Although this is the case, our spectral record of
Lake Towuti sediment demonstrates that VNIR
reflectance spectroscopy can provide a detailed
record of paleoenvironmental changes over a
period of tens of thousands of years (Fig.  9).
The sedimentary rock record on Mars should
also preserve distinct paleoenvironmental sig-
nals that can be studied in a similar fashion with
combined analyses of high-resolution, remote
sensing observations of stratigraphy and VNIR
spectroscopy (e.g., Wray et al., 2008, 2011;
Loizeau et al., 2010; Milliken and Bish, 2010;
Milliken et al., 2010; Ansan et al., 2011).
Major variations in the orbital spectral signa-
ture of exposed stratigraphic sections on Mars
have previously been interpreted to indicate
changes in environmental weathering condi-
tions (e.g., Wray et al., 2008; Loizeau et al.,
2010; Milliken et al., 2010) or protolith mate-
rial (e.g., Loizeau et al., 2010). However, our re-
sults from Lake Towuti demonstrate that major
changes in sedimentary spectral signatures can
also be driven by grain size–controlled miner-
alogy and the internal response of sedimentary
systems to external environmental forcing fac-
tors, and these factors should also play a role in
controlling mineralogic variations in sedimen-
tary environments on Mars.
Indeed, in situ analyses from the Mars Ex-
ploration Rovers and Mars Science Laboratory
have revealed the potential effects of hydrody-
namic sorting and grain size–dependent miner-
alogy on the composition of both modern sur-
face soils (e.g., McGlynn et al., 2012; Meslin et
al., 2013) and exposed sedimentary rocks (e.g.,
Christensen et al., 2004; Grotzinger et al., 2014;
McLennan et al., 2014; Mangold et al., 2016).
Building upon these results, Fedo et al. (2015)
used laboratory studies to show that hydrody-
namic sorting in an eolian environment has a
significant effect on the composition and min-
eralogy of sediment derived from an unaltered
basaltic protolith. Therefore, it is entirely pos-
sible that stratigraphic variations in VNIR spec-
tral signatures of exposed martian sedimentary
deposits are due to grain size–controlled min-
eralogy, as opposed to weathering or protolith
changes (e.g., Wray et al., 2008; Loizeau et al.,
2010; Milliken et al., 2010).
Although mineralogic variations of martian
sedimentary deposits due to weathering or pro-
tolith changes are enticing for inferring paleoen-
vironmental changes on Mars (e.g., Wray et
al., 2008; Loizeau et al., 2010; Milliken et al.,
2010), our results from Lake Towuti demon-
strate that records of grain size–dependent min-
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by Universiteit Ghent user
eralogy can also offer detailed paleoenviron-
mental information (Fig. 9). We thus emphasize
both the importance and utility of considering
hydrodynamic sorting as a mechanism for driv-
ing mineralogic variation within sedimentary
deposits on Mars. Furthermore, our results show
that processes of hydrodynamic sorting and the
resultant effects on sedimentary mineralogy
can be accurately characterized using VNIR
spectroscopy in a source-to-sink framework, an
approach that can be readily applied to orbital
remote sensing studies of the sedimentary rock
record of Mars (e.g., Milliken and Bish, 2010;
Goudge et al., 2015).
Martian paleolake deposits, in particular, are
highly suitable for analysis of mineralogy using
a source-to-sink approach, because they often
have a clear regional geologic context; however,
there have been relatively few source-to-sink
mineralogy studies of paleolake systems on
Mars (e.g., Milliken and Bish, 2010; Goudge et
al., 2015). Our results from Lake Towuti sug-
gest that future studies of paleolake deposits on
Mars using VNIR reflectance spectroscopy may
be able to extract unique information on fluvial
hydrodynamic sorting processes, in addition to
records of paleoenvironmental change. Such in-
formation will be crucial for testing competing
hypotheses of the evolution of ancient aqueous
surface environments on Mars and, in particular,
two of the end-member hypotheses that invoke
significantly different climatic and geochemi-
cal conditions: a warm and wet early Mars with
widespread surface weathering (e.g., Craddock
and Howard, 2002; Carter et al., 2013, 2015) or
a cold and icy early Mars with limited surface
weathering and more widespread subsurface al-
teration (e.g., Ehlmann et al., 2011; Wordsworth
et al., 2013; Head and Marchant, 2014).
