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At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
USGS2022

An 11,300 yr record of paleoclimatology and paleoceanography of the central California coast in a gravity core from Pioneer Seamount

Diatom, pollen, silicoflagellate, and biogenic opal analyses from a 155 cm-long gravity core from Pioneer Seamount, offshore Santa Cruz, California (PS1410-06 GC, latitude 37.3°N, longitude 123.4°W, water depth 2165 m) are compiled for the last ~11,300 years and compared with those of ODP 1019 and TN062-O550 from northern California. The relative abundance record of the subtropical diatom Fragilariopsis doliolus has similar bimodal Holocene patterns in all three cores, suggesting that sea surface temperatures (SST) were lower during the middle part of the Holocene than they were during the later and earlier parts. The relative abundance of coastal redwood ( Sequoia sempervirens ) pollen, a proxy for fog and coastal upwelling, displays stepwise increases in ODP 1019 and TN062-O550 between ~ 4000 and 3000 cal yr. BP, but its relative abundance in PS1410-06 GC increases gradually throughout the past 10,200 yr without any major steps. Similarly, biogenic silica (opal) displays stepwise increases at ~3600 and 2900 cal yr. BP in ODP 1019 and TN062-O550, respectively, whereas opal increases more gradually in PS1410-06 GC during the past 10,100 yr with relatively minor steps at ~3100 and ~2600 cal yr. BP. Together, coastal redwood and opal argue for a more gradual late Holocene increase in coastal upwelling along the coast of central California compared with that off northern California, where onshore-offshore gradients are more distinct.

California↗
USGS2022

Understanding rates of change: A case study using fossil pollen records from California to assess the potential for and challenges to a regional data synthesis

Insights into the rates at which ecosystems and vegetation respond to a changing climate is fundamental to anticipating impacts of projected climate change. Characterization of vegetation change over millennia to centuries has potential to make an important contribution toward this goal, and regional scale syntheses of fossil pollen data can provide the foundation for this understanding. However, challenges of data analysis and integration are nontrivial. Here we present a case study in which publicly available fossil pollen data for California are assessed and analyzed. The data are selected according to a clearly defined selection criteria, and a Rate of Change (RoC) value is calculated to assess rates of vegetation change in California from ~15k BP (before A.D. 1950) to the present. Our results highlight several challenges presented by the extant data sets, including temporal sampling variation within and between records, large age control uncertainties, and sparse, geographically biased coverage. Recommendations for methodological refinements to better characterize ecological rates of change include increasing sampling frequency, maintaining a consistent temporal spacing within records, and applying probabilistic approaches to existing pollen data sets.

California↗
USGS2022

Environmental evolution of peat in the Sacramento – San Joaquin Delta (California) during the Middle and Late Holocene as deduced from pollen, diatoms and magnetism

We studied the sequence of climatic and hydrological events associated with the formation of peat during the Holocene, using pollen, diatoms and environmental magnetism from peat cores at three locations in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta of California: Browns Island, Franks Wetland and Webb Track Levee. Our data show that peat first formed under relatively dry conditions in a freshwater environment before 6.5 ka BP. Subsequently, pollen accumulation rates were highest prior to intervals with high peat accretion rates but are inversely correlated with organic accumulation rate. Intervals of high peat accretion were preceded by pulses of terrigenous material. During intensive drainage episodes, high flows delivered abundant, coarser-grained sediment to the marshes, which inundated the existing vegetation and decreased the rate of biochemical decay. The build-up of undecomposed organic material led to the acceleration of peat accretion. Our data support the rarely discussed hypothesis that most of the peat in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta formed in freshwater marshes that were fed by rivers draining from the Sierra Nevada, rather than in saltwater wetlands resulting from sea level rise and estuarine submergence. This result has important implications for current attempts to remediate and restore the Delta ecosystem.

