DOCSLIB.ORG

Stratigraphy and Geochronology of Upper Quaternary Eolian Sand on the Southern High Plains of Texas and New Mexico, United States

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Stratigraphy and Geochronology of Upper Quaternary Eolian Sand on the Southern High Plains of Texas and New Mexico, United States Stratigraphy and geochronology of upper Quaternary eolian sand on the Southern High Plains of Texas and New Mexico, United States Vance T. Holliday* Department of Geography, 550 North Park Street, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA ABSTRACT posits most likely were remobilized in late INTRODUCTION Holocene time. Most of the deposits and Eolian sand in dune ®elds and sand landforms of the dune ®elds and sand The Southern High Plains of northwestern sheets cover .10 000 km2 (;10%) of the sheets are late Holocene, dating before 4000 Texas and eastern New Mexico is a semiarid Southern High Plains of northwestern Tex- 14C yr B.P. and mostly before 1500 14Cyr region known to be affected by drought and as and eastern New Mexico. These deposits B.P. The Muleshoe and Lea-Yoakum dunes wind erosion. Wind erosion is a particularly are concentrated in three west-east±trend- and the Seminole sand sheet underwent persistent problem in this dry region, docu- ing belts of dunes (the Muleshoe, Lea- substantial eastward expansion in late Ho- mented to some degree in all years of the his- Yoakum, and Andrews dune ®elds, from locene time. Buried soils and radiocarbon toric record (e.g., Fryrear and Randel, 1972; north to south) that appear to be eastern ages show that the eolian sand accumulated Kimberlin et al., 1977). New data show that extensions of the Mescalero-Monahans in several stages, probably in response to wind erosion and eolian sedimentation oc- dune system in the Pecos River valley, and cyclic drought. The Muleshoe dunes accu- curred periodically in the region during late in the Seminole sand sheet, a discontinuous mulated after ca. 1300 cal yr B.P. (ca. 1400 Quaternary time and that these processes were accumulation of sheet sands between the 14C yr B.P.), after ca. 750±670 cal yr B.P. likely the result of episodic drought and in Lea-Yoakum and Monahans-Andrews (ca. 850±750 14C yr B.P.), just after ca. 500 some cases prolonged aridity (Holliday, dunes. The most common landforms are cal yr B.P. (ca. 450 14C yr B.P.), and during 1989a, 1995a, 1995b, 1997a, 1997b, 2000a). parabolic dunes associated with blowouts, the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Given this geologic record and the paleocli- coppice dunes, and sand sheets, all typical Lea-Yoakum dunes were active after ca. matic implications for the Southern High of sandy, vegetated, semiarid landscapes, 3400 cal yr B.P. (ca. 3200 14C yr B.P.) and Plains, and predictions based on the results of barchan dunes, in keeping with a relatively historically. The Seminole sand sheet was most climate models used in studies of green- limited sand supply and an underlying sur- active ca. 430±330 cal yr B.P. (ca. 360 14C house warming (e.g., Schneider, 1989; Smith face that is relatively hard (Blackwater yr B.P.) and in the twentieth century. The and Tirpak, 1990; Woodhouse and Overpeck, Draw Formation, Pleistocene), and fence- Andrews dunes were subjected to at least 1998), a reasonable assumption can be made row dunes, historic dunes formed along two phases of eolian sedimentation after ca. that these phenomena will continue to be a ®eld boundaries. These eolian deposits ac- 2320 cal yr B.P. (ca. 2320 14C yr B.P.). severe problem in the region. cumulated episodically in the late Pleisto- Comparisons with eolian chronologies from A more complete assessment of the effects cene and Holocene and provide clues to the other regions on the Great Plains suggest of future drought on the High Plains landscape history of regional drought and aridity. The that dune mobilization was a regional phe- requires a