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Geology topics

Daniel R. Muhs

Publications and source records attributed to Daniel R. Muhs.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Sea level, paleogeography, and archeology on California's Northern Channel Islands

Sea-level rise during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene inundated nearshore areas in many parts of the world, producing drastic changes in local ecosystems and obscuring significant portions of the archeological record. Although global forces are at play, the effects of sea-level rise are highly localized due to variability in glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) effects. Interpretations of coastal paleoecology and archeology require reliable estimates of ancient shorelines that account for GIA effects. Here we build on previous models for California's Northern Channel Islands, producing more accurate late Pleistocene and Holocene paleogeographic reconstructions adjusted for regional GIA variability. This region has contributed significantly to our understanding of early New World coastal foragers. Sea level that was about 80–85 m lower than present at the time of the first known human occupation brought about a landscape and ecology substantially different than today. During the late Pleistocene, large tracts of coastal lowlands were exposed, while a colder, wetter climate and fluctuating marine conditions interacted with rapidly evolving littoral environments. At the close of the Pleistocene and start of the Holocene, people in coastal California faced shrinking land, intertidal, and subtidal zones, with important implications for resource availability and distribution.

California↗

Late Quaternary sea-level history and the antiquity of mammoths ( Mammuthus exilis and Mammuthus columbi ), Channel Islands NationalPark, California, USA

Fossils of Columbian mammoths ( Mammuthus columbi ) and pygmy mammoths ( Mammuthus exilis ) have been reported from Channel Islands National Park, California. Most date to the last glacial period (Marine Isotope Stage [MIS] 2), but a tusk of M. exilis (or immature M. columbi ) was found in the lowest marine terrace of Santa Rosa Island. Uranium-series dating of corals yielded ages from 83.8 ± 0.6 ka to 78.6 ± 0.5 ka, correlating the terrace with MIS 5.1, a time of relatively high sea level. Mammoths likely immigrated to the islands by swimming during the glacial periods MIS 6 (~ 150 ka) or MIS 8 (~ 250 ka), when sea level was low and the island–mainland distance was minimal, as during MIS 2. Earliest mammoth immigration to the islands likely occurred late enough in the Quaternary that uplift of the islands and the mainland decreased the swimming distance to a range that could be accomplished by mammoths. Results challenge the hypothesis that climate change, vegetation change, and decreased land area from sea-level rise were the causes of mammoth extinction at the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary on the Channel Islands. Pre-MIS 2 mammoth populations would have experienced similar or even more dramatic changes at the MIS 6/5.5 transition.

California↗

Geochemical evidence for a complex origin for the Kelso dunes, Mojave National Preserve, California USA

The Kelso Dune field in southern California is intriguing because although it is of limited areal extent (~ 100 km 2 ), it has a wide variety of dune forms and contains many active dunes (~ 40 km 2 ), which is unusual in the Mojave Desert. Studies over the past eight decades have concluded that the dunes are derived primarily from a single source, Mojave River alluvium, under a dominant, westerly-to-northwesterly wind regime. The majority of these studies did not, however, present data to support the Mojave River as the only source. We conducted mineralogical and geochemical studies of most of the 14 geomorphically defined dune groups of the Kelso Dune field as well as potential sand sources, alluvial sediments from the surrounding mountain ranges. Results indicate that sands in the nine western dune groups have K/Rb and K/Ba (primarily from K-feldspar) compositions that are indistinguishable from Mojave River alluvium (westerly/northwesterly winds) and Budweiser Wash alluvium (southwesterly winds), permitting an interpretation of two sources. In contrast, sands from the five eastern dune groups have K/Rb and K/Ba values that indicate significant inputs from alluvial fan deposits of the Providence Mountains. This requires either rare winds from the east or southeast or, more likely, aeolian reworking of distal Providence Mountain fan sediments by winds from the west, at a rate greater than input from the Mojave River or other western sources. The results indicate that even a small dune field can have a complex origin, either from seasonally varying winds or complex alluvial-fan-dune interaction. Application of K/Rb and K/Ba in K-feldspar as a provenance indicator could be used in many of the world's ergs or sand seas, where dune origins are still not well understood or are controversial. Four examples are given from Africa and the Middle East where such an approach could yield useful new information about dune sand provenance.

