scholarly journals A Holocene pollen record of persistent droughts from Pyramid Lake, Nevada, USA

2004 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott A Mensing ◽  
Larry V Benson ◽  
Michaele Kashgarian ◽  
Steve Lund
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Great Basin ◽  
Lake Tahoe ◽  
Pollen Record ◽  
Middle Holocene ◽  
Pyramid Lake ◽  
The Past ◽  
Ice Drift ◽  
Persistent Drought ◽  
Nineteen 1

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.

A comparison of western Great Basin paleoclimate records for the last 3000 yr: Evidence for multidecadal- to millennial-scale drought

2021 ◽  
pp. 183-199
Author(s):  
Steve P. Lund ◽  
Larry V. Benson
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Great Basin ◽  
Lake Level ◽  
Lake Basin ◽  
Walker Lake ◽  
Pyramid Lake ◽  
The Past ◽  
Hydrological Variability ◽  
Hydrologic Variability

ABSTRACT This paper summarizes the hydrological variability in eastern California (central Sierra Nevada) for the past 3000 yr based on three distinct paleoclimate proxies, δ18O, total inorganic carbon (TIC), and magnetic susceptibility (chi). These proxies, which are recorded in lake sediments of Pyramid Lake and Walker Lake, Nevada, and Mono Lake and Owens Lake, California, indicate lake-level changes that are mostly due to variations in Sierra Nevada snowpack and rainfall. We evaluated lake-level changes in the four Great Basin lake systems with regard to sediment-core locations and lake-basin morphologies, to the extent that these two factors influence the paleoclimate proxy records. We documented the strengths and weaknesses of each proxy and argue that a systematic study of all three proxies together significantly enhances our ability to characterize the regional pattern, chronology, and resolution of hydrological variability. We used paleomagnetic secular variation (PSV) to develop paleomagnetic chronostratigraphies for all four lakes. We previously published PSV records for three of the lakes (Mono, Owens, Pyramid) and developed a new PSV record herein for Walker Lake. We show that our PSV chronostratigraphies are almost identical to previously established radiocarbon-based chronologies, but that there are differences of 20–200 yr in individual age records. In addition, we used eight of the PSV inclination features to provide isochrons that permit exacting correlations between lake records. We also evaluated the temporal resolution of our proxies. Most can document decadal-scale variability over the past 1000 yr, multidecadal-scale variability for the past 2000 yr, and centennial-scale variability between 2000 and 3000 yr ago. Comparisons among our proxies show a strong coherence in the pattern of lake-level variability for all four lakes. Pyramid Lake and Walker Lake have the longest and highest-resolution records. The δ18O and TIC records yield the same pattern of lake-level variability; however, TIC may allow a somewhat higher-frequency resolution. It is not clear, however, which proxy best estimates the absolute amplitude of lake-level variability. Chi is the only available proxy that records lake-level variability in all four lakes prior to 2000 yr ago, and it shows consistent evidence of a large multicentennial period of drought. TIC, chi, and δ18O are integrative proxies in that they display the cumulative record of hydrologic variability in each lake basin. Tree-ring estimations of hydrological variability, by contrast, are incremental proxies that estimate annual variability. We compared our integrated proxies with tree-ring incremental proxies and found a strong correspondence among the two groups of proxies if the tree-ring proxies are smoothed to decadal or multidecadal averages. Together, these results indicate a common pattern of wet/dry variability in California (Sierra Nevada snowpack/rainfall) extending from a few years (notable only in the tree-ring data) to perhaps 1000 yr. Notable hydrologic variability has occurred at all time scales and should continue into the future.

Fluctuation in the Level of Pluvial Lake Lahontan During the last 40,000 Years

1978 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 300-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry Benson
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Great Basin ◽  
Pore Fluid ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Cemented Sand ◽  
Pyramid Lake ◽  
The Past ◽  
Radiocarbon Data ◽  
Deltaic Sedimentation ◽  
Desert Research

