Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T19:30:23.615Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Improving in Situ Cosmogenic Chronometers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Douglas H. Clark ,
Paul R. Bierman  and
Patrick Larsen
Douglas H. Clark
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195
Paul R. Bierman
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont 05405
Patrick Larsen
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont 05405
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

New radiocarbon ages for Sierra Nevada deglaciation, the first 10 Be measurements from the Laurentide terminal moraine, and calculations based on paleomagnetic field strength have the potential to substantially improve the accuracy of cosmogenic age estimates. Specifically, three new constraints apply to the interpretation of measured abundances of in situ produced cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al: (1) A suite of minimum-limiting radiocarbon dates indicates that the Sierra Nevada was deglaciated at least several thousand years earlier than assumed when Nishiizumi et al. (1989) first calibrated 10Be and 26 Al production rates based on polished bedrock surfaces in the range, with retreat beginning by 18,000 cal yr B.P. and completed by 13,000 cal yr B.P. (2) Concentrations of 10Be in moraine boulders and glacier-polished bedrock in New Jersey show little variance (10%, 1σ) and can be used to calculate a preliminary 10Be production rate (integrated over the past 21,000-22,000 cal yr B.P. at 41°, 200-300 m altitude) that is about 20% lower than currently accepted. (3) Calculations of the effect of past geomagnetic field-strength variations on production rates suggest that the use of temporally averaged production rates may generate age errors of >20%; however, cosmogenic exposure ages can be corrected for this effect, although the corrections currently are imprecise. Many previously reported late-Pleistocene 10Be and 26Al exposure ages are probably too young and are less accurate and less precise than implied by reported uncertainties. The discrepancy between accepted production rates and those calculated from Laurentide exposures, when considered together with the Sierran deglacial chronology and the model results, suggest that correlations between cosmogenic and other numerical ages, especially for brief events like the Younger Dryas and Heinrich events, will not be robust until temporal variations and the altitude/latitude scaling of production rates are fully understood and quantified at levels comparable to current analytic uncertainties (∼3%).

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 44 , Issue 3 , November 1995 , pp. 367 - 377
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adam, D. P. (1967). Late Pleistocene and recent palynology in the central Sierra Nevada, California, in “Quaternary Paleoecology” (Cushing, E. J. and Wright, H. E. Jr., Eds.), pp. 275–301. Yale Univ. Press, New Haven.Google Scholar
Adam, D. P. (1985). Quaternary pollen records from California. In “Pollen Records of Late-Quaternary North American Sediments” (Bryant, V. M. Jr. and Holloway, R. G., Eds.), pp. 125–140. AASP Foundation, Dallas.Google Scholar
Anderson, S. R. (1990). Holocene forest development and paleoclimates within the central Sierra Nevada, California. Journal of Ecology 78 , 470–489.Google Scholar
Bard, E. Hamelin, B. Fairbanks, R. G., and Zindler, A. (1990). Calibration of the 14C timescale over the past 30,000 years using mass spectrometric U-Th ages from Barbados corals. Nature 348 , 405–410.Google Scholar
Batchelder, G. L. (1980). A Late Wisconsin and early Holocene lacustrine statigraphy and pollen record from the west slope of the Sierra Nevada, California. American Quaternary Association, Abstracts and Program 6 , 13.Google Scholar
Bierman, P. R. (1994). Using in situ cosmogenic isolopes to estimate rates of landscape evolution: A review from the geomorphic perspective. Journal of Geophysical Research 99 , 13885–13896.Google Scholar
Bierman, P. R., and Gillespie, A. R. (1991). Range fires: A significant factor in exposure-age determination and geomorphic surface evolution. Geology 19 , 641–644.Google Scholar
Birman, J. H. (1964). Glacial geology across the crest of the Sierra Nevada, California. Geological Society of America Special Paper 75 , 80.Google Scholar
Brown, E. T. Bourles, D. L. Colin, F. Raisbeck, G. M. Yiou, F., and Desgarceaux, S. (1995). Evidence for muon-induced production of 10Be in near surface rocks from the Congo. Geophysical Research Letters 22 , 703–706.Google Scholar
Burke, R. M., and Birkeland, P. W. (1983). Holocene glaciation in the mountain ranges of the western United States. In “Late-Quaternary Environments of the United States, Vol. 2, The Holocene” (Wright, H. E. Jr., Ed.), pp. 3–11. Univ. Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.Google Scholar