California↗
USGS2022

Coastal paleogeography of the Pacific Northwest, USA, for the last 12,000 years accounting for three-dimensional earth structure

Predictive modeling of submerged archaeological sites requires accurate sea-level predictions in order to reconstruct coastal paleogeography and associated geographic features that may have influenced the locations of occupation sites such as rivers and embayments. Earlier reconstructions of the paleogeography of parts of the western U.S. coast used an assumption of eustatic sea level, but this neglects the large spatial variations in relative sea level (RSL) associated with glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) and tectonics. Subsequent work using a one-dimensional (1-D) solid Earth model showed that reconstructions that accounted for GIA result in significant differences from those based on eustatic sea level. However, these analyses neglected the complex three-dimensional (3-D) solid Earth structure associated with the Cascadia subduction zone that has also strongly influenced RSL along the Oregon-Washington (OR-WA) coast, requiring that the paleogeographic reconstructions must also account for this effect. Here we use RSL predictions from a 3-D solid Earth model that have been validated by RSL data to update previous paleogeographic reconstructions of the OR-WA coast for the last 12 kyr based on a 1-D solid Earth model. The large differences in the spatial variations in RSL on the OR-WA continental shelves predicted by the 3-D model relative to eustatic and 1-D models demonstrate that accurate reconstructions of coastal paleogeography for predictive modeling of submerged archaeological sites need to account for 3-D viscoelastic Earth structure in areas of complex tectonics.

Oregon, Washington↗
USGS2023

Luminescence ages and new interpretations of the timing and deposition of Quaternary sediments at Natural Trap Cave, Wyoming

Natural Trap Cave, located in the Big Horn Mountains of north-central Wyoming, has a history of trapping and preserving a range of North American fauna that plummeted into the deep vertical entrance. These animal remains were buried and preserved within sediments of the main chamber and, in turn, have helped elucidate the procession of faunal dynamics during the latest glacial cycle. The cave location, south of the Laurentide and Cordilleran Ice Sheets, and proximal to Yellowstone, is at an ideal geographical juncture to provide insights to ecological changes in North America. The sediments that the animals are buried in inform us about transport and deposition both inside and outside of the cave that relate to catchment dynamics. We report on a series of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages derived from samples obtained within the cave during excavation work in 2014 and in 2018. We also examine chronology produced by argon, tephrochronology, fission track, and luminescence techniques that have been used for understanding the infilling of the cave. The cave sediment ages and in situ measured gamma spectroscopy as measured in this study helped resolve an improved chronological age model when combined with previous data. The suite of OSL ages is interpreted through the stratigraphic relationships (and vertebrates contained within) which requires the use of an adequate age model; we use either the central age model or minimum age model where appropriate and with justification. Lowest sediments are dated to ∼150 ka with a hiatus at ∼130 to 52 ka. Above this, sediment deposition and entrainment of paleontological materials are representative of Pleistocene and early Holocene times, between 37 ± 6 ka and 7.6 ± 0.5 ka. The stratigraphic architecture suggests that deposition of materials into the cave is episodic and rapid, followed by quiescent periods where hydrologic scour, heavy overland flow , or possibly a cryo-hydrologic process may have altered unit relationships. Thus, the complementary geochronometers and the characteristics of quartz versus feldspar luminescence signals improve temporal interpretations of these complex deposits. This adapted understanding of mixing also sets the stage for future work with the aim to improve our understanding of ages and sources for ash units within these cave deposits. The three ash units recognized in the cave may represent an in-situ reworking of the same ash or may be representative of previously undocumented eruptions from the Yellowstone Caldera.

Wyoming↗
USGS2022

Impact of climate change on mollusks and other invertebrate resources at the Dominican University of California archaeological site (CA-MRN-254), Marin County, California

We have identified and provided ecological interpretations of 30 taxa recovered at two shellmounds at the Dominican University of California archaeology site in Marin County, California (CA-MRN-254). A Q-mode cluster analysis was used to group the samples according to their faunal similarity. The clusters ranged from a diverse grouping of 100 samples with 27 taxa (Cluster A) to those with a more restricted assemblage (4–9 taxa in Clusters B to E). The Q-mode clusters were then used to interpret the variability in food resources utilized through the 1800 years of site occupation. During the Intermediate Middle Period (A.D.100-300), the inhabitants appeared to be selective in the marine taxa they used, evident by the presence of Cluster B and E assemblages. A diverse (Cluster A) assemblage was then utilized at the site at one or both of the shellmounds through the remainder of the occupancy period, including the Middle/Late Period Transition (A.D. 700–900) and Late Period Phase 1C (A.D. 900–1300), coincident with the extensive drought conditions of the Medieval Climatic Anomaly (MCA) in the San Francisco Bay area. These findings suggest the marine invertebrate resources utilized by the site occupants were not significantly affected by the persistent aridity associated with the MCA.

