Great Basin paleoenvironmental studies project; Third quarterly technical progress report, December 1993--February 1994
Examination of the paleolithic and geomorphic records to determine the local and regional impact of past climates will advance assessment of Yucca Mountain`s suitability as a high-level nuclear waste repository. The project includes the integration of botanical, faunal, and geomorphic components to accomplish this goal. Paleobotanical studies will reconstruct the response of vegetation to climate change at the community and the organismal levels by integrating data obtained from nearly continuous sediment records of pollen, plant macrofossils, and stable isotopes from fossil woodrat middens. The goal of the paleofaunas study is to construct a history of Great Basin vertebrates, particularly mammals, that will provide empirical evidence of past environmental and climatic conditions within the Great Basin as it is recorded by the animals. Taxonomic composition of archaeological and paleontological faunas from various areas within the Great Basin and morphological change within individual mammalian taxa at specific localities are being investigated to monitor faunal response to changing environmental conditions. The objective of the geomorphology component of the paleoenvironmental program is to document the responses of surficial processes and landforms to the climatic changes documented by studies of packrat middens, pollen, and faunal distributions. The project will focus on: (1) stratigraphic relationships between lake deposits and aeolian or fluvial sediments and landforms; (2) cut and fill sequences in floodplain and river-channel deposits; (3) identification of periods of dune mobility and stability; (4) documentation of episodes of alluvial fan and terrace development and erosion; and (5) correlation of (3) and (4) to climatically driven lake-level fluctuation as revealed by shoreline features such as strandlines and beach ridges. Accomplishments for this period are presented for these studies.
- Research Organization:
- Nevada Univ., Reno, NV (United States). Desert Research Inst.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FC08-93NV11417
- OSTI ID:
- 144888
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/NV/11417-3; ON: DE94009652
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: [1994]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Great Basin paleoenvironmental studies project; Technical progress report: Fourth quarter, March--May, 1994
Great basin paleoenvironmental studies project; Technical progress report first quarter (year 2), June--August 1994