| Volcanic eruptions are natural phenomena with the most diverse and varied consequences, and have important effects on both terrestrial and aquatic environments. On June 4th, 2011 the volcanic Puyehue Cordón-Caulle complex (2.236 masl, 40º 32´ S-72º 2´ W, Chile) erupted explosively ejecting on the first day, 950 million metric tons of ashes into the atmosphere. Due to predominant westerly winds, 24 million hectares of Argentinian Patagonia were covered by the ashfall. We studied three streams in northwestern Patagonia in order to explore the ash fall impact and possible recovery processes in water quality and macroinvertebrate communities. We selected three streams representing maximum, intermediate and minimum ash deposition levels. For each stream, we... |