Cerling, T. E., and Craig, H. (1994a). Geomorphology and in situ cosmogenic isolopes. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Science 22 , 273–317.Google Scholar
Cerling, T. and Craig, H. (1994b). Cosmogenic 3He production rates from 39°N to 46°N latitude, western USA and France, Geochimica et Costmochimica Acta 58 , 249–255.Google Scholar
Clark, D. H. Clark, M. M., and Gillespie, A. R. (1994). Debris-covered glaciers in the Sierra Nevada, California, and their implications for snowline reconstructions. Quaternary Research 41 , 139–153.Google Scholar
Clark, D. H., and Gillespie, A. R. (1994). A new interpretation for late-glacial and Holocene glaciation in the Sierra Nevada, California, and its implications for regional paleoclimate reconstructions. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 26, A447.Google Scholar
Clark, D. H., and Gillespie, A. R. (in press). Timing and significance of lateglacial and Holocene cirque glaciation in the Sierra Nevada, California. Quaternary International. Google Scholar
Clark, M. M. (1976). Evidence for rapid destruction of latest Pleistocene glaciers of the Sierra Nevada, California. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 8 , 361–362.Google Scholar
Clark, P. U., and Bartlein, P. J. (1995). Correlation of late Pleistocene glaciation in the western United States with North Atlantic Heinrich events. Geology 23 , 483–486.Google Scholar
Cotter, J. F. (1984). “The Minimum age of the Woodfordian Deglaciation of Northeastern Pennsylvania and Northwestern New Jersey.” Ph.D. dissertation, Lehigh University.Google Scholar
Davis, P. T. (1988). Holocene glacier fluctuations in the American Cordillera. Quaternary Science Reviews 7 , 129–158.Google Scholar
Easterbrook, D. (1994). Evidence for abrupt Late Wisconsin climatic changes during deglaciation of the Cordilleran ice sheet in Washington. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 26 , A511–A512.Google Scholar
Edlund, E. (1993). “Bunker Lake Paleoecological Analysis, Final Report.” BioSystems Analysis, Inc., CA.Google Scholar
Edlund, E. G., and Byrne, R. (1991). Climate, fire, and Late Quaternary vegetation change in the central Sierra Nevada. In “Fire and the Environment: Ecological and Cultural Perspectives, Proceedings of an International Symposium” (Nodvin, S. C. and Waldrop, T. A, Eds.), pp. 390–396. USDA Forest Service, Southeast Forest Experimental Station General Technical Report SE-69.Google Scholar
Evenson, E. B. Cotter, J. F. Ridge, J. C. Sevon, W. D. Sirkin, L., and Struckenrath, R. (1983). The mode and chronology of deglaciation of the Great Valley, northwestern New Jersey. Geological Society of America Abstracts and Programs 18 , 133.Google Scholar
Evenson, E. B. Klein, J. Lawn, B. Middleton, R., and Gosse, J. (1994). Glacial chronology of the Wind River Mountains from measurements of cosmogenic radionuclides in boulders. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 26 , A-511.Google Scholar
Gosse, J. C. Evenson, E. B. Klein, Lawn, B. Dezfouly-Arjomandy, B., and Middleton, R. (1993). Application of exposure ages to reconstruct glacial histories at the Pinedale type-locafity, Wyoming. EOS Transactions AGU 74, 84.Google Scholar
Gosse, J. C. Klein, J. Evenson, E. B. Lawn, B., and Middleton, R. (1995). Beryllium-10 dating of the duration and retreat of the last Pinedale glacial sequence. Science 268 , 1329–1333.Google Scholar
Hallet, B., and Putkonen, J. (1994). Surface dating of dynamic landforms: Young boulders on aging moraines. Science 265, 937–940.Google ScholarPubMed
Kurz, M. D. Colodner, D. Trull, T. W. Moore, R., and O’Brien, K. (1990). Cosmic ray exposure dating with in situ produced cosmogenic 3He: Results from young Hawaiian lava flows. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 97, 177–189.Google Scholar
Lai, D. (1991). Cosmic ray labeling of erosion surfaces: In situ production rates and erosion models. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 104 , 424–439.Google Scholar
Lai, D., and Arnold, J. R. (1985). Tracing quartz through the environment. Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Science (Earth and Planetary Science) 94 , 1–5.Google Scholar
Macchiaroli, P. Klein, J. Middleton, R., and Lawn, B. (1994). Late Quaternary glaciation of exposed rock surfaces along a ridge of Appalachian Mountains, dated using 26A1 and 10Be produced in situ. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 26 , AI25.Google Scholar
Matsch, C. L. (1987). Retreat of the southern margin of the Laurentide ice sheet. International Union for Quaternary Research XII, 221.Google Scholar
Mazaud, A. Laj, C. Bard, E. Arnold, M., and Trie, E. (1991). Geomagnetic field control of 14C production over the last 80 ky: implications for the radiocarbon time scale. Geophysical Research Letters 18 , 1885–1888.Google Scholar
McCuaig, S. J. Shifts, W.W. Evenson, E.B., and Klein, J. (1994). Use of cosmogenic 10Be and 26A1 for determining glacial history of the South Bylot Island and Salmon River lowlands, N.W.T., Canada. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 26, A127.Google Scholar