better understanding of the history earliest phase of sedimentation occurred and impact of past climatic extremes. Pre- nomenon after ca. 2300 cal yr B.P. (ca. 2300 when sheet sands were deposited between ferred long-term, high-resolution records such 14C yr B.P.); after ca. 1500±1400 cal yr B.P. 11 000 and 8000 14C yr B.P., probably in as tree rings and speleothems are not available (ca. 1650±1550 14C yr B.P.); after ca. 700 several phases, based on archaeological for most parts of the Great Plains. Moreover, cal yr B.P. (ca. 800 14C yr B.P.); between data, as a result of episodic drought begin- environmental conditions on the Southern 500 and 300 cal yr B.P. (ca. 450±300 14Cyr ning between 11 000 and 10 000 yr B.P. Eo- High Plains inhibit preservation of extensive B.P.); and in the nineteenth century. The lian deposits dating between 8000 and 3000 or long-term paleontological or paleobotanical climatic ¯uctuations responsible for mobi- yr B.P. are rare, although eolian sediment records. The eolian record, although far from lizing the dunes probably were relatively 8000±4500 14C yr B.P. is ubiquitous in the ideal, appears to be the most complete late minor, yet the landscape impacts were sub- draws that cross the region, and paleoen- Quaternary, regionally traceable indicator of stantial, resulting in widespread wind ero- vironmental indicators show that the region the geomorphic response to climatic extremes, was subjected to aridity throughout middle sion and dune construction. especially periods of prolonged drought. Eo- Holocene time. The middle Holocene de- lian sediments and associated soils are the Keywords: dunes, lamellae, New Mexico, most obvious and most extensive products of *E-mail: [email protected]. Southern High Plains, Texas. the past 30 k.y. and more of eolian activity in GSA Bulletin; January 2001; v. 113; no. 1; p. 88±108; 10 ®gures; 5 tables; Data Repository item 2001012. For permission to copy, contact Copyright Clearance Center at www.copyright.com 88 q 2001 Geological Society of America STRATIGRAPHY AND GEOCHRONOLOGY OF UPPER QUATERNARY EOLIAN SAND the region. Moreover, the dunes in particular east sides of some playas. The dune ®elds and 1961; Hawley et al., 1976) that the dune ®elds are believed to be very sensitive to the effects lunettes have different origins and stratigraph- were constructed by westerly winds funneled of drought and deserti®cation (Forman et al., ic records. The focus of this paper is the are- through reentrants of the western escarpment. 1992, 1995; Muhs and Maat, 1993; Muhs et ally more extensive dune ®elds. The lunettes In the Muleshoe dunes, several phases of al., 1997a). were described elsewhere (Holliday, 1997a). late Quaternary dune construction were iden- In order to better understand the history of The lunettes and dune ®elds mantle the Black- ti®ed by Green (1951) and Gile (1979, 1981, wind erosion and eolian sedimentation in the water Draw Formation and, where the Black- 1985), but they had very limited age control. Southern High Plains, I conducted a system- water Draw Formation was de¯ated or never Gile (1979) also showed that soil morphology atic investigation of the dune ®elds and sand deposited, the Ogallala Formation (Holliday, could be a useful tool for stratigraphic corre- sheets of the region (largely 1992±1996) that 1995b, 1997a). Sedimentation in the draws, lation throughout the dune ®eld. Haynes cover ;10% of the surface. The work focused playas, and lunettes began in late Pleistocene (1975, 1995) and I (Holliday, 1995a) pro- on (1) the eolian record as an indicator of the time, and the valleys and lake basins ®lled duced the only numerical age control for the late Quaternary paleoenvironments, comple- with a variety of deposits (Haynes, 1975; Muleshoe dunes, indicating that the sediment menting systematic studies of the draws (Hol- Reeves, 1991; Holliday, 1995a; Holliday et accumulated episodically from the early to liday, 