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USGS2004

Volcanological perspectives on Long Valley, Mammoth Mountain, and Mono Craters: Several contiguous but discrete systems

The volcanic history of the Long Valley region is examined within a framework of six successive (spatially discrete) foci of silicic magmatism, each driven by locally concentrated basaltic intrusion of the deep crust in response to extensional unloading and decompression melting of the upper mantle. A precaldera dacite field (3.5–2.5 Ma) northwest of the later site of Long Valley and the Glass Mountain locus of >60 high-silica rhyolite vents (2.2–0.79 Ma) northeast of it were spatially and temporally independent magmatic foci, both cold in postcaldera time. Shortly before the 760-ka caldera-forming eruption, the mantle-driven focus of crustal melting shifted ∼20 km westward, abandoning its long-stable position under Glass Mountain and energizing instead the central Long Valley system that released 600 km 3 of compositionally zoned rhyolitic Bishop Tuff (760 ka), followed by ∼100 km 3 of crystal-poor Early Rhyolite (760–650 ka) on the resurgent dome and later by three separate 5-unit clusters of varied Moat Rhyolites of small volume (527–101 ka). West of the caldera ring-fault zone, a fourth focus started up ∼160 ka, producing a 10×20-km array of at least 35 mafic vents that surround the trachydacite/alkalic rhyodacite Mammoth Mountain dome complex at its core. This young 70-vent system lies west of the structural caldera and (though it may have locally re-energized the western margin of the mushy moribund Long Valley reservoir) represents a thermally and compositionally independent focus. A fifth major discrete focus started up by ∼50 ka, 25–30 km north of Mammoth Mountain, beneath the center of what has become the Mono Craters chain. In the Holocene, this system advanced both north and south, producing ∼30 dike-fed domes of crystal-poor high-silica rhyolite, some as young as 650 years. The nearby chain of mid-to-late Holocene Inyo domes is a fault-influenced zone of mixing where magmas of at least four kinds are confluent. The sixth and youngest focus is at Mono Lake, where basalt, dacite, and low-silica rhyolite unrelated to the Mono Craters magma reservoir have erupted in the interval 14 to 0.25 ka. A compelling inference is that mantle-driven magmatic foci have moved repeatedly, allowing abandoned silicic reservoirs, including the formerly vigorous Long Valley magma chamber, to crystallize. A 100-fold decline of intracaldera eruption rate after 650 ka, lack of crystal-poor rhyolite since 300 ka, limited volumes of moat rhyolite (most of it crystal-rich), absence of postcaldera mafic volcanism inside the structural caldera (or north and south adjacent to it), low thermal gradients inside the caldera, and sourcing of hydrothermal underflow within the western array well outside the ring-fault zone all suggest that the Long Valley magma reservoir is moribund.

California↗

USGS2008

Eruptive history and tectonic setting of Medicine Lake Volcano, a large rear-arc volcano in the southern Cascades

