Edited y George I. Smith and James L. Bischoff
1993
An important element of the investigations supported by the USGS through its Global Change and Climate History (GCH) Program is the record of past changes in precipitation in now-arid parts of the United States. More than a century of geologic investigations has shown that major changes in precipitation and runoff occurred throughout much of this region, as shown by the evidence of fluctuations in the levels of lakes in the Great Basin. Although these basins--sometimes termed 'nature's rain gages'--clearly document major changes in climate during the past few hundred thousand years, there is an inadequate consensus about those lakes' ages or the quantitative meaning and meteorological significance of their fluctuations. The timing and intensities of these climatic changes pose important questions to earth and paleoclimatic scientists.
This open-file report is available for purchase from:
USGS Information Services, Box 25286,
Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225
telephone: 303-202-4210; e-mail: infoservices@usgs.gov
This report is preliminary and has not been reviewed for conformity with U.S. Geological Survey editorial standards or with the North American Stratigraphic code. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although all data and software released with this open file have been used by the USGS, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the USGS as to the accuracy of the data and related materials and (or) the functioning of the software.
U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
URL of this page: https://pubs.usgs.gov/openfile/of93-683/
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Last modified: 03.01.01 (krw)