Journal of Paleolimnology 24: 151–182, 2000. 151 © 2000 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. A paleoclimate record for the past 250,000 years from Summer Lake, Oregon, USA: II. Sedimentology, paleontology and geochemistry Andrew S. Cohen1, Manuel R. Palacios-Fest1 , Robert M. Negrini2 , Peter E. Wigand3 & Daniel B. Erbes2 1Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA (E-mail:
[email protected],
[email protected]) 2Department of Physics & Geology, California State University, Bakersfield, CA 93311, USA (E-mail:
[email protected], derbes.mt.gov) 3formerly of the Quaternary Sciences Center, Desert Research Institute, 2215 Raggio Parkway, Reno, NV 89512-1095, USA (Current E-mail address:
[email protected]) Received 7 January 1999; accepted 22 September 1999 Key words: paleolimnology, paleoclimate, Great Basin, ostracodes, palynology, Pleistocene, Quaternary, trace elements, oxygen and carbon isotopes Abstract We have obtained a detailed paleoenvironmental record in the Summer Lake Basin, Oregon (northwestern Great Basin, US) spanning from 250 ka–5 ka. This record is derived from core and outcrop sites extending from a proximal deltaic setting to near the modern depocenter. Lithostratigraphic, paleontologic (ostracodes and pollen) and geochemical indicators all provide evidence for hydroclimate and climate change over the study interval. Lithostratigraphic analysis of the Summer Lake deposits allows subdivision into a series of unconformity – or paraconformity-bound lithosomes. The unconformity and facies histories indicate that the lake underwent several major lake-level excursions through the Middle and Late Pleistocene. High stands occurred between ~200 and ~165 ka, between ~89 and 50 ka and between ~25 and 13 ka.