1995a) and lunettes (Holliday, 1997a), al., 1996). late Holocene. and (2) the geomorphic evolution of the Most of the eolian sand of the Southern In the Monahans dunes, a complex record dunes, in particular clues concerning the sen- High Plains is found in three west-east±trend- of Pleistocene and Holocene eolian sedimen- sitivity of the sands for remobilization. This ing dune ®elds associated with reentrant val- tation was recognized by Huf®ngton and Al- paper presents the results of that research. For leys in the western escarpment (Fig. 1). From britton (1941) and Green (1961). They corre- a concurrent study of the source areas of the north to south, these sands are in the Mule- lated the deposits using vertebrate faunas, but dunes based on mineralogy and geochemistry, shoe dunes (or sandhills); the informally otherwise had no means for re®ning the geo- see Muhs and Holliday (2001). termed Lea-Yoakum dunes (or Bledsoe chronology. East of the Monahans dunes, ar- dunes); and the informally termed Andrews chaeological stratigraphy, paleontology, and SETTING AND BACKGROUND dunes. An extensive belt of dunes is located soils were used to reconstruct the eolian re- in the Pecos Valley adjacent to the western cord at the Midland archaeological site in the The Southern High Plains, or Llano Esta- escarpment of the High Plains (Fig. 1), called Scharbauer dunes (Wendorf et al., 1955; Wen- cado (``stockaded plains''), is a broad plateau the Mescalero dunes in New Mexico and the dorf and Krieger, 1959). Recent geoarchaeo- covering ;130 000 km2 (Fig. 1). It is an al- Monahans dunes in Texas. logical research in the area re®ned the chro- most featureless plain, historically a prairie of Smaller, isolated dune ®elds and sand sheets nology at the Midland site and also showed perennial short grass (Blair, 1950). Altitudes are also scattered across the southern and that there were at least two local phases of range from 1700 m in the northwest to 750 m southwestern Southern High Plains. A few of eolian sedimentation in the Holocene (Hof- in the southeast.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Possibilities of Using Silicate Rock Powder: an Overview
    GSF-101185; No of Pages 11 Geoscience Frontiers xxx (xxxx) xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Geoscience Frontiers journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/gsf Research Paper Possibilities of using silicate rock powder: An overview Claudete Gindri Ramos a,⁎, James C. Hower c,d, Erika Blanco a, Marcos Leandro Silva Oliveira a,b, Suzi Huff Theodoro e a Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universidad de la Costa, Calle 58 #55-66, Barranquilla, Colombia b Departamento de Ingeniería Civil y Arquitectura, Universidad de Lima, Avenida Javier Prado Este 4600, Santiago de Surco 1503, Peru c Center for Applied Energy Research, University of Kentucky, 2540 Research Park Drive, Lexington, KY 40511, USA d Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40511, USA e Postgraduate Program of Environment and Rural Development (PPG-MADER), Área Universitária, 01, Vila Nossa Senhora de Fátima – Campus UnB, Planaltina, DF, Brazil article info abstract Article history: This study evaluates the on use of crushed rocks (remineralizers) to increase soil fertility levels and which con- Received 15 October 2020 tributed to increase agricultural productivity, recovery of degraded areas, decontamination of water, and carbon Received in revised form 15 February 2021 sequestration. The use of these geological materials is part of the assumptions of rock technology and, indirectly, Accepted 28 February 2021 facilitates the achievement of sustainable development goals related to soil management, climate change, and the Available online xxxx preservation of water resources. Research over the past 50 years on silicate rocks focused on soil fertility manage- Handling editor: Lily Wang ment and agricultural productivity.
