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Lacustrine evidence for moisture changes in the Nebraska Sand Hills during Marine Isotope Stage 3

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Kimberly C. Jacobs ,
Sherilyn C. Fritz  and
James B. Swinehart
Kimberly C. Jacobs
Affiliation:
Department of Geosciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588-0340, USA
Sherilyn C. Fritz*
Affiliation:
Department of Geosciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588-0340, USA School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
James B. Swinehart
Affiliation:
Department of Geosciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588-0340, USA School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
*
⁎Corresponding author. Department of Geosciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588-0340, USA. Fax: +1 402 472 4917. E-mail address:sfritz2@unl.edu (S.C. Fritz).
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Abstract

In the central Great Plains of North America, loess stratigraphy suggests that climate during the late Pleistocene was cold and dry. However, this record is discontinuous, and there are few other records of late-Pleistocene conditions. Cobb Basin, located on the northern edge of the Nebraska Sand Hills, contains lacustrine sediments deposited during Marine Isotope Stage 3, beginning approximately 45,000 cal yr BP and continuing for at least 10,000 yr. The lake was formed by a dune dam blockage on the ancient Niobrara River, and its deposits contain a diatom record that indicates changes through time in lake depth driven by changes in effective moisture. During the earliest stages of lake formation, the climate was arid enough to mobilize dunes and emplace dune sand into a blocking position within the Niobrara streambed. Diatom assemblages suggest that lake-level was shallow at formation, increased substantially during a wet interval, and then became shallow again, as arid conditions resumed. By about 27,000 cal yr BP the lake was filled, and a shallow ephemeral river occupied the basin.

Keywords

PleistoceneCentral Great PlainsPaleoclimatePaleolakePaleolimnologyDiatomsDune dam
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 67 , Issue 2 , March 2007 , pp. 246 - 254
Copyright
University of Washington

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