Geomorphology↗

Evaluation of simple geochemical indicators of aeolian sand provenance: Late Quaternary dune fields of North America revisited

Dune fields of Quaternary age occupy large areas of the world's arid and semiarid regions. Despite this, there has been surprisingly little work done on understanding dune sediment provenance, in part because many techniques are time-consuming, prone to operator error, experimental, highly specialized, expensive, or require sophisticated instrumentation. Provenance of dune sand using K/Rb and K/Ba values in K-feldspar in aeolian sands of the arid and semiarid regions of North America is tested here. Results indicate that K/Rb and K/Ba can distinguish different river sands that are sediment sources for dunes and dune fields themselves have distinctive K/Rb and K/Ba compositions. Over the Basin and Range and Great Plains regions of North America, the hypothesized sediment sources of dune fields are reviewed and assessed using K/Rb and K/Ba values in dune sands and in hypothesized source sediments. In some cases, the origins of dunes assessed in this manner are consistent with previous studies and in others, dune fields are found to have a more complex origin than previously thought. Use of K/Rb and K/Ba for provenance studies is a robust method that is inexpensive, rapid, and highly reproducible. It exploits one of the most common minerals found in dune sand, K-feldspar. The method avoids the problem of using simple concentrations of key elements that may be subject to interpretative bias due to changes in mineralogical maturity of Quaternary dune fields that occur over time.

Quaternary Science Reviews↗

Late Quaternary uplift along the North America-Caribbean plate boundary: Evidence from the sea level record of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

The tectonic setting of the North America-Caribbean plate boundary has been studied intensively, but some aspects are still poorly understood, particularly along the Oriente fault zone. Guantanamo Bay, southern Cuba, is considered to be on a coastline that is under a transpressive tectonic regime along this zone, and is hypothesized to have a low uplift rate. We tested this by studying emergent reef terrace deposits around the bay. Reef elevations in the protected, inner part of the bay are ∼11–12 m and outer-coast, wave-cut benches are as high as ∼14 m. Uranium-series analyses of corals yield ages ranging from ∼133 ka to ∼119 ka, correlating this reef to the peak of the last interglacial period, marine isotope stage (MIS) 5.5. Assuming a span of possible paleo-sea levels at the time of the last interglacial period yields long-term tectonic uplift rates of 0.02–0.11 m/ka, supporting the hypothesis that the tectonic uplift rate is low. Nevertheless, on the eastern and southern coasts of Cuba, east and west of Guantanamo Bay, there are flights of multiple marine terraces, at higher elevations, that could record a higher rate of uplift, implying that Guantanamo Bay may be anomalous. Southern Cuba is considered to have experienced a measurable but modest effect from glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) processes. Thus, with a low uplift rate, Guantanamo Bay should show no evidence of emergent marine terraces dating to the ∼100 ka (MIS 5.3) or ∼80 ka (MIS 5.1) sea stands and results of the present study support this.

Guantanamo Bay↗

Geochemical evidence for seasonal controls on the transportation of Holocene loess, Matanuska Valley, southern Alaska, USA

Loess is a widespread Quaternary deposit in Alaska and loess accretion occurs today in some regions, such as the Matanuska Valley. The source of loess in the Matanuska Valley has been debated for more than seven decades, with the Knik River and the Matanuska River, both to the east, being the leading candidates and the Susitna River, to the west, as a less favorable source. We report here new stratigraphic, mineralogic, and geochemical data that test the competing hypotheses of these river sources. Loess thickness data are consistent with previous studies that show that a source or sources lay to the east, which rules out the Susitna River as a source. Knik and Matanuska River silts can be distinguished using Sc–Th–La, La N /Yb N vs. Eu/Eu ∗ , Cr/Sc, and As/Sb. Matanuska Valley loess falls clearly within the range of values for these ratios found in Matanuska River silt. Dust storms from the Matanuska River are most common in autumn, when river discharge is at a minimum and silt-rich point bars are exposed, wind speed from the north is beginning to increase after a low-velocity period in summer, snow depth is still minimal, and soil temperatures are still above freezing. Thus, seasonal changes in climate and hydrology emerge as critical factors in the timing of aeolian silt transport in southern Alaska. These findings could be applicable to understanding seasonal controls on Pleistocene loess accretion in Europe, New Zealand, South America, and elsewhere in North America.