    [Show full text]
  • Pleistocene Climate in New Mexico
    [finfERICAN JovnNaI. OF SCIENCE, VOX.. 249, FEBRUARY, 1961, PP. 162-1681 PLEISTOCENE CLIMATE IN NEW MEXICO LUNA B. LEOPOLD ABSTRACT. Recently published meridional profiles of the mean tempera- ture of the free atmosphere provide an opportunity to apply meteorologic upper air data to the problem of snowlines. The modern snowline of the Rocky Mountains is shown to be nearly identical to the mean level of the 0°C. isotherm for the summer months, corroborating the well-known postu- late that snowltines are controlled by summer temperatures. This postulate is applied in speculating on the annual march of temperature in glacial time in New Mexico. The mean annual temperature so derived is applied to the hydrologic balance of a late Pleistocene lake in the closed bwin of Estancia, New Mexico, in an attempt to check the computation for that lake made by Antevs. ine that separates areas of snow accumulation from T'"those lower areas where snow disappears in summer is the regional snowline (Flint, 1947). The Pleistocene snowline dis- cussed here is the approximation furnished by the level of cirque excavation. The altitude of the snowline of Wisconsin time mas approxi- mately 12,000 feet in the southern Rocky Mountains and dc- creased in height northward. Data on the elevations of Wiscon- sin and the present snowlines have been pubIished by mute (1928) and Louis (1926). Depending on how much snow blows over the mountain crest, the snowline on an individual mountain range is not at the same elevation on opposite sides. This was true in Wisconsin time as well as at present and contributes to the difficulties of establishing the exact position of the Wiscon- sin snowline.
    [Show full text]
  • GRE Scoping Summary for White Sands National Monument
    Geologic Resource Evaluation Scoping Summary White Sands National Monument Geologic Resources Division Prepared by Katie KellerLynn National Park Service June 10, 2008 US Department of the Interior The Geologic Resource Evaluation (GRE) Program provides each of 270 identified natural area National Park System units with a geologic scoping meeting and summary (this report), digital geologic map, and geologic resource evaluation report. Geologic scoping meetings generate an evaluation of the adequacy of existing geologic maps for resource management, provide an opportunity to discuss park-specific geologic management issues, and if possible include a site visit with local experts. The purpose of these meetings is to identify geologic mapping coverage and needs, distinctive geologic processes and features, resource management issues, and potential monitoring and research needs. In 2003 the Geologic Resource Division (GRD) coordinated a Geoindicators scoping meeting for White Sands National Monument. This meeting was in response to a technical assistance request from park managers, who wanted input on the geologic resources at White Sands National Monument for their resource management plan. Recognizing that the Geoindicators scoping process could satisfy this request, GRD staff coordinated a scoping meeting with park staff and cooperators (table 1, p. 20). The current Geologic Resource Evaluation Program supercedes the Geoindicators process. On November 14, 2007, GRE staff and cooperators (table 2, p. 20) convened during a follow-up meeting to ensure all features and processes now discussed as part of the GRE process were adequately covered by the preexisting Geoindicators report. Scoping included a field trip led by David Bustos (White Sands National Monument) for some of the participants on November 13, 2007.
    [Show full text]
  • Burned the Crucifixes and Other Religious Objects That Had Been Scattered in and Around the Pueblo. Otermin's Army Repeated This
    burned the crucifixes and other religious objects not successful in reestablishing Spanish rule of that had been scattered in and around the the Pueblos, the interviews and explorations pueblo. Otermin's army repeated this ritual at Otermin and Mendoza conducted give the most Alamillo and Sevilleta. A short distance from complete picture of the effects of the revolt Sevilleta the army found deep pits where the among the pueblos. The Spanish presidio at El Indians had cached corn and protected it with a Paso sent two more punitive expeditions to New shrine of herbs. feathers and a clay vessel Mexico in 1688 and 1689 but it was not until the modeled with a human face and the body of a toad term of Governor Don Diego de Vargas (1690-1696) (Hackett and Shelby 1942:I:cxxix). On the march that New Mexico was reclaimed by Spain. from Socorro to Isleta. the army passed through the burned remains of four estancias. The The Aftermath of the Revolt estancia of Las Barrancas, located 23 leagues beyond Senecu and ten leagues downstream from Documentation of the 12-year period following the Isleta, was the only estancia that had not been Pueblo Revolt is scarce but speculation and greatly vandalized and burned (Hackett and Shelby conjecture abound. The more dramatic recon­ 1942:cxxx). structions of life among the Pueblos after the revolt show the Pueblos having destroyed every Otermin staged a surprise attack, taking Isleta vestige of Hispanic culture, including household Pueblo on December 6, 1681. About 500 Isleta and and religious objects, domesticated animals and Piro Indians were living in the village at the cereal crops.