Medicine Lake Volcano (MLV), located in the southern Cascades ∼ 55 km east-northeast of contemporaneous Mount Shasta, has been found by exploratory geothermal drilling to have a surprisingly silicic core mantled by mafic lavas. This unexpected result is very different from the long-held view derived from previous mapping of exposed geology that MLV is a dominantly basaltic shield volcano. Detailed mapping shows that < 6% of the ∼ 2000 km 2 of mapped MLV lavas on this southern Cascade Range shield-shaped edifice are rhyolitic and dacitic, but drill holes on the edifice penetrated more than 30% silicic lava. Argon dating yields ages in the range ∼ 475 to 300 ka for early rhyolites. Dates on the stratigraphically lowest mafic lavas at MLV fall into this time frame as well, indicating that volcanism at MLV began about half a million years ago. Mafic compositions apparently did not dominate until ∼ 300 ka. Rhyolite eruptions were scarce post-300 ka until late Holocene time. However, a dacite episode at ∼ 200 to ∼ 180 ka included the volcano's only ash-flow tuff, which was erupted from within the summit caldera. At ∼ 100 ka, compositionally distinctive high-Na andesite and minor dacite built most of the present caldera rim. Eruption of these lavas was followed soon after by several large basalt flows, such that the combined area covered by eruptions between 100 ka and postglacial time amounts to nearly two-thirds of the volcano's area. Postglacial eruptive activity was strongly episodic and also covered a disproportionate amount of area. The volcano has erupted 9 times in the past 5200 years, one of the highest rates of late Holocene eruptive activity in the Cascades. Estimated volume of MLV is ∼ 600 km 3 , giving an overall effusion rate of ∼ 1.2 km 3 per thousand years, although the rate for the past 100 kyr may be only half that. During much of the volcano's history, both dry HAOT (high-alumina olivine tholeiite) and hydrous calcalkaline basalts erupted together in close temporal and spatial proximity. Petrologic studies indicate that the HAOT magmas were derived by dry melting of spinel peridotite mantle near the crust mantle boundary. Subduction-derived H 2 O-rich fluids played an important role in the generation of calcalkaline magmas. Petrology, geochemistry and proximity indicate that MLV is part of the Cascades magmatic arc and not a Basin and Range volcano, although Basin and Range extension impinges on the volcano and strongly influences its eruptive style. MLV may be analogous to Mount Adams in southern Washington, but not, as sometimes proposed, to the older distributed back-arc Simcoe Mountains volcanic field.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗

USGS2016

Radiocarbon dating of silica sinter deposits in shallow drill cores from the Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park

To explore the timing of hydrothermal activity at the Upper Geyser Basin (UGB) in Yellowstone National Park, we obtained seven new accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon 14 C ages of carbonaceous material trapped within siliceous sinter. Five samples came from depths of 15–152 cm within the Y-1 well, and two samples were from well Y-7 (depths of 24 cm and 122 cm). These two wells, at Black Sand and Biscuit Basins, respectively, were drilled in 1967 as part of a scientific drilling program by the U.S. Geological Survey ( White et al., 1975 ). Even with samples as small as 15 g, we obtained sufficient carbonaceous material (a mixture of thermophilic mats, pollen, and charcoal) for the 14 C analyses. Apparent time of deposition ranged from 3775 ± 25 and 2910 ± 30 14 C years BP at the top of the cores to about 8000 years BP at the bottom. The dates are consistent with variable rates of sinter formation at individual sites within the UGB over the Holocene. On a basin-wide scale, though, these and other existing 14 C dates hint that hydrothermal activity at the UGB may have been continuous throughout the Holocene.

Wyoming↗

USGS2021

Volcanic seismicity beneath Chuginadak Island, Alaska (Cleveland and Tana volcanoes): Implications for magma dynamics and eruption forecasting

Cleveland and Tana are remote volcanoes located in the central Aleutian volcanic arc on the eastern end of the Islands of Four Mountains (IFM). The persistently active Mount Cleveland volcano, on the western side of Chuginadak Island, is surrounded by several closely spaced Quaternary volcanic centers including Carlisle, Herbert, Kagamil, Tana, and Uliaga, and numerous small satellite vents on Chiginadak between Cleveland and Tana. The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) installed two permanent broadband seismometers on Chuginadak Island in 2014, and we operated a temporary broadband network focused on the western side of the island in 2015–2016. Collectively, these stations provided the first seismic observations of this frequently active volcano and the surrounding Holocene-aged volcanic vents. During the study period (July 2014–January 2019), eruptive activity at Cleveland was characterized by small explosions separated by periods of lava effusion that formed small domes in the volcano's summit crater. We characterize seismicity beneath Chuginadak Island through automated analysis of event waveform frequency content, development of a one-dimensional P-wave velocity model, calculation of earthquake hypocenters, magnitudes, focal mechanisms, and identification of earthquake families. This analysis reveals the full range of seismic event types expected in a highly active volcanic environment and includes Volcano-Tectonic (VT) earthquakes, Long-Period (LP) events, and explosion signals. LP events appear to cluster at shallow depth beneath the active crater of Mount Cleveland and almost all of the explosions occur without identifiable short-term (hours to days) seismic precursors. VT earthquakes beneath Mount Cleveland occur at depths of 2 to 8 km below sea level (BSL) and range in magnitude from −0.2 to 1.8. VT focal mechanisms have horizontal P-axes that align with the regional axis of maximum stress. These observations, and a relatively slow one-dimensional seismic velocity model, are consistent with a shallow body of magma that is fed through a deeper conduit system. The time-history of VT earthquakes and shallow LP events suggest their occurrence may track the transfer of magma and fluids from the mid-crust to the shallow portions of the conduit system and may provide a means to anticipate future explosions and periods of dome growth. VT hypocenters also extend ~7 km northeast of Cleveland's summit at depths of 5 to 10 km BSL, under a group of Holocene-aged vents between Mount Cleveland and Tana. These earthquakes have vertically-oriented P-axes and a greater percentage occur in families. These observations, combined with observations of vent orientation and morphology and gas flux, suggest the area between Cleveland and Tana represents a zone of complicated volcano-tectonic interaction, similar to calderas elsewhere in the Aleutian arc. The presence of a larger volcanic system in the eastern IFM could influence magmatism and account for the multiple closely spaced volcanic centers in this region.