Samples of algal tufa, gastropods and calcite-cemented sand were collected from the Walker and Pyramid Lake areas of the Lahontan Basin, Nevada. X-ray diffraction petrographic and radiocarbon analyses show that massive forms of tufa such as the dendritic variety contain secondary carbon-bearing material and therefore yield unreliable radiocarbon dates. Dense coating of tufa (lithoid), however, gave radiocarbon ages in agreement with dates on coexisting aragonite gastropods. Radiocarbon data from the study were combined with previously dated noncarbonate materials [Born, S. M. (1972). “Lake Quaternary History, Deltaic Sedimentation, and Mudlump Formation at Pyramid Lake, Nevada”, Center for Water Resources, Desert Research Inst., Reno, Nevada] to give an internally consistent record of lake level fluctuations for the past 40,000 years. The main features of the Lahontan chronology are (1) extreme high stands (1330 m above sea level) 13,500 to 11,000 and 25,000 to 22,000 B.P., (2) a moderate high stand (1260 m above sea level) 20,000 to 15,000 B.P., (3) a low stand of unknown elevation 40,000 to 25,000 B.P., (4) an extremely low stand 9000 to 5000 B.P., and (5) an overall increase in the size of Walker and Pyramid Lakes during the past 5000 years, until the late 19th century. Pore fluid data indicate that Walker Lake desiccated sometime during the period 9050 to 6400 B.P. Salts deposited as a result of this dessication are still undergoing dissolution causing a flux of chloride, carbon, and other solute species from the sediments to the overlying lake water. Pore fluid data obtained from Pyramid Lake sediments do not indicate the presence of a concentrated brine at depth. This suggests that Pyramid Lake did not dry completely during this period although it may have been severely reduced in size. There has been considerable disagreement regarding the occurrence of extreme arid conditions (altithermal period) since 10,000 B.P. [Mehringer, P. J. (1977). “Models and Great Basin Prehistory”. Desert Research Inst. Pub, Reno, Nevada]. The data of this study suggest that such a climatic regime did occur in the western Great Basin during the period 9000 to 5000 B.P.

Wet early to middle Holocene conditions on the upper Coastal Plain of North Carolina, USA

2004 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 256-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Goman ◽  
David S Leigh
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Southeastern United States ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Pollen Record ◽  
Flood Events ◽  
Middle Holocene ◽  
Peat Core ◽  
The Past ◽  
Large Floods

A peat core from a cutoff paleochannel of Little River on the upper Coastal Plain of North Carolina provides a continuous pollen record of environmental change for the past 10,500 years and includes a sedimentary record of overbank floods. Palynological and sedimentary data indicate that the early to middle Holocene was wetter than previously suggested from lake sites in the southeastern United States. The period from 9000 to 6100 cal yr B.P. is characterized by high pollen percentages of Nyssa and Quercus, but low percentages of Pinus. Fifteen large overbank flood events are present within this period (5 floods/1000 yr). In contrast, only 6 large overbank flood events occurred since 6100 cal yr B.P. (1 flood/1000 yr). The increases in moisture and flood events probably were controlled by changes in atmospheric circulation related to shifts in the position of the Bermuda High, sea surface temperatures, and El Niño activity that together may have affected the frequency of large floods generated from tropical storms in the region.

scholarly journals First Report of White Pine Blister Rust in Nevada

Plant Disease ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 84 (5) ◽  
pp. 594-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Smith ◽  
J. T. Hoffman ◽  
K. F. Sullivan ◽  
E. P. Van Arsdel ◽  
D. Vogler
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Great Basin ◽  
Lake Tahoe ◽  
White Pine Blister Rust ◽  
White Pine ◽  
Infection Age ◽  
Blister Rust ◽  
Infection Dynamics ◽  
Stem Cankers ◽  
Region Ii

