Geology topics

J. Rich

Publications and source records attributed to J. Rich.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2017

Implications of water supply for indigenous Americans during Holocene ardity phases on the Southern High Plains, USA

Springs in the 40 to 50 large lake basins (>15 km2) on the southern portion of the Southern High Plains (SHP) were active during periods of aridity in the Holocene when there may have been human habitation of the area. Eolian erosion of the lake floors and lunette accretion occurred as groundwater levels declined in response to decreased groundwater recharge. The declining lake floor associated with eolian erosion allowed groundwater evaporative discharge to continue, thus maintaining a groundwater gradient toward the lake. This hydrologic condition was favorable for a relatively continuous spring discharge to the lake, independent of the elevation of the lake floor. To evaluate the postulated dynamic equilibrium critical to this conclusion, 17 optically stimulated ages were determined from a 17.7-m deep core of a lunette adjacent to Double Lakes, Texas (33??13???15???N, 101??54???08???W). The core yielded sediment accumulation dates of 11,500 ?? 1100, 6500 ?? 700, and 4900 ?? 500 yr B.P., corresponding broadly with periods of aridity known from other evidence. Based on analysis of this lunette, it is concluded that springs in Double Lakes basin probably existed throughout the Holocene with discharges similar to those observed historically. We assumed that similar dynamic equilibrium existed in the other large lake basins in the SHP and that these springs could have provided a continuous source of water for indigenous peoples during periods of prolonged aridity. The dynamic equilibrium that is proposed in this study is applicable not only to other arid and semiarid geographic areas with wind-erodible material but also over different geologic times. ?? 2002 University of Washington.

Quaternary Research↗

USGS2003

Optical dating of tufa via in situ aeolian sand grains: A case example from the Southern High Plains, USA

Precipitated carbonates (commonly termed tufas or travertines) maybe of considerable utility for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. Their potential, however, for such reconstruction is commonly limited by difficulties associated with their absolute age control. Attempts to date such deposits via uranium series techniques have been complicated by their chemically open behaviour. Here we describe an alternative approach to date tufa deposits associated with ephemeral saline lake basins from the Southern High Plains, USA. We have optically dated sand grains of a mixed aeolian/fluvial (spring fed) origin as the integrating dosimeter. We assume that the grains are fully resetting prior to their incorporation into the tufa deposits and employ a time-dependent disequilibrium dosimetric model to account for the build-up of uranium series daughter products. The approach was applied to a set of four samples with known stratigraphic association. We obtained stratigraphically sensible optical ages ranging from 78??8 to 56??4ka. These data are consistent with existing palaeoenvironmental models of regional recharge. ?? 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Conference Paper↗

USGS1999

Holocene chronology for lunette dune deposition on the Southern High Plains, USA

Lunettes flank the margins of numerous ephemeral lakes that occur across the Southern High Plains of the United States. While their genesis is closely associated with the hydrology of the adjacent lake systems, the detailed inter-relationships between climate changes and geomorphological and hydrological changes upon the lake-lunette system has been hindered by an absence of reliable age control. In order to develop a chronology of lunette deposition, a luminescence dating programme was undertaken on surface collected and core sections from sets of lunettes which flank the southeast margins of three lake basins near Lubbock, Texas. In contrast to the preconception that the formation of lunettes occurred primarily during the last glacial maximum (18-12 ka), the inner two lunette ridges were observed to be emplaced in a punctuated manner during the middle and late Holocene from 5.6??0.5 to 0.7??0.02 ka. The chronostratigraphy developed in the context of the complex hydrogeological processes associated with the Lubbock lake basins demonstrates that the records of activity preserved within the lunettes provides a useful resolution record of climate change and landscape response.

Conference Paper↗

USGS1997

Evidence for Milankovitch periodicities in Cenomanian-Turonian lithologic and geochemical cycles, western interior U.S.A.

The limestone/marlstone bedding couplets of the Bridge Creek Limestone Member, Cenomanian-Turonian Greenhorn Formation, were analyzed by applying spectral techniques to high-resolution lithologic and geochemical data from a core. The results suggest that the Bridge Creek contains a complex record of orbital cyclicity. The dominant signal appears to be obliquity, but signals corresponding to precession and eccentricity were also observed. The development of the bedding couplets is interpreted to have resulted from a combination of factors, including insolation-controlled changes in higher-latitude precipitation leading to dilution/redox cycles, and in lower-latitude evaporation, leading to changes in surface water conditions and productivity cycles in the calcareous plankton. The data interpreted to reflect redox cycles appear to be more strongly influenced by obliquity, and show a weak precessional signal. In contrast, trends in the carbonate record show the opposite response. The complex bedding pattern observed in the Bridge Creek Limestone is interpreted to result from the competing influences of different orbital cycles expressed through different pathways of the depositional system, and was also affected by changes in sedimentation rates related to relative sea level fluctuations, aperiodic dilution by volcanic ash, and changes in organic-matter production and redox conditions related to a global "oceanic anoxic event". These factors complicate cycle analysis in the lower part of the member but leave a relatively undisturbed record in the upper Bridge Creek Limestone.

Journal of Sedimentary Research↗