California↗
USGS2024

Revisiting the physical processes controlling the tropical atmospheric circulation changes during the Mid-Piacenzian Warm Period

The Mid-Piacenzian Warm Period (MPWP; 3.0–3.3 Ma), a warm geological period about three million years ago, has been deemed as a good past analog for understanding the current and future climate change. Based on 12 climate model outputs from Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project Phase 2 (PlioMIP2), we investigate tropical atmospheric circulation (TAC) changes under the warm MPWP and associated underlying mechanisms by diagnosing both atmospheric static stability and diabatic processes. Our findings underscore the advantage of analyzing atmospheric diabatic processes in elucidating seasonal variations of TAC compared to static stability assessments. Specifically, by diagnosing alterations in diabatic processes, we achieve a quantitative understanding and explanation the following TAC changes (incl. Strength and edge) during the MPWP: the weakened (annual, DJF, JJA) Northern Hemisphere and (DJF) Southern Hemisphere Hadley circulation (HC), reduced (annual, DJF) Pacific Walker circulation (PWC) and enhanced (annual, JJA) Southern Hemisphere HC and (JJA) PWC, and westward shifted (annual, DJF, JJA) PWC. We further addressed that the increasing bulk subtropical static stability and/or decreasing vertical shear of subtropical zonal wind - two crucial control factors for changes in subtropical baroclinicity - may promote HC widening, and vice versa. Consequently, our study of spatial diabatic heating and cooling, corresponding to upward and downward motions within the TAC, respectively, provides a new perspective for understanding the processes controlling seasonal TAC changes in response to surface warming.

Quaternary International↗
USGS2000

Holocene environmental and climatic change in the Northern Great Plains as recorded in the geochemistry of sediments in Pickerel Lake, South Dakota

The sediments in Pickerel Lake, northeastern South Dakota, provide a continuous record of climatic and environmental change for the last 12000 yr. Sediments deposited between 12 and 6 ka (radiocarbon) show extreme variations in composition, oxygen and carbon isotopic composition of bulk carbonate, carbon isotopic composition of organic matter, and magnetic susceptibility. These variations reflect changes in sources of moisture, regional vegetation types, precipitation-evaporation balance, ground- and surface-water influx, water residence time, erosion, lake productivity, water level, and water temperature. The total carbonate content of late Pleistocene sediments steadily increased from <20% at the base of the core to as much as 80% in sediments deposited between 11 and 9 ka. By about 8 ka, the total carbonate content of the sediments had declined to about 40% where it remained with little variation for the past 8 kyr, suggesting relatively stable conditions. There are marked increases in values of ??13C and ??18O in bulk carbonate, and ??13C of organic matter, in sediments deposited between 10 and 6 ka as evaporation increased, and the vegetation in the watershed changed from forest to prairie. This shift toward more 18O-enriched carbonate may also reflect a change in source or seasonality of precipitation. During this early Holocene interval the organic carbon (OC) content of the sediments remained relatively low (2-3%), but then increased rapidly to 4.5% between 7 and 6 ka, reflecting the rapid transition to a prairie lake. The OC content fluctuates slightly between 4 and 6% in sediments deposited over the past 6 kyr. Like OC and total carbonate, most variables measured show little variation in the 13 m of sediment deposited over the past 6 kyr, particularly when compared with early Holocene variations. Although the magnetic susceptibility of this upper 13 m of sediment is generally low (<10 SI units), the upper six meters of the section is marked by striking 1 m cycles (ca. 400-500 yr periodicity) in susceptibility. These cycles are interpreted as being due to variations in the influx of eolian detrital-clastic material. Century-scale cyclic variations in different proxy variables for aridity and eolian activity from sediments deposited over the past 2000 yr in other lakes in the northern Great Plains, as well as in sand dune activity, suggest that aridity cycles were the dominant feature of late Holocene climate of the northern Great Plains. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.

Quaternary International↗
USGS2000

Chronology and geochemistry of late Holocene eolian deposits in the Brandon Sand Hills, Manitoba, Canada

Accelerator mass spectrometry and conventional radiocarbon age determinations of organic matter from paleosols indicate that the Brandon Sand Hills area of southern Manitoba has been subjected to recurrent intervals of eolian activity in the past 5000 years. Although precise regional correlations are precluded by dating uncertainties, periods of most notable paleosol development occurred around 2300 to 2000, 1400 to 1000, and 600 to 500 cal yr BP with eolian activity occurring before and after each of these periods. Episodes of eolian activity may correspond to periods of regional drought, whereas paleosols mark periods of increased moisture availability and stabilization by vegetation. The geochemistry of the eolian sands, paleosols and source sediments indicates that partial leaching of carbonates occurs from pedogenesis during humid climatic phases, and that this is probably the primary mechanism of carbonate depletion of eolian sands in this area. Recent trends in sand dune activity from historic aerial photography and early explorers' accounts indicate that the few active dunes that presently exist have stabilized at a rate of 10-20% per decade, despite several severe droughts in the 20th century. This may be attributed to pre-settlement droughts that were more severe than those in historic times although regional dune stabilization may also be related, in part, to the spread of forest cover in the past few hundred years. Crown copyright (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quaternary International↗
USGS2000

