Skip to main content
×
×
Home

New optically stimulated luminescence ages provide evidence of MIS3 and MIS2 eolian activity on Black Mesa, northeastern Arizona, USA

  • Amy L. Ellwein (a1), Shannon A. Mahan (a2) and Leslie D. McFadden (a3)
Abstract

Eolian deposition on the semiarid southern Colorado Plateau has been attributed to episodic aridity during the Quaternary Period. However, OSL ages from three topographically controlled (e.g. falling) dunes on Black Mesa in northeastern Arizona indicate that eolian sediments there were deposited in deep tributary valleys as early as 35–30 ka, with most sand deposited before 20 ka. In contrast, the oldest OSL ages for sand sheets fall within the Pleistocene-Holocene climatic transition (~ 12–8 ka). Thus most eolian sediment accumulated on Black Mesa under climatic conditions that were in general cooler, moister, and more variable than today, not more arid, pointing to a considerable increase in sediment supply.

Copyright
Corresponding author
Corresponding author. Department of Natural and Environmental Sciences, 224 Hurst Hall, Western State College of Colorado, Gunnison, CO 81231, USA. Fax: +1 970 943 7120.
E-mail address: aellwein@western.edu (A.L. Ellwein).
References
Hide All
Anderson, R.S., Betancourt, J.L., Mead, J.I., Hevly, R.H., and Adam, D.P. Middle- and late-Wisconsin paleobotanic and paleoclimate records from the southern Colorado Plateau, USA. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 155, (2000). 3157.
Billingsley, G.H. Geology and geomorphology of the southwestern Moenkopi Plateau and southern Ward Terrace, Arizona, U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1672. (1987). 18 pp.
Birkeland, P.W. Soils and Geomorphology. 3rd Ed (1999). Oxford Press, 430 pp.
Breed, C.S., and Breed, W.J. Dunes and other windforms of Central Australia, and a comparison with linear dunes on the Moenkopi Plateau, Arizona. Apollo-Souyez Test Project Summary Science Report, v. 2, Earth Observations and Photography. El-Baz, F., Warner, D.M. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Special Publication 412, (1979). 319358.
Broecker, W.S. Abrupt climate change: causal constraints provided by the paleoclimate record. Earth Science Reviews 51, (2000). 137154.
Chase, B. Evaluating the use of dune sediments as a proxy for palaeo-aridity: a southern African case study. Earth Science Reviews 93, (2009). 3145.
Clarke, M.L., and Rendell, H.M. Climate change impacts on sand supply and the formation of desert sand dunes in the south-west U.S.A. Journal of Arid Environments 39, (1998). 517531.
COHMAP members Climatic changes of the last 18, 000 years: observations and model simulations. Science 241, (1988). 10431052.
Fryberger, S.G., and Dean, G. Dune Forms and Wind Regimes. A Study of Global Sand Seas. McKee, E.D. US Geological Survey Professional Paper 1052, (1979). 137169.
Hack, J.T. Dunes of the western Navajo Country:. Geographical Review 31, (1941). 240263.
Hack, J.T. The Changing Physical Environment of the Hopi Indians of Arizona. Papers of the Peabody Museum 35, no. 1, (1942). Harvard University, Cambridge.
Karlstrom, E.T. Late Quaternary landscape history and geoarchaeology of two drainages on Black Mesa, northeastern Arizona, USA. Geoarchaeology 20, 1 (2005). 128.
Karlstrom, E.T., and Karlstrom, T.N.V. Late Quaternary alluvial stratigraphy and soils of the Black Mesa—Little Colorado River Areas, northern Arizona. Nations, J.D., Conway, C.M., and Swann, G.A. Geology of Central and Northern Arizona. (1986). Geological Society of America, Rocky Mountain Section Guidebook. 7192.
Kocurek, G., and Lancaster, N. Aeolian system sediment state: theory and Mojave Desert Kelso dune field example. Sedimentology 46, (1999). 505515.
Lancaster, N., and Tchakerian, V.P. Geomorphology and sediments of sand ramps in the Mojave Desert. Geomorphology 17, (1996). 151165.
