A loess–paleosol record of climate and glacial history over the past two glacial–interglacial cycles (~ 150 ka), southern Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Quaternary Research
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Abstract

Loess accumulated on a Bull Lake outwash terrace of Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 6 (MIS 6) age in southern Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The 9 m section displays eight intervals of loess deposition (Loess 1 to Loess 8, oldest), each followed by soil development. Our age-depth model is constrained by thermoluminescence, meteoric 10Be accumulation in soils, and cosmogenic 10Be surface exposure ages. We use particle size, geochemical, mineral-magnetic, and clay mineralogical data to interpret loess sources and pedogenesis. Deposition of MIS 6 loess was followed by a tripartite soil/thin loess complex (Soils 8, 7, and 6) apparently reflecting the large climatic oscillations of MIS 5. Soil 8 (MIS 5e) shows the strongest development. Loess 5 accumulated during a glacial interval (~ 76–69 ka; MIS 4) followed by soil development under conditions wetter and probably colder than present. Deposition of thick Loess 3 (~ 43–51 ka, MIS 3) was followed by soil development comparable with that observed in Soil 1. Loess 1 (MIS 2) accumulated during the Pinedale glaciation and was followed by development of Soil 1 under a semiarid climate. This record of alternating loess deposition and soil development is compatible with the history of Yellowstone vegetation and the glacial flour record from the Sierra Nevada.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title A loess–paleosol record of climate and glacial history over the past two glacial–interglacial cycles (~ 150 ka), southern Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Series title Quaternary Research
DOI 10.1016/j.yqres.2011.03.006
Volume 76
Issue 1
Year Published 2011
Language English
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Contributing office(s) Crustal Geophysics and Geochemistry Science Center, Eastern Geology and Paleoclimate Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center
Description 23 p.
First page 119
Last page 141
Country United States
State Wyoming
City Jackson
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