    [Show full text]
  • PDF Linkchapter
    Index [Italic page numbers indicate major references] Abajo Mountains, 382, 388 Amargosa River, 285, 309, 311, 322, Arkansas River, 443, 456, 461, 515, Abort Lake, 283 337, 341, 342 516, 521, 540, 541, 550, 556, Abies, 21, 25 Amarillo, Texas, 482 559, 560, 561 Abra, 587 Amarillo-Wichita uplift, 504, 507, Arkansas River valley, 512, 531, 540 Absaroka Range, 409 508 Arlington volcanic field, 358 Acer, 21, 23, 24 Amasas Back, 387 Aromas dune field, 181 Acoma-Zuni scction, 374, 379, 391 Ambrose tenace, 522, 523 Aromas Red Sand, 180 stream evolution patterns, 391 Ambrosia, 21, 24 Arroyo Colorado, 395 Aden Crater, 368 American Falls Lava Beds, 275, 276 Arroyo Seco unit, 176 Afton Canyon, 334, 341 American Falls Reservoir, 275, 276 Artemisia, 21, 24 Afton interglacial age, 29 American River, 36, 165, 173 Ascension Parish, Louisana, 567 aggradation, 167, 176, 182, 226, 237, amino acid ash, 81, 118, 134, 244, 430 323, 336, 355, 357, 390, 413, geochronology, 65, 68 basaltic, 85 443, 451, 552, 613 ratios, 65 beds, 127,129 glaciofluvial, 423 aminostratigraphy, 66 clays, 451 Piedmont, 345 Amity area, 162 clouds, 95 aggregate, 181 Anadara, 587 flows, 75, 121 discharge, 277 Anastasia Formation, 602, 642, 647 layer, 10, 117 Agua Fria Peak area, 489 Anastasia Island, 602 rhyolitic, 170 Agua Fria River, 357 Anchor Silt, 188, 198, 199 volcanic, 54, 85, 98, 117, 129, Airport bench, 421, 423 Anderson coal, 448 243, 276, 295, 396, 409, 412, Alabama coastal plain, 594 Anderson Pond, 617, 618 509, 520 Alamosa Basin, 366 andesite, 75, 80, 489 Ash Flat, 364 Alamosa
    [Show full text]
  • OECD Territorial Grids
    BETTER POLICIES FOR BETTER LIVES DES POLITIQUES MEILLEURES POUR UNE VIE MEILLEURE OECD Territorial grids August 2021 OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities Contact: [email protected] 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3 Territorial level classification ...................................................................................................................... 3 Map sources ................................................................................................................................................. 3 Map symbols ................................................................................................................................................ 4 Disclaimers .................................................................................................................................................. 4 Australia / Australie ..................................................................................................................................... 6 Austria / Autriche ......................................................................................................................................... 7 Belgium / Belgique ...................................................................................................................................... 9 Canada ......................................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • White Sands National Monument Geologic Resources Inventory Report
    National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Stewardship and Science White Sands National Monument Geologic Resources Inventory Report Natural Resource Report NPS/NRSS/GRD/NRR—2012/585 ON THE COVER White Sands National Monument contains a portion of the largest gypsum dune field in the world. At sunset, the white, gypsum sand appears pink and purple as the sun sets over the San Andres Mountains. Photograph by Katie KellerLynn (Colorado State University). THIS PAGE Modern-day Lake Lucero is a large playa (ephemeral lake) that formed in the sediments of ancient Lake Otero. When the playa is covered with water, waves along the shoreline break down the sediments, making them available for eolian transport to the dune field. Photograph by Anna Szykiewicz (University of Texas at El Paso). White Sands National Monument Geologic Resources Inventory Report Natural Resource Report NPS/NRSS/GRD/NRR—2012/585 National Park Service Geologic Resources Division PO Box 25287 Denver, CO 80225 October 2012 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Fort Collins, Colorado The National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science office in Fort Collins, Colorado publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Natural Resource Report Series is used to disseminate high-priority, current natural resource management information with managerial application. The series targets a general, diverse audience, and may contain NPS policy considerations or address sensitive issues of management applicability.
