A Holocene pollen record of persistent droughts from Pyramid Lake, Nevada, USA
Pollen and algae microfossils preserved in sediments from Pyramid Lake, Nevada, provide evidence for periods of persistent drought during the Holocene age. We analyzed one hundred nineteen 1-cm-thick samples for pollen and algae from a set of cores that span the past 7630 years. The early middle Hol...
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ftunivnebraskali:oai:digitalcommons.unl.edu:usgsstaffpub-1792 2023-11-12T04:22:31+01:00 A Holocene pollen record of persistent droughts from Pyramid Lake, Nevada, USA Mensing, Scott A. Benson, Larry Kashgarian, Michaele Lund, Steve 2004-01-01T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usgsstaffpub/783 https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/usgsstaffpub/article/1792/viewcontent/Benson_QR_2004_A_Holocene_pollen_record.pdf unknown DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usgsstaffpub/783 https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/usgsstaffpub/article/1792/viewcontent/Benson_QR_2004_A_Holocene_pollen_record.pdf USGS Staff -- Published Research Pyramid Lake Nevada Great Basin Pollen Drought Holocene Climate change Earth Sciences Geology Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Other Earth Sciences Other Environmental Sciences text 2004 ftunivnebraskali 2023-10-30T11:08:34Z Pollen and algae microfossils preserved in sediments from Pyramid Lake, Nevada, provide evidence for periods of persistent drought during the Holocene age. We analyzed one hundred nineteen 1-cm-thick samples for pollen and algae from a set of cores that span the past 7630 years. The early middle Holocene, 7600 to 6300 cal yr B.P., was found to be the driest period, although it included one short but intense wet phase. We suggest that Lake Tahoe was below its rim for most of this period, greatly reducing the volume and depth of Pyramid Lake. Middle Holocene aridity eased between 5000 and 3500 cal yr B.P. and climate became variable with distinct wet and dry phases. Lake Tahoe probably spilled intermittently during this time. No core was recovered that represented the period between 3500 and 2600 cal yr B.P. The past 2500 years appear to have had recurrent persistent droughts. The timing and magnitude of droughts identified in the pollen record compares favorably with previously published δ18O data from Pyramid Lake. The timing of these droughts also agrees with the ages of submerged rooted stumps in the Eastern Sierra Nevada and woodrat midden data from central Nevada. Prolonged drought episodes appear to correspond with the timing of ice drift minima (solar maxima) identified from North Atlantic marine sediments, suggesting that changes in solar irradiance may be a possible mechanism influencing century-scale drought in the western Great Basin. Text North Atlantic University of Nebraska-Lincoln: DigitalCommons@UNL Pyramid ENVELOPE(157.300,157.300,-81.333,-81.333) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Nebraska-Lincoln: DigitalCommons@UNL |
op_collection_id |
ftunivnebraskali |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Pyramid Lake Nevada Great Basin Pollen Drought Holocene Climate change Earth Sciences Geology Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Other Earth Sciences Other Environmental Sciences |
spellingShingle |
Pyramid Lake Nevada Great Basin Pollen Drought Holocene Climate change Earth Sciences Geology Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Other Earth Sciences Other Environmental Sciences Mensing, Scott A. Benson, Larry Kashgarian, Michaele Lund, Steve A Holocene pollen record of persistent droughts from Pyramid Lake, Nevada, USA |
topic_facet |
Pyramid Lake Nevada Great Basin Pollen Drought Holocene Climate change Earth Sciences Geology Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Other Earth Sciences Other Environmental Sciences |
description |
Pollen and algae microfossils preserved in sediments from Pyramid Lake, Nevada, provide evidence for periods of persistent drought during the Holocene age. We analyzed one hundred nineteen 1-cm-thick samples for pollen and algae from a set of cores that span the past 7630 years. The early middle Holocene, 7600 to 6300 cal yr B.P., was found to be the driest period, although it included one short but intense wet phase. We suggest that Lake Tahoe was below its rim for most of this period, greatly reducing the volume and depth of Pyramid Lake. Middle Holocene aridity eased between 5000 and 3500 cal yr B.P. and climate became variable with distinct wet and dry phases. Lake Tahoe probably spilled intermittently during this time. No core was recovered that represented the period between 3500 and 2600 cal yr B.P. The past 2500 years appear to have had recurrent persistent droughts. The timing and magnitude of droughts identified in the pollen record compares favorably with previously published δ18O data from Pyramid Lake. The timing of these droughts also agrees with the ages of submerged rooted stumps in the Eastern Sierra Nevada and woodrat midden data from central Nevada. Prolonged drought episodes appear to correspond with the timing of ice drift minima (solar maxima) identified from North Atlantic marine sediments, suggesting that changes in solar irradiance may be a possible mechanism influencing century-scale drought in the western Great Basin. |
format |
Text |
author |
Mensing, Scott A. Benson, Larry Kashgarian, Michaele Lund, Steve |
author_facet |
Mensing, Scott A. Benson, Larry Kashgarian, Michaele Lund, Steve |
author_sort |
Mensing, Scott A. |
title |
A Holocene pollen record of persistent droughts from Pyramid Lake, Nevada, USA |
title_short |
A Holocene pollen record of persistent droughts from Pyramid Lake, Nevada, USA |
title_full |
A Holocene pollen record of persistent droughts from Pyramid Lake, Nevada, USA |
title_fullStr |
A Holocene pollen record of persistent droughts from Pyramid Lake, Nevada, USA |
title_full_unstemmed |
A Holocene pollen record of persistent droughts from Pyramid Lake, Nevada, USA |
title_sort |
holocene pollen record of persistent droughts from pyramid lake, nevada, usa |
publisher |
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln |
publishDate |
2004 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usgsstaffpub/783 https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/usgsstaffpub/article/1792/viewcontent/Benson_QR_2004_A_Holocene_pollen_record.pdf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(157.300,157.300,-81.333,-81.333) |
geographic |
Pyramid |
geographic_facet |
Pyramid |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_source |
USGS Staff -- Published Research |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usgsstaffpub/783 https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/usgsstaffpub/article/1792/viewcontent/Benson_QR_2004_A_Holocene_pollen_record.pdf |
_version_ |
1782337543335837696 |