McElhinny, M. W., and Senanayake, W. E. (1982). Variations in the geomagnetic dipole I: The past 50,000 years. Journal of Geomagnetism and Geoelectricity 34 , 39–51.Google Scholar
Merrill, R. T., and McElhinny, M. W, (1983). “The Earth’s Magnetic Field, Its History, Origin and Planetary Perspective.” Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Meynadier, L. Valet, J. P. Weeks, R. Shackelton, N., and Hagee, V. L. (1992). Relative geomagnetic intensity of the field during the last 140 ka. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 114, 39–57.Google Scholar
Mezger, L., and Burbank, D. (1986). The glacial history of the Cottonwood Lakes area, southeastern Sierra Nevada. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 18 , 157.Google Scholar
Nishiizumi, K. Kohl, C. P. Arnold, J. R. Dorn, R. I. Klein, J. Fink, D. Middleton, R., and Lai, D, (1993). Role of in situ cosmogenic nuclides l0Be and 26A1 in the study of diverse geomorphic processes. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 18 , 407–425.Google Scholar
Nishiizumi, K. Kohl, C. P. Shoemaker, E. M. Arnold, J. R. Klein, J. Fink, D., and Middleton, R. (1991). In situ l0Be-2SAI exposure ages at Meteor Crater, Arizona. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 55 , 2699–2703.Google Scholar
Nishiizumi, K. Winterer, E. L. Kohl, C. P. Klein, J. Middleton, R. Lai, D., and Arnold, J. R. (1989). Cosmic ray production rates of l0Be and 26A1 in quart! from glacially polished rocks. Journal of Geophysical Research 94 , 17907–17915.Google Scholar
Oldale, R., and Stone, B. D. (1987). The late Wisconsinan glaciation of southern New England, international Union for Quaternary Research XIII 12, 234.Google Scholar
Phillips, F. Zreda, M., and Elmore, D. (1993). A recalibration of cosmogenic chlorine-36 production rates using lava flow samples from the western Snake River Plain volcanic field. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 25, A373.Google Scholar
Phillips, F. M., and Zreda, M. G. (1992). Late Quaternary glacial history of the Sierra Nevada from cosmogenic 36C1 dating of moraines at Bishop Creek. EOS Transactions AGU 73, 186.Google Scholar
Phillips, F. M. Zreda, M. G. Smith, S. S. Elmore, D Kubik, P. W., and Sharma, P. (1990). Cosmogenic Chlorine-36 chronology for glacial deposits at Bloody Canyon, eastern Sierra Nevada. Science 248, 1529–1532.Google ScholarPubMed
Raisbeck, G. Yiou, Y., and Zhou, S. Z. (1994). Paleointensity puzzle. Nature 371 , 207–208.Google Scholar
Sirkin, L. A. (1977). Late Pleistocene vegetation and environments in the Middle Atlantic region. In “Amerinds and their paleoenvironments in northeastern North America” (Newman, W. S. and Salwen, B., Eds.) 288, pp. 206–217. New York Academy of Science Annals, New York.Google Scholar
Smith, S. and Anderson, R. S. (1992). Late Wisconsin paleoecological record from Swamp Lake, Yosemite National Park, California. Quaternary Research 38 , 91–102.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M. Braziunas, T. F. Becker, B., and Kromer, B. (1991). Climatic, solar, oceanic, and geomagnetic influences on late-glacial and Holocene atmospheric l4C/12C change. Quaternary Research 35 , 1–24.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M., and Reimer, P. J. (1993). Extended l4C database and revised CAL1B radiocarbon calibration program. Radiocarbon 35 , 215–230.Google Scholar
Stone, B. (1995). Progress toward higher resolution of the late Wisconsin glaciation sidereal chronology of the New England region, 30 to 13 ka. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 27 , 84.Google Scholar
Sutton, S. R. (1985). Thermoluminescence measurements on shockmetamorphosed sandstone and dolomite from Meteor Crater, Arizona I. Thermoluminescence age of Meteor Crater. Journal of Geophysical Research 90 , 3690–3700.Google Scholar
Wahrhaftig, C., and Birman, J. H. (1965). The Quaternary of the Pacific mountain system. In “The Quaternary of the United States” (Wright, H. E. Jr. and Frey, D. G., Eds.), pp. 299–340. Princeton Univ. Press, New Jersey.Google Scholar
Weeks, R. J. Laj, C. Endignoux, L. Mazaud, A. Labeyrie, L. Roberts, A. P. Kissel, C., and Blanchard, E. (1995). Normalized natural remnant magnetization intensity during the last 240,000 years in piston cores from the central North Atlantic Ocean: Geomagnetic field intensity or environmental signal? Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors 87 , 213–229.Google Scholar
Yokoyama, Y. Reyss, J. and Guichard, F. (1977). Production of radionuclides by cosmic rays at mountain altitudes. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 36, 44–50.Google Scholar
Zreda, M. G. Phillips, F. M. Elmore, D. Kubik, P. W. Sharma, P., and Dorn, R. I. (1991). Cosmogenic chlorine-36 production rates in terrestrial rocks. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 105 , 94–109.Google Scholar