Alaska↗

On the importance of stratigraphic control for vertebrate fossil sites in Channel Islands National Park, California, USA: Examples from new Mammuthus finds on San Miguel Island

Quaternary vertebrate fossils, most notably mammoth remains, are relatively common on the northern Channel Islands of California. Well-preserved cranial, dental, and appendicular elements of Mammuthus exilis (pygmy mammoth) and Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth) have been recovered from hundreds of localities on the islands during the past half-century or more. Despite this paleontological wealth, the geologic context of the fossils is described in the published literature only briefly or not at all, which has hampered the interpretation of associated 14 C ages and reconstruction of past environmental conditions. We recently discovered a partial tusk, several large bones, and a tooth enamel plate (all likely mammoth) at two sites on the northwest flank of San Miguel Island, California. At both localities, we documented the stratigraphic context of the fossils, described the host sediments in detail, and collected charcoal and terrestrial gastropod shells for radiocarbon dating. The resulting 14 C ages indicate that the mammoths were present on San Miguel Island between ∼20 and 17 ka as well as between ∼14 and 13 ka (thousands of calibrated 14 C years before present), similar to other mammoth sites on San Miguel, Santa Cruz, and Santa Rosa Islands. In addition to documenting the geologic context and ages of the fossils, we present a series of protocols for documenting and reporting geologic and stratigraphic information at fossil sites on the California Channel Islands in general, and in Channel Islands National Park in particular, so that pertinent information is collected prior to excavation of vertebrate materials, thus maximizing their scientific value.

California↗

Uranium-series ages of fossil corals from Mallorca, Spain: The "Neotyrrhenian" high stand of the Mediterranean Sea revisited

The emergent marine deposits of the Mediterranean basin have been recognized as an important record of Quaternary sea level history for more than a century. Previous workers identified what have been interpreted to be two separate high stands of sea in the late Quaternary, namely the “Eutyrrhenian” (thought to be ~ 120 ka) and the “Neotyrrhenian” (thought to be either ~ 100 ka or ~ 80 ka). On Mallorca, Spain, both of these named deposits lie close to present sea level, implying paleo-sea levels slightly above present during both marine isotope stages (MIS) 5.5/5e and either 5.3/5c or 5.1/5a. If these interpretations are correct, they conflict, at least in part, with sea level records from far-field localities. We analyzed corals from the Neotyrrhenian beds on Mallorca, which gave U-series ages from ~ 126 ka to ~ 118 ka. These ages are consistent with previously published amino acid data that show that the Neotyrrhenian and Eutyrrhenian deposits are not significantly different in age. A fossil molluscan fauna from the Neotyrrhenian deposits on Mallorca has a warm-water paleozoogeographic aspect, with nine southward-ranging species and four extralimital southern species. When compared with sea surface temperatures obtained from planktonic foraminifera and alkenones from ODP core 977 in the nearby Alboran Sea, the only time period that shows comparable warmth is MIS 5.5/5e, consistent with the U-series ages of corals from the Neotyrrhenian deposits. We propose that the Neotyrrhenian deposits are a beachrock facies of the same age as the Eutyrrhenian deposits. This interpretation is consistent with the differences in physical sedimentology of the two deposits, explains the U-series and amino acid data indicating the same age, is consistent with the very slight elevation difference of the Neotyrrhenian and Eutyrrhenian beds, and explains the similar, though not identical paleozoogeographic aspects of their fossil faunas.

Mallorca↗

Ecological change on California's Channel Islands from the Pleistocene to the Anthropocene

Historical ecology is becoming an important focus in conservation biology and offers a promising tool to help guide ecosystem management. Here, we integrate data from multiple disciplines to illuminate the past, present, and future of biodiversity on California's Channel Islands, an archipelago that has undergone a wide range of land-use and ecological changes. Our analysis spans approximately 20,000 years, from before human occupation and through Native American hunter–gatherers, commercial ranchers and fishers, the US military, and other land managers. We demonstrate how long-term, interdisciplinary research provides insight into conservation decisions, such as setting ecosystem restoration goals, preserving rare and endemic taxa, and reducing the impacts of climate change on natural and cultural resources. We illustrate the importance of historical perspectives for understanding modern patterns and ecological change and present an approach that can be applied generally in conservation management planning.