Alaska↗

USGS2005

Late Neogene and Quaternary evolution of the northern Albemarle Embayment (mid-Atlantic continental margin, USA)

Seismic surveys in the eastern Albemarle Sound, adjacent tributaries and the inner continental shelf define the regional geologic framework and provide insight into the sedimentary evolution of the northern North Carolina coastal system. Litho- and chronostratigraphic data are derived from eight drill sites on the Outer Banks barrier islands, and the Mobil #1 well in eastern Albemarle Sound. Within the study area, parallel-bedded, gently dipping Miocene beds occur at 95 to > 160 m below sea level (m bsl), and are overlain by a southward-thickening Pliocene unit characterized by steeply inclined, southward-prograding beds. The lower Pliocene unit consists of three seismic sequences. The 55–60 m thick Quaternary section unconformably overlies the Pliocene unit, and consists of 18 seismic sequences exhibiting numerous incised channel-fill facies. Shallow stratigraphy (< 40 m bsl) is dominated by complex fill patterns within the incised paleo-Roanoke River valley. Radiocarbon and amino-acid racemization (AAR) ages indicate that the valley-fill is latest Pleistocene to Holocene in age. At least six distinct valley-fill units are identified in the seismic data. Cores in the valley-fill contain a 3–6 m thick basal fluvial channel deposit that is overlain by a 15 m thick unit of interlaminated muds and sands of brackish water origin that exhibit increasing marine influence upwards. Organic materials within the interlaminated deposits have ages of 13–11 cal. ka. The interlaminated deposits within the valley are overlain by several units that comprise shallow marine sediments (bay-mouth and shoreface environments) that consist of silty, fine- to medium-grained sands containing open neritic foraminifera, suggesting that this area lacked a fronting barrier island system and was an open embayment from ∼10 ka to ∼4.5 ka. Seismic data show that initial infilling of the paleo-Roanoke River valley occurred from the north and west during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. Later infilling occurred from the south and east and is characterized by a large shoal body (Colington Island and Shoals) and adjacent inlet fill. Establishment of a continuous barrier island system across the bay-mouth resulted in deposition of the latest phase of valley-fill, characterized by estuarine organic-rich muds.

Albemarle Embayment↗

USGS2016

Records of continental slope sediment flow morphodynamic responses to gradient and active faulting from integrated AUV and ROV data, offshore Palos Verdes, southern California Borderland

Variations in seabed gradient are widely acknowledged to influence deep-water deposition, but are often difficult to measure in sufficient detail from both modern and ancient examples. On the continental slope offshore Los Angeles, California, autonomous underwater vehicle, remotely operated vehicle, and shipboard methods were used to collect a dense grid of high-resolution multibeam bathymetry, chirp sub-bottom profiles, and targeted sediment core samples that demonstrate the influence of seafloor gradient on sediment accumulation, depositional environment, grain size of deposits, and seafloor morphology. In this setting, restraining and releasing bends along the active right-lateral Palos Verdes Fault create and maintain variations in seafloor gradient. Holocene down-slope flows appear to have been generated by slope failure, primarily on the uppermost slope (~ 100–200 m water depth). Turbidity currents created a low relief (< 10 m) channel, up-slope migrating sediment waves (λ = ~ 100 m, h ≤ 2 m), and a series of depocenters that have accumulated up to 4 m of Holocene sediment. Sediment waves increase in wavelength and decrease in wave height with decreasing gradient. Integrated analysis of high-resolution datasets provides quantification of morphodynamic sensitivity to seafloor gradients acting throughout deep-water depositional systems. These results help to bridge gaps in scale between existing deep-sea and experimental datasets and may provide constraints for future numerical modeling studies.

