Physical Limnology and Sediment Dynamics of Lago Argentino, the World's Largest Ice‐Contact Lake

Abstract Proglacial lakes, whose numbers have been growing around the world, may drive accelerated glacier retreat and provide valuable records of past climatic changes. Despite their importance, few studies investigated sedimentary properties processes acting within large proglacial lakes. Lago Argentino (LArg) is a 1,500 km 2 ice‐contact lake on eastern flank Southern Patagonian Icefield. Here, we describe results from detailed analysis 47 sediment cores obtained throughout this basin, supplemented with remotely sensed data. We show that: (a) LArg exhibits seasonal variation in (varves); (b) varve formation three distinct processes, driven by changes glacial input, fluvial variations mixing; (c) distance calving fronts provides first‐order control grain size accumulation rate. Our findings highlight exceptional preservation annual laminations potential for reconstructing changes, relevance forecasting future glacier–lake interactions.