White pine blister rust, caused by Cronartium ribicola Fisch., was found in 1997 infecting white pines (genus Pinus, subgenus Strobus) at two locations in the Carson Range of western Nevada. Rust incidence, infection age, damage to trees, rust phenology, and host distribution were evaluated at one of these locations and a nearby location in California in 1998. At the first location (39.3°N, 119.9°W), C. ribicola was found infecting 24 of 49 whitebark pines (P. albicaulis Engelm.) near Mt. Rose Summit on Highway 27 at 2,710 m elevation, ≈6 km northeast of Incline Village, Washoe County, NV. Among infected trees, 33% had only branch cankers, 54% had live stem cankers, and 12% had stem cankers that had killed portions of trees distal to cankers. No trees had died from infection. At the second location (39.1°N, 119.9°W), we found only 6 of 50 (12%) infected western white pines (P. monticola Dougl.) near Genoa Peak (≈2,750 m elevation), 3 km east of Lake Tahoe, Douglas County, NV; however, stem cankers occurred on 4 of the 6 infected trees. In September 1998, whitebark pines at Mt. Rose and Tahoe Meadows (2,550 m elevation, 1.5 km southwest of Mt. Rose Summit) were examined, and the following was observed: (i) aeciospore production was at its peak, indicating that sporulation can occur exceptionally late in the season in this region; (ii) signs of blister rust infection were absent on the telial hosts of C. ribicola (Ribes cereum, R. montigenum, and R. nevadense) at both locations; (iii) ≈80% of the cankers occurred on host wood produced in 1978 and 1979; and (iv) the oldest cankers originated on wood produced in 1968 and the youngest on wood produced in 1980. In October 1998, infected western white pines were examined at a location (2,650 m elevation) ≈30 km north of Lake Tahoe on Babbitt Peak, Sierra County, CA (39.6°N, 120.1°W). At this location, no trees had died from infection, fresh aeciospores were abundant on live cankers, R. montigenum and R. cereum were present but did not show signs of infection, and 19 of 20 cankers examined were on wood produced between 1978 and 1980. White pine blister rust was not found at any of 10 other locations examined throughout Nevada from 1995 to 1997. This is believed to be the first documented report of C. ribicola infecting white pines in Nevada and the easternmost extension of blister rust in the Sierra Nevada Region. These observations suggest that our understanding of blister rust spread and infection dynamics east of the Sierra Nevada crest is incomplete and that future surveys and research in this region must address, among other issues, timing of aeciospore production on pine, and the possibility of blister rust spread into the Great Basin.

scholarly journals Reconstructing Great Basin Butterfly-Pollen Interaction Networks over the Past Century

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Behnaz Balmaki ◽  
Tara Christensen ◽  
Lee A. Dyer
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Great Basin ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Interaction Networks ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Butterfly Species ◽  
The Past ◽  
Before And After

AbstractAimsInsects and the plants they interact with dominate terrestrial biomes and constitute over half of the earth’s macro-organismal diversity. Their abundance in museum collections can provide a wealth of natural history data if they are collected as part of careful ecological studies or conservation programs. Here, we summarize pollen-insect quantitative networks gleaned from adult lepidopteran museum specimens to characterize these interactions and to examine how richness and frequency of butterfly-pollen associations have changed over a 100-year time series in Nevada and California. Pollen collected from well-curated butterfly specimens can provide insight into spatial and temporal variation in pollen-butterfly interactions and provide a complement to other approaches to studying pollination, such as pollinator observation networks.LocationGreat Basin and Sierra Nevada: California, NevadaTime periodThe last 100 yearsMajor Taxon studiedButterfliesMethodsWe estimated butterfly-pollen network parameters based on pollen collected from butterfly specimens from the Great Basin and Sierra Nevada. Additionally, we pooled interaction networks associated with specimens captured before and after 2000 to compare pollen-pollinator interaction variation under drought periods in California and Nevada in the last two decades versus previous years in the time series.ResultsButterfly-pollen networks indicated that most pollen-butterfly species interactions are specialized and appear to be different from observational networks. Interaction networks associated with specimens captured before and after 2000 revealed that compared to previous decades, butterfly-pollen networks over the past 20 years had higher nestedness and connectance, with high pollen richness and low pollen abundance.Main conclusionsThese findings represent another unique approach to understanding more about pollination biology, and how butterfly-pollen interactions are impacted by climate variation and ecosystem alteration.

Sierra Nevada-Great Basin boundary zone: Earthquake hazard related to structure, active tectonic processes, and anomalous patterns of earthquake occurrence