Marine Geology↗

USGS2021

Complex sedimentary processes in large coastal embayments and their potential for coastal morphological and paleo tropical cyclone studies: A case study from Choctawhatchee Bay Western Florida, U.S.A

Storminess and sea-level can both have a significant impact on landforms in cyclone-prone coastal regions, although much of our understanding comes from short-timescale modern observations. This study aims to understand the variability of sediment transport and deposition in the Choctawhatchee Bay/Santa Rosa Island in the northern Gulf of Mexico, establishing the dominant sediment transport processes and morphological response of the barrier system to long-term variations in storminess and rising sea-levels. Here, we study the spatial and temporal changes in physicochemical properties of the sedimentary record of Choctawhatchee Bay to examine the character and fidelity of records of storm impacts spanning the Holocene. Proxies for marine and terrestrial conditions in the cores situated closer to the present barrier (proximal) show that sedimentation in coastal areas and marine influence of the bay during the last ~8000 yrs. were mainly determined by barrier response to the Holocene transgression and changes in storminess. In contrast, sedimentation close to the landward shore was governed by terrigenous input. The correlation of grain size and terrigenous proxies with regional hurricane records indicates that hinterland erosion by the rainfall during hurricane events is likely the dominant terrigenous sediment transport mechanism in areas close to the landward shore of the bay. These results suggest that sediment archives in large coastal deposition environments are equally suitable for sea level and cyclone modulated coastal morphological studies and paleo tropical cyclone studies, depending on the location, selected with an understanding of sedimentation processes in the vicinity.

Florida↗

USGS2005

Paleoceanographic history of the Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California, during the past 15,000 years based on diatoms, silicoflagellates, and biogenic sediments

High-resolution records of calcium carbonate, biogenic opal, diatoms, and silicoflagellates from western Guaymas Basin gravity core GGC55 and piston core JPC56 and eastern Guaymas Basin DSDP Site 480 reveal a complex paleoceanographic history of the central Gulf of California during the past 15,000 years. Prior to ∼ 6.2 ka, the eastern and western Guaymas Basin proxy records were remarkably similar. After conditions similar to those of today during the Bølling–Allerod, the Younger Dryas (YD) saw a major drop in diatom production, coincident with increased calcium carbonate and tropical microfossils suggestive of El Niño-like conditions. Biosiliceous productivity began increasing during the latter part of the YD, but it was only during the earliest Holocene (11.6 to 11.0 ka) that conditions similar to those of the Bølling–Allerod returned to the central Gulf. Between around 11.0 and 6.2 ka, tropical diatoms and silicoflagellates were virtually absent from the central Gulf, as relatively cooler and fresher surface waters resembling those of the modern northern Gulf were present in the central Gulf. Beginning at about 6.2 ka, tropical diatoms and silicoflagellates began increasing in the central Gulf, and coccoliths returned to western Gulf sediments. The onset of modern-day monsoon conditions in the American Southwest required the presence of warm SSTs in the northern Gulf, which probably did not occur until after about 5.4 ka, when tropical diatoms and silicoflagellates became relatively common in the central Gulf. Modern east–west contrasts, which arise from late winter–early spring coastal upwelling on the mainland side and lower diatom productivity on the western side of the Gulf, commenced between 6.2 and 5.4 ka, possibly due to a shift in the direction of late winter–early spring winds more towards the southeast, or down the axis of the Gulf. This proposed wind shift might have ultimately been due to a late Holocene strengthening of ENSO-like conditions in the eastern equatorial Pacific.