CONCLUSIONS
We used VNIR reflectance spectroscopy to
assess the source-to-sink mineralogy of Lake
Towuti, a hydrologically open lake in Indonesia.
Our results show that the input sediment from
the Mahalona River is spectrally dominated by
Mg-rich serpentine, with an increasing compo-
nent of Al-phyllosilicate, which we interpret as
kaolinite, with decreasing grain size (Figs. 2 and
3B). Two sediment cores collected from the dis-
tal margins of the Mahalona River delta show
similar overall spectral signatures to the input
sediment (Fig.  3), suggesting a limited impact
of clay authigenesis on the phyllosilicate miner-
alogy in the lake.
The VNIR spectral records from both cores
show coherent, systematic trends over the past
~40 k.y. (Figs. 3C and 3D), which we conclude
were controlled by changes in mineralogy re-
lated to variations in the dominant grain size de-
posited at the core sites over time. Fine-grained,
Al-phyllosilicate–enriched sediment was depos-
ited at the core locations during the Holocene
(ca.  12–0  ka) and MIS 3 (prior to ca.  35  ka).
During the LGM, from ca. 27 to 17 ka, the core
sites received coarse-grained, serpentine-rich
sediment. We conclude that this change in grain
size and associated mineralogy was driven by
a drier regional climate and a drop in the Lake
Towuti water level (Russell et al., 2014; Costa et
al., 2015; Tamuntuan et al., 2015; Vogel et al.,
2015), which forced delta progradation, expo-
sure and offshore transport of coarse-grained
topset sediment, and increased river incision
into serpentine-rich bedrock.
Our VNIR spectroscopy record is highly
consistent with geochemical proxy records for
the Lake Towuti basin over the past ~40  k.y.
(Russell et al., 2014; Fig.  9), and it captures
changes in delta dynamics, lake level, and re-
gional precipitation over this time period. VNIR
reflectance spectroscopy offers a relatively
rapid, nondestructive method for assessing the
phyllosilicate mineralogy of modern lake sedi-
ments (e.g., Bishop et al., 1996, 2003; Vogel et
al., 2008; Rosén et al., 2010; Lynch et al., 2015;
Weber et al., 2015). Our results demonstrate
the utility of VNIR reflectance spectroscopy, in
combination with a core scanning approach, for
providing detailed, high-resolution records of
past environmental change preserved in sedi-
ment from terrestrial lake basins.
Paleolake deposits on Mars are also likely to
contain similar paleoenvironmental informa-
tion that can be accessed with remote VNIR re-
flectance spectroscopy. Interpretation of VNIR
reflectance spectroscopy data requires careful
analysis, and we emphasize the importance of
mineralogic grain-size sorting (e.g., Christensen
et al., 2004; McGlynn et al., 2012; Meslin et
al., 2013; Grotzinger et al., 2014; McLennan et
al., 2014; Mangold et al., 2016) as a potential
control on observed spectral signatures. Future
studies of martian paleolake deposits aimed at
paleoenvironmental reconstructions will greatly
benefit from combined stratigraphic and spectral
analyses, as well as mineralogic analysis in the
framework of a source-to-sink approach, which
has been applied to only a select few martian pa-
leolake systems to date (e.g., Milliken and Bish,
2010; Goudge et al., 2015).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We express our gratitude to Associate Editor An-
drew Cohen and two anonymous reviewers for their
insightful and constructive comments, and to David
Schofield for editorial handling. We thank Rebecca
Greenberger, Io Wicaksono, Danielle Cares, Dave
Murray, Joe Orchardo, Tom Kiefer, Taki Hiroi, and
especially Kevin Robertson for their help with various

components of sample preparation, laboratory tech-
niques, and data analysis. We also thank Ralph Mil-
liken for use of his X-ray diffraction instrument and
helpful discussions, and Hendrik Vogel for sharing a
preprint of his work and helpful discussions. Goudge
gratefully acknowledges support for this work from
the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Coun-
cil of Canada (NSERC) Postgraduate Scholarships
Program (PGSD3-421594-2012). Head acknowledges
support from National Aeronautics and Space Admin-
istration (NASA) Mars Data Analysis Program grant
NNX11AI81G. Russell acknowledges support from
National Science Foundation grant EAR-1401448.
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Science Editor: David I. Schofield
Associate Editor: Andrew Cohen
Manuscript Received 10 May 2016
Revised Manuscript Received 2 November 2016
Manuscript Accepted 30 December 2016
Printed in the USA