Geochemical and mineralogical evidence from eolian sediments for northwesterly mid-Holocene paleowinds, central Kansas, USA

A prominent (4500 km2) dune field in the Great Plains is the Great Bend Sand Prairie of south-central Kansas. Dunes here overlie late Quaternary alluvium and were reactivated extensively in the late Holocene. Geomorphic and soil evidence suggests that the most likely eolian sand source is the Arkansas River valley to the northwest. Nevertheless, orientations of stabilized dunes indicate that the most recent dune-forming winds came from the south or southwest, in agreement with modern wind data. Mineralogy and trace element concentrations in eolian sands of the Great Bend Sand Prairie are similar to those to the Arkansas River, which permits the Arkansas River as a sediment source. Ca and Sr abundances, which reflect small amounts of carbonate minerals, are higher in Arkansas River sand compared to eolian sands and show a systematic depletion away from the Arkansas River to the southeast. These trends are likely due to carbonate mineral depletion downwind from abrasion and size reduction. Thus, paleowinds probably were northwesterly during initial deposition. Northwesterly winds occur today when dry, Pacific-derived air is dominant. We hypothesize that the residence time of this air mass was much greater while dunes initially formed, possibly during a warmer and drier mid-Holocene period.

Quaternary International↗
USGS2001

Sea-level and environmental changes since the last interglacial in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia: an overview

The Gulf of Carpentaria is an epicontinental sea (maximum depth 70 m) between Australia and New Guinea, bordered to the east by Torres Strait (currently 12 m deep) and to the west by the Arafura Sill (53 m below present sea level). Throughout the Quaternary, during times of low sea-level, the Gulf was separated from the open waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, forming Lake Carpentaria, an isolation basin, perched above contemporaneous sea-level with outlet channels to the Arafura Sea. A preliminary interpretation is presented of the palaeoenvironments recorded in six sediment cores collected by the IMAGES program in the Gulf of Carpentaria. The longest core (approx. 15 m) spans the past 130 ka and includes a record of sea-level/lake-level changes, with particular complexity between 80 and 40 ka when sea-level repeatedly breached and withdrew from Gulf/Lake Carpentaria. Evidence from biotic remains (foraminifers, ostracods, pollen), sedimentology and geochemistry clearly identifies a final marine transgression at about 9.7 ka (radiocarbon years). Before this transgression, Lake Carpentaria was surrounded by grassland, was near full, and may have had a surface area approaching 600 km×300 km and a depth of about 15 m. The earlier rise in sea-level which accompanied the Marine Isotopic Stage 6/5 transgression at about 130 ka is constrained by sedimentological and biotic evidence and dated by optical- and thermoluminescence and amino acid racemisation methods.

Gulf Of Carpentaria↗
USGS2002

Lake evolution of the terminal area of Shiyang River drainage in arid China since the last glaciation

Investigations of geomorphology and sedimentology, and analyses of radiocarbon dates, grain size and carbonate of the sediment at the present-dry closed basin in the terminal area of Shiyang River in arid China were conducted to recover the history of palaeolake change since the last glacial. The terminal area was covered by eolian sand before 13,000 14C BP. Lacustrine deposits covered the eolian sand after 13,000 14C BP, but were succeeded rapidly by eolian or fluvial deposits ca. 11,200-10,000 BP. This fact plus the grain-size distribution and CaCO3 content showed that climate was extremely dry during the last glacial, but wet-dry oscillations characterized the late glacial. A single coalescent lake, over 45 m deep and 2130 km2, formed between 10,000-6400 14C BP in the basin. The lake disintegrated into several shallow carbonate lakes or swamps gradually after 6400 14C BP. Eolian sand reached into the most part of the basin during the period. The lake evolution in the area generally reflects the East Asian summer monsoon history forced by Northern hemisphere insolation. Short time-scale lake fluctuations also existed in the area since the last glacial. ?? 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.