Gulf of California↗

USGS2014

Response of diatom and silicoflagellate assemblages in the central Gulf of California to regional climate change during the past 55 kyrs

High-resolution studies of diatoms and silicoflagellates of the past 55 kyrs in cores MD02-2517/2515 from the central Gulf of California (GoC) reveal profound changes in GoC surface waters. Roperia tesselata , a diatom proxy for late winter–early spring upwelling, and Dictyocha stapedia , a subtropical silicoflagellate indicative of GoC sea surface temperatures (SSTs) > 24 °C, are common during the Holocene but rare during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2 and most of MIS 3, a relationship that likely reflects a more northerly position of the North Pacific High (NPH) during the Holocene. In contrast during most of MIS 2 (~ 27–15 ka), the persistent presence of Distephanus speculum , a silicoflagellate associated with SSTs < 16°, suggests that cold, low salinity waters penetrated into the GoC, consistent with southward displacement of the NPH. During MIS 3 (~ 55–27 ka), increased dominance of Azpeitia nodulifera (diatom) implies that stratified, tropical waters were present year round, whereas silicoflagellate assemblages suggest that stratified tropical conditions alternated with more productive, upwelling conditions on millennial timescales. Reduced biosiliceous productivity during Heinrich events likely reflected a reduction in both surface water nutrient levels and in the strength of northwest winds due to a weakened and more southerly NPH. Conversely, enhanced biosiliceous productivity during MIS 3 interstadials was probably linked to heightened nutrient levels and a strengthened NPH. Abrupt relative abundance increases of the silicoflagellate, Dictyocha aculeata , approximate the termination of MIS3 Heinrich events and may signal times when nutrient-rich deep waters associated with the resumption of enhanced Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation penetrated into the central Gulf.

California↗

USGS2008

Precipitation rates and atmospheric heat transport during the Cenomanian greenhouse warming in North America: Estimates from a stable isotope mass-balance model

Stable isotope mass-balance modeling results of meteoric ??18O values from the Cenomanian Stage of the Cretaceous Western Interior Basin (KWIB) suggest that precipitation and evaporation fluxes were greater than that of the present and significantly different from simulations of Albian KWIB paleohydrology. Sphaerosiderite meteoric ??18O values have been compiled from the Lower Tuscaloosa Formation of southwestern Mississippi (25??N paleolatitude), The Dakota Formation Rose Creek Pit, Fairbury Nebraska (35??N) and the Dunvegan Formation of eastern British Columbia (55??N paleolatitude). These paleosol siderite ??18O values define a paleolatitudinal gradient ranging from - 4.2??? VPDB at 25??N to - 12.5??? VPDB at 55??N. This trend is significantly steeper and more depleted than a modern theoretical siderite gradient (25??N: - 1.7???; 65??N: - 5.6??? VPDB ), and a Holocene meteoric calcite trend (27??N: - 3.6???; 67??N: - 7.4??? VPDB). The Cenomanian gradient is also comparatively steeper than the Albian trend determined for the KWIB in the mid- to high latitudes. The steep latitudinal trend in meteoric ??18O values may be the result of increased precipitation and evaporation fluxes (amount effects) under a more vigorous greenhouse-world hydrologic cycle. A stable-isotope mass-balance model has been used to generate estimates of precipitation and evaporation fluxes and precipitation rates. Estimates of Cenomanian precipitation rates based upon the mass-balance modeling of the KWIB range from 1400??mm/yr at 25??N paleolatitude to 3600??mm/yr at 45??N paleolatitude. The precipitation-evaporation (P-E) flux values were used to delineate zones of moisture surplus and moisture deficit. Comparisons between Cenomanian P-E and modern theoretical siderite, and Holocene calcite latitudinal trends shows an amplification of low-latitude moisture deficits between 5-25??N paleolatitude and moisture surpluses between 40-60??N paleolatitude. The low-latitude moisture deficits correlate with a mean annual average heat loss of 48??W/m2 at 10??N paleolatitude (present, 8??W/m2 at 15??N). The increased precipitation flux and moisture surplus in the mid-latitudes corresponds to a mean average annual heat gain of 180??W/m2 at 50??N paleolatitude (present, 17??W/m2 at 50??N). The Cenomanian low-latitude moisture deficit is similar to that of the Albian, however the mid-latitude (40-60??N) precipitation flux values and precipitation rates are significantly higher (Albian: 2200??mm/yr at 45??N; Cenomanian: 3600??mm/yr at 45??N). Furthermore, the heat transferred to the atmosphere via latent heat of condensation was approximately 10.6?? that of the present at 50??N. The intensified hydrologic cycle of the mid-Cretaceous greenhouse warming may have played a significant role in the poleward transfer of heat and more equable global conditions. Paleoclimatological reconstructions from multiple time periods during the mid-Cretaceous will aid in a better understanding of the dynamics of the hydrologic cycle and latent heat flux during greenhouse world conditions.

