Rise and fall of late Pleistocene pluvial lakes in response to reduced evaporation and precipitation: Evidence from Lake Surprise, California

Ibarra, Daniel E.; Egger, Anne E.; Weaver, K. L.; Harris, Caroline R.; Maher, Kate

doi:10.1130/b31014.1

Cited by 85 publications

(111 citation statements)

References 162 publications

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“…The most distinct feature of Great Basin lake records is widespread lake expansion following the discharge of icebergs in the North Atlantic during HS1 (Fig. 6; Munroe and Laabs, 2013;Benson et al, 2013;Ibarra et al, 2014). There is some evidence that the climate of HS1 in western North America can be divided into two distinct phases.…”

Section: Regional Climate Change During the Last Deglaciationmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…We note here that BL is ventilated during the cold winter months, during which drip rates also increase substantially. Monthly measurements of rain and drip water d 18 O at Black Chasm Cavern documented that rainwater d 18 O is significantly positively correlated with surface air temperature, but shows no significant relationship (Vacco et al, 2005); LS ¼ Lake Surprise (Ibarra et al, 2014): LL: Lake Lahontan (Benson et al, 1995;Adams et al, 2008); LF ¼ Lake Franklin (Munroe and Laabs, 2013); LB ¼ Lake Bonneville (McGee et al, 2012); MC ¼ Moaning Cave; ML ¼ McLean's Cave; SL ¼ Swamp Lake (Street et al, 2012); LV ¼ Leviathan (Lachniet et al, 2014); LEL ¼ Lake Elsinore (Kirby et al, 2013); COB ¼ Cave of the Bells (Wagner et al, 2010); LE ¼ Lake Estancia (Broecker and Putnam, 2012); FS ¼ Fort Stanton Cave (Asmerom et al, 2010). B) Location of McLean's Cave (ML; 38 4.20 0 N, 120 25.20W; elevation of 300 m above sea level) in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada with location of Black Chasm Cavern (BL; Oster et al, 2012) and Moaning Cave (MC; Oster et al, 2009 (Oster et al, 2012).…”

Section: Site and Sample Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…McGee et al, 2012;Broecker and Putnam, 2012;Munroe and Laabs, 2013;Benson et al, 2013;Ibarra et al, 2014;Reheis et al, 2014) and speleothems (Fig. 6) (Polyak et al, 2004(Polyak et al, , 2012Oster et al, 2009;Wagner et al, 2010;Asmerom et al, 2010;Feng et al, 2014).…”

Section: Regional Climate Change During the Last Deglaciationmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Stalagmite records of hydroclimate in central California during termination 1

Oster

Montañez

Santare

et al. 2015

Quaternary Science Reviews

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a b s t r a c tThe last deglaciation is marked by large and abrupt hydroclimatic changes in the Great Basin and the American Southwest. However, comparatively little is known about how hydroclimate varied on the western side of the Sierra Nevada. We present new evidence for abrupt changes in precipitation amount in the central Sierra Nevada during the last deglaciation. Our new record from McLean's Cave overlaps with a previously published record from nearby Moaning Cave (Oster et al., 2009), and extends the record of hydroclimatic change in the region through Heinrich Stadial 1. McLean's Cave speleothem d 18 O, d 13 C, Mg/Ca, and Sr/Ca indicate a shift to drier conditions at the beginning of Heinrich Stadial 1 from 16.1to 17.5 ka followed by wetter conditions at the end of Heinrich Stadial 1 when the majority of Great Basin lakes reached their deglacial highstands. During the last deglaciation, coincident shifts in the Moaning and McLean's Cave proxy records indicate drier conditions in the western Sierra Nevada during millennial-scale intervals of warming at high latitudes such as the B€ olling and Aller€ od, and wetter conditions during cooler intervals such as the Older and Younger Dryas. Thus, the Sierra Nevada speleothem records are consistent with other regional records that document increased winter rainfall during millennial-scale cold periods of the last deglaciation. However, regional differences exist in the hydroclimatic response to the Younger Dryas, with central Californian and interior southwestern sites indicating an increase in winter storms that is not apparent in southern California. Dynamic simulations of atmospheric circulation indicate that wetter conditions during the Younger Dryas relative to the B€ olling at McLean's Cave may have resulted from a stronger storm track in the north Pacific at the latitude of northern California.

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Section: Regional Climate Change During the Last Deglaciationmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Site and Sample Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Stalagmite records of hydroclimate in central California during termination 1

Oster

Montañez

Santare

et al. 2015

Quaternary Science Reviews

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“…Analysis of Baldwin Lake sediments deposited between~27 and~20 ka are interpreted as evidence of lake regression and formation of a playa lake (Blazevic et al, 2009). At Zaca Lake,~50 km northeast of SBB, fluvial tufa deposits suggest increased precipitation, approximately at 11, 17, and 19 ka (Ibarra et al, 2014). Floral and lithologic evidence of glacial/postglacial evolution of cold, wet to warm, dry climates has been documented on the Channel Islands and at LE (Anderson et al, 2008(Anderson et al, , 2010Kennett, 2008;Kirby et al, 2013).…”