    [Show full text]
  • Estanoia. Valley, New Mexico
    DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIEECTOE WATER-STIPPILY PAPER 275 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES OF ESTANOIA. VALLEY, NEW MEXICO WITH NOTES ON GROUND-WATER CONDITIONS IN ADJACENT PARTS OF CENTRAL NEW MEXICO BY OSCAR E. MEINZER WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1911 CONTENTS. GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES OF ESTANCIA VALLEY. Page. Introduction................................................................ 7 Location and area....................................................... 7 Geographic relations................ I................................... 8 Development.......................................................... 8 Field work............................................................. 8 Physiography.............................................................. 8 Mountains, hills, and mesas ............................................. 8 Alluvial slopes and arroyos............................................... 10 Ancient lake bed........................................................ 10 Salt basins and clay hills................................................. 11 Geology.................................................................... 11 Rock formations.......................,................................... 11 Metamorphic and igneous rocks....................................... 11 Carboniferous rocks.................................................. 12 Cretaceous rocks..................................................... 15 Valley fill..............................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Prolonged Wet Period in the Southwestern United States Through the Younger Dryas
    Prolonged wet period in the southwestern United States through the Younger Dryas Victor J. Polyak* Jessica B.T. Rasmussen Yemane Asmerom Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131, USA ABSTRACT The Younger Dryas was one of the more dramatic climatic transitions ever recorded. How these types of climatic shifts are expressed in continental interiors is of primary scienti®c interest and of vital societal concern. Here we present a speleothem-based ab- solutely dated record (using uranium-series data) of climate change for the southwestern United States from growth chronology of multiple speleothems. The stalagmite growth represents the onset of wetter climate (12,500 yr B.P.) soon after the start of the Younger Dryas; the wetter climate persisted a millennium beyond the termination of the Younger Dryas. This wet cycle is likely related to a more southern positioning of the polar jet stream in response to cooler Northern Hemisphere climate. The end of the wet period coincides with the peak of the Holocene summer insolation maximum ca. 10,500 yr B.P. The AÊ llerùd (prior to the Younger Dryas), which corresponds to Clovis occupation in the southwestern United States, was drier in comparison and seems in line with a climatic contribution to megafauna extinction. Keywords: Carlsbad Caverns, stalagmite, paleoclimate, U-series, Younger Dryas. INTRODUCTION six small stalagmites from three caves in the fore present (yr B.P.; present is A.D. 2002). The Younger Dryas climatic event repre- Guadalupe Mountains, southeastern New Images of samples and tabulated U-series data sents the last episode in which North Atlantic Mexico (Fig.
