Paleoproduction and environmental change at Mono Lake (eastern Sierra Nevada) during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition

Hodelka, Bailee N.; McGlue, Michael M.; Zimmerman, Susan; Ali, Guleed; Tunno, Irene

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.109565

Title: Paleoproduction and environmental change at Mono Lake (eastern Sierra Nevada) during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition

Journal Article · 22 December 2019 · Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.109565 · OSTI ID:1905200

Hodelka, Bailee N. ^[1]; McGlue, Michael M. ^[1]; Zimmerman, Susan ^[2]; Ali, Guleed ^[3]; Tunno, Irene ^[2]

University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY (United States)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
University of Maine, Orono, ME (United States); Earth Observatory of Singapore (Singapore)

We report the late Quaternary limnological history of Mono Lake (~16.6–4.3 cal kyr BP), a hydrologically closed basin in the eastern Sierra Nevada (California), is inferred based on a multi-indicator analysis of a long (~10.8 m) composite sediment core constructed from overlapping deepwater piston cores. The composite core, dated by 14C and tephra correlation, shows variations in sedimentology, magnetic susceptibility, elemental geochemistry and stable isotopes through time, consistent with changes in aquatic productivity, hydroclimate, and volcanism. In the late Pleistocene, deepwater stratigraphy was influenced by high-amplitude water-level changes and runoff from a glaciated watershed. In contrast, Mono Lake's elevation was lower in the Early to Middle Holocene; low-amplitude water-level changes, wave reworking of the shoreline, and water-column stratification were important controls on facies during that time. The data suggest that the chief controls on organic facies development in Mono Lake – productivity, preservation, and dilution dynamics – are sensitive to climate changes that influence lake-level elevation, water chemistry, and the position of deltas. The study shows that deepwater sediments from certain locales in Mono Lake are well-preserved, continuous, and can be reliably dated with 14C applied to terrestrial materials. So, when paired with precisely dated paleoshoreline data, these sediments provide a high-resolution archive of deglacial and Holocene environmental information for the eastern Sierra Nevada.

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Research Organization:: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-07NA27344

OSTI ID:: 1905200

Report Number(s):: LLNL-JRNL-782377; 977985

Journal Information:: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, Journal Name: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology Journal Issue: N/A Vol. 543; ISSN 0031-0182

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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