Holocene records of environmental change in High Plains playa wetlands, Kansas, US

Abstract

Holocene environmental change is poorly characterized throughout much of the High Plains. Playa wetlands are sites with appreciable potential for reconstructing environmental change because of their environmental sensitivity. Radiocarbon, litho- and magneto-stratigraphic, and stable carbon isotope (δ13C) data for four playas on the Kansas High Plains indicate significant change occurred throughout the Holocene, which had profound impacts on playa ecosystem functions (e.g. groundwater recharge, surface water storage, and habitat). Minimum δ13C values and buried soils observed during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition suggest sufficient moisture to support vegetative cover and promote pedogenesis. Low magnetic susceptibility, rapid increase in δ13C, and weak pedogenic alteration in overlying deposits suggest early Holocene aridity with increased landscape instability and sediment deposition. Early to middle Holocene stratigraphy transitioned from loess with little pedogenic modification into overlying buried soils; δ13C values indicate playa vegetation was composed of as much as 90% C4 plants. Maximum magnetic susceptibility and buried soils in late Holocene deposits indicate sufficient moisture to support vegetative cover and promote pedogenesis. The Pleistocene–Holocene transition was a cool, moist period in which sediment accumulation rates in playas were low and ecosystem functions were optimal. Throughout much of the early to early–middle Holocene, playas were subaerially exposed, sediment accumulation outpaced soil formation, and ecosystem functions were inhibited by lack of moisture. From the middle to late Holocene, the climate returned to more mesic conditions, sediment accumulation and soil formation were in near equilibrium, and the ability of playas to perform ecosystem functions increased.

Measurement report: The Urmia playa as a source of airborne dust and ice-nucleating particles – Part 1: Correlation between soils and airborne samples

“…Therefore, having knowledge about the different types of playa surfaces and their physicochemical characteristics helps to identify dust-prone surfaces and could be a step forward in their control. In this regard, several studies have analysed playa geomorphic surfaces and their potential in dust generation (Reynolds et al, 2007;Quick et al, 2009;Halleaux and Rennó, 2014;Bowen and Johnson, 2015;Wurtsbaugh et al, 2017). For example, Wurtsbaugh et al (2017) have shown that the release of particles from the dried bed of Owens Lake in California increased the PM 10 levels and caused respiratory problems.…”

“…For example, Wurtsbaugh et al (2017) have shown that the release of particles from the dried bed of Owens Lake in California increased the PM 10 levels and caused respiratory problems. Bowen and Johnson (2015) found that the increase in soil humidity decreases the likelihood of dust generation on a playa surface. Reynolds et al (2007Reynolds et al ( , 2009 found that dry playas of Mojave desert were prone to dust generation following wet periods.…”

Mechanisms of dust emissions from lakes during different drying stages in a semi-arid grassland in northern China

“…About 100-300 million tons of dust are emitted into the atmosphere each year (Varga et al, 2014). These landform units are commonly found in the western United States (Bowen and Johnson, 2015;Collins et al, 2018), North Africa (Prospero et al, 2002;Mahowald et al, 2006), Central Asia (Ziyaee et al, 2018), and northern China (Tao et al, 2020;Hao and Li, 2021). There are hundreds of lakes with areas of greater than 50 km 2 in northern China, and under the drastic climate change and unreasonable human development, a large number of these lakes have shrunk and become dry lake beds.…”

Characterizing formation processes of Rimrock Lake, a Late Pleistocene–Holocene playa, Harney Basin, south‐eastern Oregon, USA, using an end‐member mixing analysis

“…Playas are ephemeral or desiccated lakes found throughout arid and semi‐arid regions of the world (Goudie and Wells, ; Yechieli and Wood, ; Shaw and Bryant, ; Goudie, ). In North America, they have been described in the Northern (Last and Schweyen, ), Central (Bowen and Johnson, , ; Bowen et al ., ) and Southern Great Plains (Wood et al ., ; Gustavson et al, ; Holliday, ; Holliday et al ., ), arid basins of the southern Pacific Coast Ranges (Eghbal et al ., ), the Mexican Plateau (Alcocer and Escobar, ) and throughout the Basin and Range region (Currey, ; Scuderi et al ., ). Due to their ephemeral nature playas are highly sensitive to climatic fluctuations and are influenced, often simultaneously, by fluvial, lacustrine and eolian processes (Holliday, ; Holliday et al ., ; Bowen and Johnson, , ; Rich, ), making them useful paleoenvironmental archives.…”