    [Show full text]
  • In Pluvial Lakes of the Estancia Valley, Central New Mexico: Discussion and Reply
    The occurrence and paleolimnologic significance of cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki) in pluvial lakes of the Estancia Valley, central New Mexico: Discussion and reply Discussion ROBERT J BEHNKE 1 T TIT A TTO f Department of Fishery and Wildlife Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523 WARKEN J. rLAI IS ) F. W. Bachhuber's (1989) review of the pluvial lakes of the Estancia Therefore, whenever the cutthroat trout is the only fish species com- Valley in central New Mexico will surely provoke renewed interest in the mon to two neighboring basins, the most parsimonious interpretation is Quaternary history of the eastern extensional basins and in the use of that a high-elevation headwater stream capture involving only cutthroat fresh-water fish faunas for the interpretation of paleohydrology. With trout caused the observed pattern. A lake overflow generally implies a respect to Bachhuber's overflow model of pluvial Early Lake Estancia, lower-elevation event which should allow more fish species to disperse. however, we believe Bachhuber has overestimated the significance of ap- In conclusion, Bachhuber's overflow model of Estancia Valley his- parent Rio Grande cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki virginalis) fossils tory must await other kinds of confirmation besides the presence of cut- found in the sediments of Late Lake Estancia as evidence in support of an throat trout as the only fish fossil to be found in the Lake Estancia earlier overflow into the Pecos River watershed. Indeed, the apparent sediments. One of Bachhuber's explanations for the absence of other fish absence of any other fish species should be taken as evidence against a late species from Late Lake Estancia—that other fish species could not survive Pleistocene overflow.
    [Show full text]
  • North American Geology
    DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR BULLETIN 524 NORTH AMERICAN GEOLOGY FOR 1911 WITH SUBJECT INDEX BY JOHN M. NICKLES WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1912 CONTENTS. Page. Introduction.............................................................. 5 Serials examined.......................................................... 6 Bibliography............................................................. 11 Classified scheme of subject headings............................'............ 103 Index.................................................................... 105 Lists......... ............................................................ 144 Chemical analyses.................................................... 144 Minerals described.................................................... 144 Rocks described...................................................... 145 Geologic formations described........................................... 146 3 BIBLIOGRAPHY OF NORTH AMERICAN GEOLOGY FOR 1911, WITH SUBJECT INDEX. By JOHN M. NICKLES. INTRODUCTION. The bibliography of North American geology, including paleon­ tology, petrology, and mineralogy, for the year 1911 follows the plan and arrangement of its immediate predecessors, the bibliographies for 1906-7, 1908, 1909, and 1910 (Bulletins 372, 409, 444, and 495 of the U. S. Geological Survey). It includes publications bearing on the geology of the Continent of North America and adjoining islands, also Panama and the Hawaiian Islands. Papers by American
    [Show full text]
  • Rise and Fall of Late Pleistocene Pluvial Lakes in Response to Reduced Evaporation and Precipitation: Evidence from Lake Surprise, California
    Geological Society of America Bulletin, published online on 2 June 2014 as doi:10.1130/B31014.1 Rise and fall of late Pleistocene pluvial lakes in response to reduced evaporation and precipitation: Evidence from Lake Surprise, California Daniel E. Ibarra1,†, Anne E. Egger2, Karrie L. Weaver1, Caroline R. Harris1, and Kate Maher1 1Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA 2Department of Geological Science, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington 98926, USA ABSTRACT ulations corroborate these fi ndings, simulat- using a new lacustrine paleoclimate record from ing an average precipitation increase of only Surprise Valley, California, we reconcile how Widespread late Pleistocene lake sys- 6.5% relative to modern, accompanied by a different factors, namely, the competing infl u- tems of the Basin and Range Province in- 28% decrease in total evaporation driven by ences of solar insolation and increased precipi- dicate substantially greater moisture avail- a 7 °C decrease in mean annual temperature. tation, infl uenced Pleistocene lakes in the Basin ability during glacial periods relative to LGM PMIP3 climate model simulations also and Range during the last deglaciation. Surprise modern times, but the climatic factors that suggest a seasonal decoupling of runoff and Valley was chosen because it is located in an drive changes in lake levels are poorly con- precipitation, with peak runoff shifting to important climatic transition between the more strained. To better constrain these climatic the late spring–early summer from the late arid Basin and Range Province and the wetter factors, we present a new lacustrine paleo- winter–early spring. Pacifi c Northwest.
    [Show full text]