Late Pleistocene oscillations of Lake Owens, eastern California

Orme, A J; Orme, A R

Title: Late Pleistocene oscillations of Lake Owens, eastern California

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Abstract

Just before diversion of the Owens River drainage to Los Angeles in 1912--13, Owens Lake had a maximum depth of 14m and covered 290 km[sup 2] at a water-surface elevation of 1,095m. Indeed throughout most of Holocene time, the lake formed the sump for the Owens River drainage, its level fluctuating in response to variable inflow and evaporation. In late Pleistocene time, however, Lake Owens' spilled south towards Lake Searles' on reaching an elevation of 1,145m, at which level the lake was 64m deep and covered 694 km[sup 2]. Aided by radiometric dating, stratigraphic and sedimentological analyses of beach ridges and associated deposits around its northeast margin reveal complex oscillations of Lake Owens between 13,000 and 9,000 years B.P.. Following an earlier high stand, lake level fell until around 13,000 B.P. it rose again to at least 1138m, probably linked to late Wisconsinan glacier melt in the Sierra Nevada. Across the Pleistocene/Holocene transition, lake level fell to around 1100m and then rose to about 1,120m around 9,600 B.P., before falling away during Holocene time. This pattern is consistent with fluctuations in glacier budgets and meltwater regimes, and with late Pleistocene-early Holocene climatic oscillations postulated elsewhere in the region. Correlation withmore »« less

Authors:

Orme, A J ^[1]; Orme, A R ^[2]

California State Univ., Northridge, CA (United States). Dept. of Geography
Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States). Dept. of Geography

Publication Date:: Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1993

OSTI Identifier:: 5023976

Report Number(s):: CONF-9305259-
Journal ID: ISSN 0016-7592; CODEN: GAAPBC

Resource Type:: Conference

Journal Name:: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States)

Additional Journal Information:: Journal Volume: 25:5; Conference: 89. annual meeting of the Cordilleran Section and the 46th annual meeting of the Rocky Mountain Section of the Geological Society of America (GSA), Reno, NV (United States), 19-21 May 1993; Journal ID: ISSN 0016-7592

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 58 GEOSCIENCES; CALIFORNIA; LAKES; PALEOCLIMATOLOGY; SEDIMENTS; ISOTOPE DATING; STRATIGRAPHY; DEPOSITION; GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS; PLEISTOCENE EPOCH; VARIATIONS; AGE ESTIMATION; CENOZOIC ERA; DEVELOPED COUNTRIES; GEOLOGIC AGES; GEOLOGY; NORTH AMERICA; PALEONTOLOGY; QUATERNARY PERIOD; SURFACE WATERS; USA; 580000* - Geosciences

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                    Orme, A J, and Orme, A R. Late Pleistocene oscillations of Lake Owens, eastern California.  United States: N. p., 1993. 
        Web.

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                    Orme, A J, & Orme, A R. Late Pleistocene oscillations of Lake Owens, eastern California.  United States.

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                    Orme, A J, and Orme, A R. 1993.  
        "Late Pleistocene oscillations of Lake Owens, eastern California".  United States.

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@article{osti_5023976,

  title        = {Late Pleistocene oscillations of Lake Owens, eastern California},

  author       = {Orme, A J and Orme, A R},

  abstractNote = {Just before diversion of the Owens River drainage to Los Angeles in 1912--13, Owens Lake had a maximum depth of 14m and covered 290 km[sup 2] at a water-surface elevation of 1,095m. Indeed throughout most of Holocene time, the lake formed the sump for the Owens River drainage, its level fluctuating in response to variable inflow and evaporation. In late Pleistocene time, however, Lake Owens' spilled south towards Lake Searles' on reaching an elevation of 1,145m, at which level the lake was 64m deep and covered 694 km[sup 2]. Aided by radiometric dating, stratigraphic and sedimentological analyses of beach ridges and associated deposits around its northeast margin reveal complex oscillations of Lake Owens between 13,000 and 9,000 years B.P.. Following an earlier high stand, lake level fell until around 13,000 B.P. it rose again to at least 1138m, probably linked to late Wisconsinan glacier melt in the Sierra Nevada. Across the Pleistocene/Holocene transition, lake level fell to around 1100m and then rose to about 1,120m around 9,600 B.P., before falling away during Holocene time. This pattern is consistent with fluctuations in glacier budgets and meltwater regimes, and with late Pleistocene-early Holocene climatic oscillations postulated elsewhere in the region. Correlation with lake-level fluctuations observed at other localities around Owens Lake is complicated by tectonism, but the above sequence invites comparison with the detailed record obtained from Searles Lake farther south.},

  doi          = {},

  url          = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/5023976},
  journal      = {Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States)},

  issn         = {0016-7592},

  number       = ,

  volume       = 25:5,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1993},

  month        = {Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1993}

}

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