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology↗

USGS2022

A new indicator approach to reconstruct agricultural land use in Europe from sedimentary pollen assemblages

The reconstruction of human impact is pivotal in palaeoecological studies, as humans are among the most important drivers of Holocene vegetation and ecosystem change. Nevertheless, separating the anthropogenic footprint on vegetation dynamics from the impact of climate and other environmental factors (disturbances such as fire, erosion, floods, landslides, avalanches, volcanic eruptions) is a challenging and still largely open issue. For this purpose, palynologists mostly rely on cultural indicator pollen types and related indices that consist of sums or ratios of these pollen types. However, the high environmental and biogeographical specificity of cultural indicator plants hinders the application of the currently available indices to wide geographical settings. Furthermore, the achievable taxonomic resolution of cultural indicator pollen types may hamper their indicative capacity. In this study, we propose the agricultural land use probability (LUP) index, a novel approach to quantify human impact intensity on European ecosystems based on cultural indicator pollen types. From the ‘classic’ cultural indicators, we construct the LUP index by selecting those with the best indicator capacity based on bioindication criteria. We first train the LUP index using twenty palynological sequences along a broad environmental gradient, spanning from treeless alpine to subtropical mediterranean evergreen plant communities. We then validate the LUP index using independent pollen datasets and archaeological proxies. Finally, we discuss the suitability of the selected pollen types and the potential of the LUP index for quantifying Holocene human impact in Europe, concluding that careful application of the LUP index may significantly contribute to refining pollen-based land-use reconstructions.

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology↗

USGS2020

2,200-Year tree-ring and lake-sediment based snowpack reconstruction for the northern Rocky Mountains highlights the historic magnitude of recent snow drought

In recent decades, Rocky Mountain accumulated snowpack levels have experienced rapid declines, yet long-term records of snowpack prior to the installation of snowpack observation stations in the early and mid 20th century are limited. To date, a small number of tree-ring based reconstructions of April 1 Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) in the northern Rocky Mountains have extended modern records of snowpack variability to ∼1200 C.E. Carbonate isotope lake sediment records, provide an opportunity to further extend tree-ring based reconstructions through the Holocene, providing a millennial-scale temporal record that allows for an evaluation of multi-scale drivers of snowpack variability, from internal climate dynamics to orbital-scale forcings. Here we present a ∼2200 year preliminary reconstruction of northern Rockies snowpack based on δ 18 O measurements of sediment carbonates collected from Foy Lake, Montana. We explore the statistical calibration of lake sediment δ 18 O to an annually resolved snowpack reconstruction from tree rings, and develop an approach to assess and quantify potential sources of error in this reconstruction approach. The sediment-based snowpack reconstruction shows strong low-frequency variability in snowpack over the last two millennia with few snow droughts approaching the magnitude of recent snowpack declines. Given the growing availability of high-resolution, carbonate-rich lake sediment records, such reconstructions could help improve our understanding of how snowpack conditions varied under previous climatic events (mid-Holocene climate optimum ca. 9−6 ka), providing critical insights for anticipating future snowpack conditions.