Machette, M.N. Calcic soils of the southwestern United States. Weide, D.L. Soils and Quaternary Geology of the Southwestern United States, Geological Society of America Special Paper 203, (1985). 121.
Mahan, S.A., and Brown, D.J. An optical age chronology of late Quaternary extreme flood events recorded in Ugandan dambo soils. Quaternary Geochronology 2, (2006). 174180.
McFadden, L.D., and McAuliffe, J.R. Lithologically influenced geomorphic responses to Holocene climatic changes in the southern Colorado Plateau, Arizona: a soil-geomorphic and ecologic perspective. Geomorphology 19, (1997). 303332.
Muhs, D.R., and Holliday, V.T. Evidence of active dune sand on the Great Plains in the 19th century from accounts of early explorers. Quaternary Research 43, (1995). 198208.
Murray, A.S., and Olley, J.M. Precision and accuracy in the optically stimulated luminescence dating of sedimentary quartz: a status review. Geochronometria 21, (2002). 116.
Murray, A.S., and Wintle, A.G. Luminescence dating of quartz using an improved single-aliquot regenerative-dose protocol. Radiation Measurements 32, (2000). 5773.
Overpeck, J.T., and Cole, J.E. Abrupt change in Earth's climate system. Annual Review of Environment and Resources 31, (2006). 132.
Pigati, J.S., Bright, J.E., Shanahan, T.M., and Mahan, S.A. Late Pleistocene paleohydrology near the boundary of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts, southeastern Arizona, USA. Quaternary Science Reviews 28, (2009). 286300.
Reheis, M.C., Reynolds, R.L., Goldstein, H., Roberts, H.M., Yount, J.C., Axford, Y., Cummings, L.S., and Shearin, N. Late Quaternary eolian and alluvial response to paleoclimate, Canyonlands, southeastern Utah. Geological Society of America Bulletin v. 117, n. 7/8, (2005). 10511069.
Rendell, H.M., and Sheffer, N.L. Luminescence dating of sand ramps in the Eastern Mojave Desert. Geomorphology 17, (1996). 187197.
Stokes, S., and Breed, C.S. A chronostratigraphic re-evaluation of the Tusayan Dunes, Moenkopi Plateau and southern Ward Terrace, northeastern Arizona. The dynamics and environmental context of aeolian sedimentary systems. Pye, K. Geological Society Special Publication No. 72, (1993). 7590.
Wagner, J.D.M., Cole, J.E., Beck, J.W., Patchett, P.J., Henderson, G.M., and Barnett, H.R. Moisture variability in the southwestern United States linked to abrupt glacial climate change. Nature Geoscience 3, (2010). 110113.
Wells, S.G., McFadden, L.D., and Schultz, J.D. Eolian landscape evolution and soil formation in the Chaco dune field, southern Colorado Plateau, New Mexico. Geomorphology 3, (1990). 517546.
Weng, C., and Jackson, S.T. Late glacial and Holocene vegetation history and paleoclimate of the Kaibab Plateau, Arizona. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 153, (1999). 179201.
Western Regional Climate Center (WRCC), Western U.S. Historical Summaries for individual stations. accessed September 22, (2009). Available on-line at [http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/CLIMATEDATA.html] from the Desert Research Institute, Reno Nevada, USA.
Wintle, A.G., and Murray, A.S. A review of quartz optically stimulated luminescence characteristics and their relevance in single-aliquot regeneration dating protocols. Radiation Measurements 41, (2006). 369391.
Recommend this journal

Email your librarian or administrator to recommend adding this journal to your organisation's collection.

Quaternary Research
  • ISSN: 0033-5894
  • EISSN: 1096-0287
  • URL: /core/journals/quaternary-research
Please enter your name
Please enter a valid email address
Who would you like to send this to? *
×

Keywords:

Type Description Title
WORD
Supplementary materials

Ellwein et al. Supplementary Material
Supplementary Material

 Word (25 KB)
25 KB

Metrics

Full text views

Total number of HTML views: 0
Total number of PDF views: 5 *
Loading metrics...

Abstract views

Total abstract views: 50 *
Loading metrics...

* Views captured on Cambridge Core between 20th January 2017 - 12th June 2018. This data will be updated every 24 hours.