Late Pleistocene dune activity in the central Great Plains, USA

Interpretations and common challenges of aeolian records from North American dune fields

“…Unlike fluvial-sourced bordering dune fields on the Great Plains, the Nebraska Sand Hills was most likely a significant dune field prior to the collapse of Pinedale Glaciers (Watts and Wright, 1964;Muhs et al, 1997;Mason et al, 2011). Additionally, despite bordering the Platte River, geochemical evidence shows that the majority of sand comprising the Nebraska Sand Hills does not come from the river.…”

“…Though chronological evidence is limited, Mason et al (2011) argued that the late Pleistocene dune record likely represented only the final stage of dune construction, which began much earlier. This hypothesis is further supported by geochemical evidence indicating that the dunes formed, at least in part, from eroded Tertiary bedrock and reworked Pleistocene-age sand sheets (Muhs et al, 1997).…”

“…Due to these originating conditions, past dune construction has been due to variations in transport capacity and sediment availability. During Late Pleistocene and early Holocene periods, strong winds may have played a significant role in dune construction in most dune fields (Wolfe et al, 2004;Mason et al, 2011). During the Holocene the main factor affecting dune construction, particularly within the Prairie Grassland where winds are typically sufficient to entrain exposed sediment much of time, has been sediment availability, as expressed by variation in vegetation cover.…”

Climate-driven changes to dune activity during the Last Glacial Maximum and deglaciation in the Mu Us dune field, north-central China

“…Grain size distribution of sediment samples was analyzed using a Malvern 2000G laser diffraction particle analyzer after removal of organic matter and carbonate, following a preparation procedure to ensure complete disaggregation of the individual grains (Lu and An, 1997). Sand samples were dated using the single aliquot regenerativedose OSL protocol (Murray and Wintle, 2003). Sample preparation was carried out under amber-light conditions.…”

Temporal and spatial variability in dune reactivation across the Nebraska Sand Hills, USA

“…The dunes in the Nebraska Sand Hills have been the focus of many recent studies focused on determining the timing of dune reactivations (Forman et al, 2005;Goble et al, 2004;Mason et al, 2004Mason et al, , 2011Miao et al, 2007;Muhs et al, 1997;Stokes and Swinehart, 1997;Stokes et al, 1999). Early researchers considered the Sand Hills to be primarily Pleistocene relicts, with little to no movement of the dunes during the Holocene (Smith, 1965).…”