Alberta, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Nevada,↗

USGS2006

Landscape response to deglaciation in a high relief, monsoon-influenced alpine environment, Langtang Himal, Nepal

Significant glacial fluctuations and rapid paraglacial reworking of glacigenic sediments characterize the Middle and Late Holocene of the Langtang Khola Valley, Central Nepal Himalaya. Geomorphic mapping and beryllium-10 cosmogenic radionuclide (CRN) dating of moraines and paraglacial fans were undertaken to test the existing paraglacial fan, terrace and moraine chronologies. The new dating compares favorably with prior studies that utilized radiocarbon, adding additional support to the assumption that fan and terrace formation are strongly linked to deglaciation. Fan and terrace denudation rates are so rapid in this region, averaging ∼33 mm/yr, that no depositional landforms older than 5 ka are preserved within 250 m of the valley floor. In this region, high rates of denudation during the Late Quaternary are driven by a combination of rapid tectonic uplift, numerous glacial fluctuations and intense weathering driven by an active monsoon climate. Extensive reworking of glacigenic sediments in Langtang during the latter half of the Holocene is consistent with studies completed in other areas of the Himalaya that are strongly influenced by the monsoon.

Langtang Himal↗

USGS2009

Evidence for prolonged El Nino-like conditions in the Pacific during the Late Pleistocene: a 43 ka noble gas record from California groundwaters

Information on the ocean/atmosphere state over the period spanning the Last Glacial Maximum - from the Late Pleistocene to the Holocene - provides crucial constraints on the relationship between orbital forcing and global climate change. The Pacific Ocean is particularly important in this respect because of its dominant role in exporting heat and moisture from the tropics to higher latitudes. Through targeting groundwaters in the Mojave Desert, California, we show that noble gas derived temperatures in California averaged 4.2 ?? 1.1 ??C cooler in the Late Pleistocene (from ???43 to ???12 ka) compared to the Holocene (from ???10 to ???5 ka). Furthermore, the older groundwaters contain higher concentrations of excess air (entrained air bubbles) and have elevated oxygen-18/oxygen-16 ratios (?? 18 O) - indicators of vigorous aquifer recharge, and greater rainfall amounts and/or more intense precipitation events, respectively. Together, these paleoclimate indicators reveal that cooler and wetter conditions prevailed in the Mojave Desert from ???43 to ???12 ka. We suggest that during the Late Pleistocene, the Pacific ocean/atmosphere state was similar to present-day El Nino-like patterns, and was characterized by prolonged periods of weak trade winds, weak upwelling along the eastern Pacific margin, and increased precipitation in the southwestern U.S.

Quaternary Science Reviews↗

USGS2010

Quaternary Sea-ice history in the Arctic Ocean based on a new Ostracode sea-ice proxy

Paleo-sea-ice history in the Arctic Ocean was reconstructed using the sea-ice dwelling ostracode Acetabulastoma arcticum from late Quaternary sediments from the Mendeleyev, Lomonosov, and Gakkel Ridges, the Morris Jesup Rise and the Yermak Plateau. Results suggest intermittently high levels of perennial sea ice in the central Arctic Ocean during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 (25-45 ka), minimal sea ice during the last deglacial (16-11 ka) and early Holocene thermal maximum (11-5 ka) and increasing sea ice during the mid-to-late Holocene (5-0 ka). Sediment core records from the Iceland and Rockall Plateaus show that perennial sea ice existed in these regions only during glacial intervals MIS 2, 4, and 6. These results show that sea ice exhibits complex temporal and spatial variability during different climatic regimes and that the development of modern perennial sea ice may be a relatively recent phenomenon. ?? 2010.

Quaternary Science Reviews↗

USGS2013

Radiocarbon dating late Quaternary loess deposits using small terrestrial gastropod shells

