Geology topics

A. Schwalb

Publications and source records attributed to A. Schwalb.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2000

Holocene environmental and climatic change in the Northern Great Plains as recorded in the geochemistry of sediments in Pickerel Lake, South Dakota

The sediments in Pickerel Lake, northeastern South Dakota, provide a continuous record of climatic and environmental change for the last 12000 yr. Sediments deposited between 12 and 6 ka (radiocarbon) show extreme variations in composition, oxygen and carbon isotopic composition of bulk carbonate, carbon isotopic composition of organic matter, and magnetic susceptibility. These variations reflect changes in sources of moisture, regional vegetation types, precipitation-evaporation balance, ground- and surface-water influx, water residence time, erosion, lake productivity, water level, and water temperature. The total carbonate content of late Pleistocene sediments steadily increased from <20% at the base of the core to as much as 80% in sediments deposited between 11 and 9 ka. By about 8 ka, the total carbonate content of the sediments had declined to about 40% where it remained with little variation for the past 8 kyr, suggesting relatively stable conditions. There are marked increases in values of ??13C and ??18O in bulk carbonate, and ??13C of organic matter, in sediments deposited between 10 and 6 ka as evaporation increased, and the vegetation in the watershed changed from forest to prairie. This shift toward more 18O-enriched carbonate may also reflect a change in source or seasonality of precipitation. During this early Holocene interval the organic carbon (OC) content of the sediments remained relatively low (2-3%), but then increased rapidly to 4.5% between 7 and 6 ka, reflecting the rapid transition to a prairie lake. The OC content fluctuates slightly between 4 and 6% in sediments deposited over the past 6 kyr. Like OC and total carbonate, most variables measured show little variation in the 13 m of sediment deposited over the past 6 kyr, particularly when compared with early Holocene variations. Although the magnetic susceptibility of this upper 13 m of sediment is generally low (<10 SI units), the upper six meters of the section is marked by striking 1 m cycles (ca. 400-500 yr periodicity) in susceptibility. These cycles are interpreted as being due to variations in the influx of eolian detrital-clastic material. Century-scale cyclic variations in different proxy variables for aridity and eolian activity from sediments deposited over the past 2000 yr in other lakes in the northern Great Plains, as well as in sand dune activity, suggest that aridity cycles were the dominant feature of late Holocene climate of the northern Great Plains. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.

Quaternary International↗

USGS1998

Stable isotopes and sediments from Pickerel Lake, South Dakota, USA: A 12ky record of environmental changes

Sedimentological parameters and stable O- and C-isotopic composition of marl and ostracode calcite selected from a 17.7-m-long core from the 8-m-deep center of Pickerel Lake, northeastern South Dakota, provide one of the longest (ca. 12ky) paleoenvironmental records from the northern Great Plains. The late Glacial to early Holocene climate in the northern Great Plains was characterized by changes from cold and wet to cold and dry, and back to cold and wet conditions. These climatic changes were controlled by fluctuations in the positions of the Laurentide ice sheet and the extent of glacial Lake Agassiz. We speculate that the cold and dry phase may correspond to the Younger Dryas event. A salinity maximum was reached between 10.3 and 9.5 ka, after which Pickerel Lake shifted from a system controlled by atmospheric changes to a system controlled by groundwater seepage that might have been initiated by the final withdrawal of Glacial Lake Agassiz. A prairie lake was established at approximately 8.7 ka, and lasted until about 2.2 ka. During this mid-Holocene prairie period, drier conditions than today prevailed, interrupted by periods of increased moisture at about 8, 4, and 2.2 ka. Prairie conditions were more likely dry and cool rather than dry and warm. The last 2.2 ka are characterized by higher climatic variability with 400-yr aridity cycles including the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age. Although the signal of changing atmospheric circulation is overprinted by fluctuations in the positions of the ice sheet and glacial Lake Agassiz during the late Glacial-Holocene transition, a combination of strong zonal circulation and strong monsoons induced by the presence of the ice sheet and high insolation may have provided mechanisms for increased precipitation. Zonal flow introducing dry Pacific air became more important during the prairie period but seems to have been interrupted by short periods of stronger meridional circulation with intrusions of moist air from the Gulf of Mexico. More frequent switching between periods of zonal and meridional circulation seem to be responsible for increased climatic variability during the last 2.2 ka.

Journal of Paleolimnology↗

USGS1995

Ostracode δ18O and δ13C evidence of Holocene environmental changes in the sediments of two Minnesota lakes

Stable oxygen and carbon isotope geochemistry of ostracode valves, abundance and assemblages of ostracode species, and sedimentological parameters from cores taken in Williams and Shingobee Lakes in north-central Minnesota show changes in climatic and hydrologic history during the Holocene. Isotopic records are consistent with the following scenario: Before 9800 yr B.P. the two lakes were connected. Increasing evaporation through the jack/red pine period (9800-7700 yr B.P.) led to lower lake levels, leaving small separated basins. The prairie period (7700-4000 yr B.P.) reflects high aridity, and lake levels reached low stands shortly before 6500 yr B.P. Low lake levels are associated with groundwater discharge between 6500 and 6000 yr B.P. The hardwood period (4000-3200 yr B.P.) corresponds to long cold winters and warm to cool summers with lower evaporation rates and slower sedimentation. During the white pine period (<3200 yr B.P.) evaporation increased and/or precipitation shifted to the summer months. These changes can be related to shifting atmospheric circulation patterns. Zonal flow was probably dominant during the early Holocene until the end of the prairie period ( c. 4000 yr B.P.). During the hardwood period a combination of zonal and meridional flow patterns caused long and cold winters and wetter summers. During the white pine period wintners were shorter and the meridional flow pattern more significant. Today meridional flow dominates the circulation pattern.

Minnesota↗