California↗

Loess records

Loess is aeolian sediment, dominated by silt-sized particles, that is identifiable in the field as a distinct sedimentary body. It covers a significant portion of the land surface of the Earth and as such constitutes one of the most important archives of long-term dust deposition. Large tracts of loess cover Europe, Asia, South America, and North America, and smaller loess bodies are found covering parts of Africa, the Middle East, New Zealand, and Australia. Loess thickness, particle size, and carbonate content decrease downwind from sources, trends that are powerful tools for reconstructing paleowinds. Many loess sections consist of relatively thick deposits of mostly unaltered sediment with intercalated paleosols. Paleosols represent periods of landscape stability when loess deposition ceased or at least slowed significantly. Studies from several continents show that loess in most regions was deposited during glacial periods and paleosols formed during interglacial and interstadial periods.

Book chapter↗

Uranium-series ages of corals, sea level history, and palaeozoogeography, Canary Islands, Spain: an exploratory study for two Quaternary interglacial periods

We present the first U-series ages of corals from emergent marine deposits on the Canary Islands. Deposits at + 20 m are 481 ± 39 ka, possibly correlative to marine isotope stage (or MIS) 11, while those at + 12 and + 8 m are 120.5 ± 0.8 ka and 130.2 ± 0.8 ka, respectively, correlative to MIS 5.5. The age, elevations, and uplift rates derived from MIS 5.5 deposits on the Canary Islands allow calculations of hypothetical palaeo-sea levels during the MIS 11 high sea stand. Estimates indicate that the MIS 11 high sea stand likely was at least + 9 m (relative to present sea level) and could have been as high as + 24 m. The most conservative estimates of palaeo-sea level during MIS 11 would require an ice mass loss equivalent to all of the modern Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets; the more extreme estimates would require additional ice mass loss from the East Antarctic ice sheet. Extralimital southern species of mollusks, found in both MIS 11 and MIS 5.5 deposits on the Canary Islands, imply warmer-than-modern sea surface temperatures during at least a part of MIS 11 and much warmer sea surface temperatures during at least a part of MIS 5.5. Both MIS 11 and MIS 5.5 marine deposits on the Canary Islands contain extralimital northern species of mollusks as well, indicating cooler-than-present waters at times during these interglacial periods. We hypothesize that the co-occurrence of extralimital southern and northern species of marine invertebrates in the fossil record of the Canary Islands reflects its geographic location with respect to major synoptic-scale controls on climate and ocean currents. Previous interglacials may have been characterized by early, insolation-forced warming, along with northward migration of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ), accompanied by weakened trade winds and diminished upwelling. This allowed the arrival of extralimital southern taxa from the tropical Senegalese faunal province. During later parts of the MIS 11 and 5.5 interglacials, decreased insolation may have resulted in southward migration of the ITCZ, strengthened trade winds, and re-establishment of upwelling. Such conditions may have brought about not only local extinction of the Senegalese fauna, but allowed southward migration of the cooler-water Mediterranean fauna to the Canary Islands in the later parts of interglacials, a complex palaeoclimate record that is mirrored in the deep-sea core record.

Canary Islands↗

Coastal tectonics on the eastern margin of the Pacific Rim: Late Quaternary sea-level history and uplift rates, Channel Islands National Park, California, USA

