Late Neogene–Quaternary tephrochronology, stratigraphy, and paleoclimate of Death Valley, California, USA

Knott, Jeffrey R.; Machette, Michael N.; Wan, Elmira; Klinger, Ralph E.; Liddicoat, Joseph C.; Sarna-Wojcicki, Andrei M.; Fleck, Robert J.; Deino, Alan L.; Geissman, J. W.; Slate, Janet L.; Wahl, David B.; Wernicke, Brian P.; Wells, Stephen; Tinsley, John C.; Hathaway, Jeffrey C.; Weamer, Veva M.

doi:10.1130/b31690.1

Cited by 17 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Over land, there exists geological evidence of wetter subtropical land conditions throughout the Pliocene. Western North America was wetter, with sedimentary evidence of large perennial lakes in Colorado (Machette et al., 2013), Southwestern Idaho (Forester, 1991), and the Death Valley and Lower Colorado River regions of eastern California (Knott et al., 2008; Knott et al., 2018; G. I. Smith, 1984). Paleobotanic evidence also indicates higher levels of rainfall to the south of the Oregon‐California border (Thompson, 1991; Thompson & Fleming, 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Knott et al. (2018) showed shorelines of a number of Pliocene Lakes in the Death Valley‐Owens Valley region: Lake Russell, the predecessor to Mono Lake, Lake Manley, Owens, China, Searles Lakes, and other small lakes. Spencer et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A large lake occupied the Alamosa Basin throughout much of Pliocene and Quaternary time (Machette et al, 2013). Knott et al (2018) showed shorelines of a number of Pliocene Lakes in the Death Valley-Owens Valley region: Lake Russell, the predecessor to Mono Lake, Lake Manley, Owens, China, Searles Lakes, and other small lakes. Spencer et al (2013) reported widespread lacustrine sediment that seemed to occupy a series of early Pliocene lakes (Blythe, Mojave, Havasu, and Hualapai) along the modern Colorado River valley in California-Arizona.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Warmer Pliocene Upwelling Site SST Leads to Wetter Subtropical Coastal Areas: A Positive Feedback on SST

Molnár

Tziperman

2022

Paleoceanog and Paleoclimatol

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The early to middle Pliocene (5.3-3 Ma) was the most recent epoch of prolonged global warmth relative to modern day. Proxy records point to several notable differences between Pliocene and modern-day climates. The Pliocene was characterized by strongly polar-amplified warming (Dowsett et al., 1994;Thompson & Fleming, 1996), with slightly smaller Antarctic ice sheets and minimal Northern Hemisphere ice coverage (Ravelo et al., 2004). The mean east-west sea surface temperature (SST) gradient in the tropical equatorial Pacific may have been weaker (

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Warmer Pliocene Upwelling Site SST Leads to Wetter Subtropical Coastal Areas: A Positive Feedback on SST

Molnár

Tziperman

2022

Paleoceanog and Paleoclimatol

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“…These concerns have motivated improved understanding of the impact of drying and wetting on groundwater processes throughout the Quaternary as a means to predict the future of water availability in California. Research across the western United States has resulted in a variety of terrestrial records that encode Quaternary changes in hydrologic balance (Knott et al ., 2018; Springer et al ., 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiocarbon and stable isotope evidence of early to mid‐Holocene wet events from fluvial tufa deposits in Santa Cruz, CA

Kanner

Cortés

Ibarra

2022

J Quaternary Science

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It is increasingly important to document past records of hydrologic change in areas that are droughtprone to better predict the region's future vulnerability to recharge and water supply. Holocene spring-associated carbonate deposits serve as terrestrial records of water balance that can complement other local, high-resolution proxies that are moisture-sensitive. Here we examine two carbonate deposits (one inactive perched tufa site and one active fluvial tufa site) that form from ambient-temperature freshwater springs, as proxies of their depositional conditions. Radiocarbon ( 14 C) analyses of charcoal fragments from the inactive perched tufa record depositional ages of 6.2 ± 0.06 (2σ) cal ka BP and 8.0 ± 0.04 (2σ) cal ka BP and agree with the age models from other proxies of past pluvial periods in the region (~16 to 5 ka). The active fluvial tufas date to 853 ± 0.4 cal BP, representing conditions similar to modern flow. Geomorphologic and radiocarbon results indicate the perched tufa reflects wetter conditions fed by a higher water table. Stable isotopic analyses of carbonate (δ 13 C, δ 18 O) reveal distinct isotopic values between modern and early-mid-Holocene tufa. This work underscores potential for the analysis of other moisture-sensitive tufa deposits in coastal central California.

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“…There, the basal strata are older than ca. 3.3 Ma (Smith et al, 1983;Knott et al, 2018) and contain conglomerates with dacite clasts unlike those exposed in surrounding ranges. Clast descriptions are similar to the Eagle Crags rocks and rocks in member 1 and subunit 2e.…”

Section: Relation To Fault Motionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pliocene–Pleistocene basin evolution along the Garlock fault zone, Pilot Knob Valley, California

et al. 2020

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Exposed Pliocene–Pleistocene terrestrial strata provide an archive of the spatial and temporal development of a basin astride the sinistral Garlock fault in California. In the southern Slate Range and Pilot Knob Valley, an ~2000-m-thick package of Late Cenozoic strata has been uplifted and tilted to the northeast. We name this succession the formation of Pilot Knob Valley and provide new chronologic, stratigraphic, and provenance data for these rocks. The unit is divided into five members that record different source areas and depositional patterns: (1) the lowest exposed strata are conglomeratic rocks derived from Miocene Eagle Crags volcanic field to the south and east across the Garlock fault; (2) the second member consists mostly of fine-grained rocks with coarser material derived from both southern and northern sources; and (3) the upper three members are primarily coarse-grained conglomerates and sandstones derived from the adjacent Slate Range to the north. Tephrochronologic data from four ash samples bracket deposition of the second member to 3.6–3.3 Ma and the fourth member to between 1.1 and 0.6 Ma. A fifth tephrochronologic sample from rocks south of the Garlock fault near Christmas Canyon brackets deposition of a possible equivalent to the second member of the formation of Pilot Knob Valley at ca. 3.1 Ma. Although the age of the base of the lowest member is not directly dated, regional stratigraphic and tectonic associations suggest that the basin started forming ca. 4–5 Ma. By ca. 3.6 Ma, the northward progradation fanglomerate sourced in the Eagle Crags region waned, and subsequent deposition occurred in shallow lacustrine systems. At ca. 3.3 Ma, southward progradation of conglomerates derived from the Slate Range began. Circa 1.1 Ma, continued southward progradation of fanglomerate with Slate Range sources is characterized by a shift to coarser grain sizes, interpreted to reflect uplift of the Slate Range. Overall, basin architecture and the temporal evolution of different source regions were controlled by activity on three regionally important faults—the Garlock, the Marine Gate, and the Searles Valley faults. The timing and style of motions on these faults appear to be directly linked to patterns of basin development.

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Late Neogene–Quaternary tephrochronology, stratigraphy, and paleoclimate of Death Valley, California, USA

Cited by 17 publications

References 60 publications

Warmer Pliocene Upwelling Site SST Leads to Wetter Subtropical Coastal Areas: A Positive Feedback on SST

Warmer Pliocene Upwelling Site SST Leads to Wetter Subtropical Coastal Areas: A Positive Feedback on SST

Radiocarbon and stable isotope evidence of early to mid‐Holocene wet events from fluvial tufa deposits in Santa Cruz, CA

Pliocene–Pleistocene basin evolution along the Garlock fault zone, Pilot Knob Valley, California

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