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Climatic/Hydrologic Oscillations since 155,000 yr B.P. at Owens Lake, California, Reflected in Abundance and Stable Isotope Composition of Sediment Carbonate

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Kirsten M. Menking ,
James L. Bischoff ,
John A. Fitzpatrick ,
James W. Burdette  and
Robert O. Rye
Kirsten M. Menking
Affiliation:
Earth Sciences Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, 95064
James L. Bischoff
Affiliation:
U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California, 94025
John A. Fitzpatrick
Affiliation:
U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California, 94025
James W. Burdette
Affiliation:
U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado, 80225
Robert O. Rye
Affiliation:
U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado, 80225
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Abstract

Sediment grain size, carbonate content, and stable isotopes in 70-cm-long (∼1500-yr) channel samples from Owens Lake core OL-92 record many oscillations representing climate change in the eastern Sierra Nevada region since 155,000 yr B.P. To first order, the records match well the marine δ18O record. At Owens Lake, however, the last interglaciation appears to span the entire period from 120,000 to 50,000 yr B.P., according to our chronology, and was punctuated by numerous short periods of wetter conditions during an otherwise dry climate. Sediment proxies reveal that the apparent timing of glacial–interglacial transitions, notably the penultimate one, is proxy-dependent. In the grain-size and carbonate-content records this transition is abrupt and occurs at ∼120,000 yr B.P. In contrast, in the isotopic records the transition is gradual and occurs between 145,000 and 120,000 yr B.P. Differences in timing of the transition are attributed to variable responses by proxies to climate change.

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 48 , Issue 1 , July 1997 , pp. 58 - 68
Copyright
University of Washington

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