The Pacific Rim is a region where tectonic processes play a significant role in coastal landscape evolution. Coastal California, on the eastern margin of the Pacific Rm, is very active tectonically and geomorphic expressions of this include uplifted marine terraces. There have been, however, conflicting estimates of the rate of late Quaternary uplift of marine terraces in coastal California, particularly for the orthern Channel Islands. In the present study, the terraces on San Miguel Island and Santa Rosa Island were mapped and new age estimates were generated using uranium-series dating of fossil corals and amino acid geochronology of fossil mollusks. Results indicate that the 2nd terrace on both islands is ~120 ka and the 1st terrace on Santa Rosa Island is ~80 ka. These ages correspond to two global high-sea stands of the Last Interglacial complex, marine isotope stages (MIS) 5.5 and 51, respectively. The age estimates indicate that San Miguel Island and Santa Rosa Island have been tectonically uplifted at rates of 0.12e0.20 m/ka in the late Quaternary, similar to uplift rates inferred from previous studies on neighboring San Cruz Island. The newly estimated uplift rates for the northern Channel Islands are, however, an order of magnitude lower than a recent study that generated uplift rates from an offshore terrace dating to the Last Glacial period. The differences between the estimated uplift rates in the present study and the offshore study are explained by the magnitude of glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) effects that were not known at the time of the earlier study. Set in the larger context of northeastern Pacific Rim tectonics, Channel Islands uplift rates are higher than those coastal localities on the margin of the East Pacific Rise spreading center, but slightly lower than those of most localities adjacent to the Cascadia subduction zone. The uplift rates reported here for the northern Channel Islands are similar to those reported for most other localities where strike-slip tectonics are dominant, but lower than localities where restraining bends (such as the Big Bend of the San Andreas Fault) result in crustal shortening.

California↗

Loess as a Quaternary paleoenvironmental indicator

Loess is aeolian sediment that is dominated by silt-sized particles. Unlike either coarser dune sand or finer-grained, long-range-transported dust, loess is relatively poorly sorted, reflecting a combination of transport processes, including saltation, low suspension, and high suspension. Loess can be readily identified in the field; deposits range in thickness from a few centimeters to many tens of meters, and are found over large areas of Eurasia, South and North America (Fig. 1), and smaller areas of New Zealand, Australia, Africa and the Middle East. Loess covers approximately 10% of the Earth’s land surface and is therefore one of the most important terrestrial archives of paleoenvironmental change during the Quaternary. In many regions, loess sections consist of deposits of mostly unaltered sediment with intercalated paleosols. Paleosols represent periods of landscape stability when loess deposition ceased altogether, or at least slowed significantly. Loess can be dated directly using luminescence, radiocarbon, and amino acid geochronology methods.

Past Global Changes↗

Evidence of repeated wildfires prior to human occupation on San Nicolas Island, California

Understanding how early humans on the California Channel Islands might have changed local fire regimes requires a baseline knowledge of the frequency of natural wildfires on the islands prior to human occupation. A sedimentary sequence that was recently discovered in a small canyon on San Nicolas Island contains evidence of at least 24 burn events that date to between ∼37 and 25 ka (thousands of calibrated 14 C years before present), well before humans entered North America. The evidence includes abundant macroscopic charcoal, blackened sediments, and discrete packages of oxidized, reddish-brown sediments that are similar in appearance to sedimentary features called “fire areas” on Santa Rosa Island and elsewhere. Massive fine-grained sediments that contain the burn evidence are interpreted as sheetwash deposits and are interbedded with coarse-grained, clast-supported alluvial sediments and matrix-supported sands, pebbles, and cobbles that represent localized debris flows. These sedimentary sequences suggest that the catchment area above our study site underwent multiple cycles of relative quiescence that were interrupted by fire and followed by slope instability and mass wasting events. Our 14 C-based chronology dates these cycles to well before the arrival of humans on the Channel Islands and shows that natural wildfires occurred here, at a minimum, every 300–500 years prior to human occupation.

California↗

Interpreting the paleozoogeography and sea level history of thermally anomalous marine terrace faunas: A case study from the the last interglacial complex of San Clemente Island, California