Quaternary International↗
USGS2003

Eolian sand transport pathways in the southwestern United States: Importance of the Colorado River and local sources

Geomorphologists have long recognized that eolian sand transport pathways extend over long distances in desert regions. Along such pathways, sediment transport by wind can surmount topographic obstacles and cross major drainages. Recent studies have suggested that three distinct eolian sand transport pathways exist (or once existed) in the Mojave and Sonoran Desert regions of the southwestern United States. One hypothesized pathway is colian sand transport from the eastern Mojave Desert of California into western Arizona, near Parker, and would require sand movement across what must have been at least a seasonally dry Colorado River valley. We tested this hypothesis by mineralogical, geochemical and magnetic analyses of eolian sands on both sides of the Colorado River, as well as sediment from the river itself. Results indicate that dunes on opposite sides of the Colorado River are mineralogically distinct: eastern California dunes are feldspar-rich whereas western Arizona dunes are quartz-rich, derived from quartz-rich Colorado River sediments. Because of historic vegetation changes, little new sediment from the Colorado River is presently available to supply the Parker dunes. Based on this study and previous work, the Colorado River is now known to be the source of sand for at least three of the major dune fields of the Sonoran Desert of western Arizona and northern Mexico. On the other hand, locally derived alluvium appears to be a more important source of dune fields in the Mojave Desert of California. Although many geomorphologists have stressed the importance of large fluvial systems in the origin of desert dune fields, few empirical data actually exist to support this theory. The results presented here demonstrate that a major river system in the southwestern United States is a barrier to the migration of some dune fields, but essential to the origin of others. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

Quaternary International↗
USGS1997

Sources of glacial moisture in Mesoamerica

Paleoclimatic records from Mesoamerica document the interplay between Atlantic and Pacific sources of precipitation during the last glacial stage and Holocene. Today, and throughout much of the Holocene, the entire region receives its principal moisture in the summer from an interaction of easterly trade winds with the equatorial calms. Glacial records from sites east of 95?? W in Guatemala, Florida, northern Venezuela and Colombia record dry conditions before 12 ka, however. West of 95?? W, glacial conditions were moister than in the Holocene. For example, pollen and diatom data show that Lake Pa??tzcuaro in the central Mexican highlands was cool, deep and fresh during this time and fossil pinyon needles in packrat middens in Chihuahua, Sonora, Arizona, and Texas indicate cooler glacial climates with increased winter precipitation. Cold Gulf of Mexico sea-surface temperatures and reduced strength of the equatorial calms can explain arid full and late glacial environments east of 95?? W whereas an intensified pattern of winter, westerly air flow dominated hydrologic balances as far south as 20?? N. Overall cooler temperatures may have increased effective moisture levels during dry summer months in both areas. ?? 1997 INQUA/ Elsevier Science Ltd.

Quaternary International↗
USGS1998

Paleopedology plus TL, 10Be, and14C dating as tools in stratigraphic and paleoclimatic investigations, Mississippi River Valley, U.S.A.

Thick ( ??? 35 m) loess deposits are present on ridges and high bluffs in the northern-half of the Lower Mississippi Valley (LMV), U.S.A. Detailed descriptions of the loess sections and pedologic, physiochemical, and mineralogic analyses and TL, 14C, and 10Be age determinations, allow preliminary paleoclimatic reconstructions for the late Quaternary of central North America. No age data are available for the oldest (Fifth) loess. 10Be and TL age data suggest a 250-200 ka age for the Fourth or Crowleys Ridge(?) Loess, and indicate that the Loveland or Third Loess is time equivalent to oxygen isotope stage 6, ??? 190-120 ka. A weakly developed paleosol is present in the basal-half of the Loveland. The Sangamon Geosol is present in the upper 5 m and represents all of oxygen isotope stage 5, ??? 130-60 ka. It formed in a climate as warm as, but drier and (or) with greater variation in precipitation, than the present. The Roxana Silt (second loess) was deposited during oxygen isotope stages 4 and 3, ??? 65-26 ka. The early Wisconsinan interglacial-glacial transition, represented by the Sangamon Geosol and the unnamed paleosol in the basal Roxana Silt, was slow. The paleoclimate during the 35 k yr of Roxana deposition was cool to cold and wet. Age and pedologic data indicate that deposition of the Peoria Loess (the youngest) began around 25 ka when the area's climate changed abruptly from cool or cold and wet to cold and dry, with periods of sustained high winds.

Quaternary International↗