1980 ◽  
Vol 70 (5) ◽  
pp. 1557-1572
Author(s):  
J. D. VanWormer ◽  
Alan S. Ryall
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Great Basin ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Mono Lake ◽  
Local Network ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Owens Valley ◽  
Walker Lake ◽  
Fault Plane Solutions ◽  
The North

abstract Precise epicentral determinations based on local network recordings are compared with mapped faults and volcanic features in the western Great Basin. This region is structurally and seismically complex, and seismogenic processes vary within it. In the area north of the rupture zone of the 1872 Owens Valley earthquake, dispersed clusters of epicenters agree with a shatter zone of faults that extend the 1872 breaks to the north and northwest. An area of frequent earthquake swarms east of Mono Lake is characterized by northeast-striking faults and a crustal low-velocity zone; seismicity in this area appears to be related to volcanic processes that produced thick Pliocene basalt flows in the Adobe Hills and minor historic activity in Mono Lake. In the Garfield Hills between Walker Lake and the Excelsior Mountains, there is some clustering of epicenters along a north-trending zone that does not correlate with major Cenozoic structures. In an area west of Walker Lake, low seismicity supports a previous suggestion by Gilbert and Reynolds (1973) that deformation in that area has been primarily by folding and not by faulting. To the north, clusters of earthquakes are observed at both ends of a 70-km-long fault zone that forms the eastern boundary of the Sierra Nevada from Markleeville to Reno. Clusters of events also appear at both ends of the Dog Valley Fault in the Sierra west of Reno, and at Virginia City to the east. Fault-plane solutions for the belt in which major earthquakes have occurred in Nevada during the historic period (from Pleasant Valley in the north to the Excelsior Mountains on the California-Nevada Border) correspond to normaloblique slip and are similar to that found by Romney (1957) for the 1954 Fairview Peak shock. However, mechanisms of recent moderate earthquakes within the SNGBZ are related to right- or left-lateral slip, respectively, on nearly vertical, northwest-, or northeast-striking planes. These mechanisms are explained by a block faulting model of the SNGBZ in which the main fault segments trend north, have normal-oblique slip, and are offset or terminated by northwest-trending strike-slip faults. This is supported by the observation that seismicity during the period of observation has been concentrated at places where major faults terminate or intersect. Anomalous temporal variations, consisting of a general decrease in seismicity in the southern part of the SNGBZ from October 1977 to September 1978, followed by a burst of moderate earthquakes that has continued for more than 18 months, is suggestive of a pattern that several authors have identified as precursory to large earthquakes. The 1977 to 1979 variations are particularly noteworthy because they occurred over the entire SNGBZ, indicating a regional rather than local cause for the observed changes.

scholarly journals Assimilated diet patterns of American black bears in the Sierra Nevada and western Great Basin, Nevada, USA

Ursus ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2019 (30e3) ◽  
pp. 40
Author(s):  
Jennapher Teunissen van Manen ◽  
Carl W. Lackey ◽  
Jon P. Beckmann ◽  
Lisa I. Muller ◽  
Zheng-Hua Li
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Great Basin ◽  
Black Bears ◽  
Diet Patterns ◽  
American Black ◽  
American Black Bears ◽  
Assimilated Diet

Holocene Climatic Variations Inferred from Treeline Fluctuations in the White Mountains, California

1973 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 632-660 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valmore C. LaMarche
Keyword(s):  
Great Basin ◽  
Warm Season ◽  
White Mountains ◽  
North American Cordillera ◽  
Climatic Variations ◽  
The Past ◽  
The North ◽  
Pinus Longaeva ◽  
Bristlecone Pine ◽  
Dry Conditions

AbstractRemains of dead bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva Bailey) are found at altitudes up to 150 m above present treeline in the White Mountains. Standing snags and remnants in two study areas were mapped and sampled for dating by tree-ring and radiocarbon methods. The oldest remnants represent trees established more than 7400 y.a. Experimental and empirical evidence indicates that the position of the treeline is closely related to warm-season temperatures, but that precipitation may also be important in at least one of the areas. The upper treeline was at high levels in both areas until after about 2200 B.C., indicating warm-season temperatures about 3.5°F higher than those of the past few hundred years. However, the record is incomplete, relative warmth may have been maintained until at least 1500 B.C. Cooler and wetter conditions are indicated for the period 1500 B.C.-500 B.C., followed by a period of cool but drier climate. A major treeline decline occurred between about A.D. 1100 and A.D. 1500, probably reflecting onset of cold and dry conditions. High reproduction rates and establishment of scattered seedlings at high altitudes within the past 100 yr represents an incipient treeline advance, which reflected a general climatic warming beginning in the mid-19th century that has lasted until recent decades in the western United States. This evidence for climatic variation is broadly consistent with the record of Neoglacial advances in the North American Cordillera, and supports Antevs' concept of a warm “altithermal age” in the Great Basin.

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