Marine invertebrate faunas with mixtures of extralimital southern and extralimital northern faunal elements, called thermally anomalous faunas, have been recognized for more than a century in the Quaternary marine terrace record of the Pacific Coast of North America. Although many mechanisms have been proposed to explain this phenomenon, no single explanation seems to be applicable to all localities where thermally anomalous faunas have been observed. Here, we describe one such thermally anomalous fossil fauna that was studied on the second emergent marine terrace at Eel Point on San Clemente Island. The Eel Point terrace complex is a composite feature, consisting of a narrow upper bench (terrace 2a) and a broader lower bench (terrace 2b). Terrace 2b, previously dated from ∼128 ka to ∼114 ka, was thought to date solely to marine isotope stage (MIS) 5.5, representing the peak of the last interglacial period. Nevertheless, the fauna contains an extralimital northern species and several northward-ranging species, as well as an extralimital southern species and several southward-ranging species. Similar faunas with thermally anomalous elements have also been reported from San Nicolas Island, Point Loma (San Diego County), and Cayucos (San Luis Obispo County), California. U-series dating of corals at those localities shows that the thermally anomalous faunas may be the result of mixing of fossils from both the ∼100-ka (cool-water) and the ∼120-ka (warm-water) sea level high stands. Submergence, erosion, and fossil mixing of the ∼120-ka terraces by the ∼100-ka high-sea stand may have been possible due to glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) effects on North America, which could have resulted in a higher-than-present local sea level stand at ∼100 ka. The terrace elevation spacing on San Clemente Island is very similar to that on San Nicolas Island, and we hypothesize that a similar mixing took place on San Clemente Island. Existing fossil records from older terraces elsewhere in California also show thermally anomalous elements, indicating that the scenario presented here for the last interglacial complex may have applicability to much of the marine Quaternary record for the Pacific Coast.

California↗

Landscapes of Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California

Santa Rosa Island (SRI) is the second-largest of the California Channel Islands. It is one of 4 east–west aligned islands forming the northern Channel Islands chain, and one of the 5 islands in Channel Islands National Park. The landforms, and collections of landforms called landscapes, of Santa Rosa Island have been created by tectonic uplift and faulting, rising and falling sea level, landslides, erosion and deposition, floods, and droughts. Landscape features, and areas delineating groups of related features on Santa Rosa Island, are mapped, classified, and described in this paper. Notable landscapes on the island include beaches, coastal plains formed on marine terraces, sand dunes, and sand sheets. In this study, the inland physiography has been classified into 4 areas based on relief and degree of fluvial dissection. Most of the larger streams on the island occupy broad valleys that have been filled with alluvium and later incised to form steep- to vertical-walled arroyos, or barrancas, leaving a relict floodplain above the present channel. A better understanding of the processes and mechanisms that created these landscapes enhances visitors’ enjoyment of their surroundings and contributes to improving land and resource management strategies in order to optimize and balance the multiple goals of conservation, preservation, restoration, and visitor experience.

California↗

Loess and its geomorphic, stratigraphic and paleoclimatic significance in the Quaternary

Loess is aeolian silt visible in the field as a sedimentary body. It covers a significant portion of the land surface of the Earth. Loess thickness, particle size, and carbonate content decrease downwind from sources, useful trends for paleowinds. Many loess sections consist of relatively thick deposits of mostly unaltered sediment with intercalated paleosols. Paleosols represent periods of landscape stability when loess deposition slowed significantly. Loess in most regions was deposited during glacial periods and paleosols formed during interglacial periods. Loess has the potential to record the timing and environment of glacial–interglacial cycles of the Quaternary on many continents.

Book chapter↗

The geologic records of dust in the Quaternary

Study of geologic records of dust composition, sources and deposition rates is important for understanding the role of dust in the overall planetary radiation balance, fertilization of organisms in the world’s oceans, nutrient additions to the terrestrial biosphere and soils, and for paleoclimatic reconstructions. Both glacial and non-glacial processes produce fine-grained particles that can be transported by the wind. Geologic records of dust flux occur in a number of depositional archives for sediments: (1) loess deposits; (2) lake sediments; (3) soils; (4) deep-ocean basins; and (5) ice sheets and smaller glaciers. These archives have several characteristics that make them highly suitable for understanding the dynamics of dust entrainment, transport, and deposition. First, they are often distributed over wide geographic areas, which permits reconstruction of spatial variation of dust flux. Second, a number of dating methods can be applied to sediment archives, which allows identification of specific periods of greater or lesser dust flux. Third, aeolian sediment particle size and composition can be determined so that dust source areas can be ascertained and dust transport pathways can be reconstructed. Over much of the Earth’s surface, dust deposition rates were greater during the last glacial period than during the present interglacial period. A dustier Earth during glacial periods is likely due to increased source areas, greater aridity, less vegetation, lower soil moisture, possibly stronger winds, a decreased intensity of the hydrologic cycle, and greater production of dust-sized particles from expanded ice sheets and glaciers.

Aeolian Research↗