Section: Coastal Southern California: Lake Elsinore and Santa Barbaramentioning

confidence: 97%

Pollen-based evidence of extreme drought during the last Glacial (32.6–9.0 ka) in coastal southern California

Heusser

Kirby

Nichols

2015

Quaternary Science Reviews

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a b s t r a c tHigh resolution pollen analyses of sediment core LEDC10-1 from Lake Elsinore yield the first well-dated, terrestrial record of sub-centennial-scale ecologic change in coastal southern California between~32 and 9 ka. In the Lake Elsinore watershed, the initial, mesic montane conifer forests dominated by Pinus, and Cupressaceae with trace amounts of Abies and Picea were replaced by a sequence of multiple, extended severe mega-droughts between~27.5 and~25.5 ka, in which halophytic and xerophytic herbs and shrubs occupied an ephemeral lake. This prolonged and extended dry interval, which corresponds with warm waters offshore, imply strengthening of the North Pacific High and persistent below-average winter precipitation. The subsequent, contrasting monotonic occurrence of montane conifers reflects little variation in cold, mesic climate until~15 ka. Postglacial development of Quercus woodland and chaparral mark the return to more xeric, warmer conditions at this time. A brief reversal at~13.1e~12.1 ka, as reflected by an expansion of Pinus, is correlative with the Younger Dryas and interrupts development of warm, postglacial climate. Subsequent gradual expansion of xeric vegetation post e Younger Dryas denotes the establishment of a winter hydroclimate regime in coastal southern California that is more similar to modern conditions. Pollen-based reconstructions of temperature and precipitation at Lake Elsinore are generally correlative with pollen-based paleoclimatic reconstructions and foraminiferabased sea surface temperatures from Santa Barbara Basin in marine core ODP 893. The conspicuous absence of the~27.5e~25.5 ka glacial "mega-drought" in the Santa Barbara Basin pollen record highlights the sensitivity of Lake Elsinore to hydroclimate change, and thus, the importance of this new record that indicates that mega-drought can occur during the full glacial when climatic boundary conditions and forcings differed substantially from the present.

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“…The age of the landslides and the lack of spatial association with faults suggests that triggers may have been climatic, primarily restricted to periods of greater moisture availability. Although precipitation rates at the last glacial maximum were likely approximately the same as today's (Oster et al, 2015), reduced evaporation rates led to the formation of lakes in some of the closed basins of eastern Oregon and the Great Basin (Ibarra et al, 2014), suggesting a net increase in terrestrial moisture. These conditions could have promoted landsliding during the Pleistocene.…”

Section: Study Area and Dam Sitesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Plugs or flood-makers? The unstable landslide dams of eastern Oregon

et al. 2015

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Landslides into valley bottoms can affect longitudinal profiles of rivers, thereby influencing landscape evolution through base-level changes. Large landslides can hinder river incision by temporarily damming rivers, but catastrophic failure of landslide dams may generate large floods that could promote incision. Dam stability therefore strongly modulates the effects of landslide dams and might be expected to vary among geologic settings. Here, we investigate the morphometry, stability, and effects on adjacent channel profiles of 17 former and current landslide dams in eastern Oregon. Data on landslide dam dimensions, former impoundment size, and longitudinal profile form were obtained from digital elevation data constrained by field observations and aerial imagery; while evidence for catastrophic dam breaching was assessed in the field. The dry, primarily extensional terrain of low-gradient volcanic tablelands and basins contrasts with the tectonically active, mountainous landscapes more commonly associated with large landslides. All but one of the eastern Oregon landslide dams are ancient (likely of order 10 3 to 10 4 years old), and all but one has been breached. The portions of the Oregon landslide dams blocking channels are small relative to the area of their source landslide complexes (0.4-33.6 km 2 ). The multipronged landslides in eastern Oregon produce marginally smaller volume dams but affect much larger channels and impound more water than do landslide dams in mountainous settings. As a result, at least 14 of the 17 (82%) large landslide dams in our study area appear to have failed cataclysmically, producing large downstream floods now marked by boulder outwash, compared to a 40-70% failure rate for landslide dams in steep mountain environments. Morphometric indices of landslide dam stability calibrated in other environments were applied to the Oregon dams. Threshold values of the Blockage and Dimensionless Blockage Indices calibrated to worldwide data sets successfully separate dam sites in eastern Oregon that failed catastrophically from those that did not. Accumulated sediments upstream of about 50% of the dam sites indicate at least short-term persistence of landslide dams prior to eventual failure. Nevertheless, only three landslide dam remnants and one extant dam significantly elevate the modern river profile. We conclude that eastern Oregon's landslide dams are indeed floodmakers, but we lack clear evidence that they form lasting plugs.

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Rise and fall of late Pleistocene pluvial lakes in response to reduced evaporation and precipitation: Evidence from Lake Surprise, California

Cited by 85 publications

References 162 publications

Stalagmite records of hydroclimate in central California during termination 1

Stalagmite records of hydroclimate in central California during termination 1

Pollen-based evidence of extreme drought during the last Glacial (32.6–9.0 ka) in coastal southern California

Plugs or flood-makers? The unstable landslide dams of eastern Oregon

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