Constraining the ages and mass accumulation rates of late Quaternary loess deposits is often difficult because of the paucity of organic material typically available for 14 C dating and the inherent limitations of luminescence techniques. Radiocarbon dating of small terrestrial gastropod shells may provide an alternative to these methods as fossil shells are common in loess and contain ∼12% carbon by weight. Terrestrial gastropod assemblages in loess have been used extensively to reconstruct past environmental conditions but have been largely ignored for dating purposes. Here, we present the results of a multi-faceted approach to understanding the potential for using small terrestrial gastropod shells to date loess deposits in North America. First, we compare highly resolved 14 C ages of well-preserved wood and gastropod shells (Succineidae) recovered from a Holocene loess section in Alaska. Radiocarbon ages derived from the shells are nearly identical to wood and plant macrofossil ages throughout the section, which suggests that the shells behaved as closed systems with respect to carbon for at least the last 10 ka (thousands of calibrated 14 C years before present). Second, we apply 14 C dating of gastropod shells to late Pleistocene loess deposits in the Great Plains using stratigraphy and independent chronologies for comparison. The new shell ages require less interpretation than humic acid radiocarbon ages that are commonly used in loess studies, provide additional stratigraphic coverage to previous dating efforts, and are in correct stratigraphic order more often than their luminescence counterparts. Third, we show that Succineidae shells recovered from historic loess in the Matanuska River Valley, Alaska captured the 20th century 14 C bomb spike, which suggests that the shells can be used to date late Holocene and historic-aged loess. Finally, results from Nebraska and western Iowa suggest that, similar to other materials, shell ages approaching ∼40 ka should be viewed with caution as they may reflect trace amounts of contamination. In sum, our results show that small terrestrial gastropod shells, especially from the Succineidae family, provide reliable ages for late Quaternary loess deposits in North America.

Quaternary Science Reviews↗

USGS2013

Sea-level change during the last 2500 years in New Jersey, USA

Relative sea-level changes during the last ∼2500 years in New Jersey, USA were reconstructed to test if late Holocene sea level was stable or included persistent and distinctive phases of variability. Foraminifera and bulk-sediment δ 13 C values were combined to reconstruct paleomarsh elevation with decimeter precision from sequences of salt-marsh sediment at two sites using a multi-proxy approach. The additional paleoenvironmental information provided by bulk-sediment δ 13 C values reduced vertical uncertainty in the sea-level reconstruction by about one third of that estimated from foraminifera alone using a transfer function. The history of sediment deposition was constrained by a composite chronology. An age–depth model developed for each core enabled reconstruction of sea level with multi-decadal resolution. Following correction for land-level change (1.4 mm/yr), four successive and sustained (multi-centennial) sea-level trends were objectively identified and quantified (95% confidence interval) using error-in-variables change point analysis to account for age and sea-level uncertainties. From at least 500 BC to 250 AD, sea-level fell at 0.11 mm/yr. The second period saw sea-level rise at 0.62 mm/yr from 250 AD to 733 AD. Between 733 AD and 1850 AD, sea level fell at 0.12 mm/yr. The reconstructed rate of sea-level rise since ∼1850 AD was 3.1 mm/yr and represents the most rapid period of change for at least 2500 years. This trend began between 1830 AD and 1873 AD. Since this change point, reconstructed sea-level rise is in agreement with regional tide-gauge records and exceeds the global average estimate for the 20th century. These positive and negative departures from background rates demonstrate that the late Holocene sea level was not stable in New Jersey.

New Jersey↗

USGS2014

An 8700 year paleoclimate reconstruction from the southern Maya lowlands

Analysis of a sediment core from Lago Puerto Arturo, a closed basin lake in northern Peten, Guatemala, has provided an &sim;8700 cal year record of climate change and human activity in the southern Maya lowlands. Stable isotope, magnetic susceptibility, and pollen analyses were used to reconstruct environmental change in the region. Results indicate a relatively wet early to middle Holocene followed by a drier late Holocene, which we interpret as reflecting long-term changes in insolation (precession). Higher frequency variability is more likely attributable to changes in ocean/atmosphere circulation in both the North Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. Pollen and isotope data show that most of the period of prehispanic agricultural settlement, i.e. &sim;5000–1000 cal yr BP, was characterized by drier conditions than previous or subsequent periods. The presence of Zea (corn) pollen through peak aridity during the Terminal Classic period (&sim;1250–1130 cal yr BP) suggests that drought may not have had as negative an impact as previously proposed. A dramatic negative shift in isotope values indicates an increase in precipitation after &sim;950 cal yr BP (hereafter BP).

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