Radiocarbon Chronology of Lake Lahontan and Lake Bonneville

Hydrology of modern and late holocene lakes, Death Valley, California

“…This lake-water-budget equation is similar to the equations used by Enzel (1992), Brakenridge (1978), Snyder and Langbein (1962), and Broecker and Orr (1958) to evaluate the hydroclimatology of late Quaternary, closed-basin lakes in the Western United States. From Snyder and Langbein's (1962) study of the requisite precipitation runoff for a perennial, late Pleistocene lake in Spring Valley, Nevada, they concluded that the Dec average water loss from a lake basin must equal the combined runoff to the lake from its tributary (catchment) area.…”

Paleoclimatic significance of lake level fluctuations in the Lahontan Basin. [Pyramid Lake, Nevada]

“…Broecker and his co-workers (Broecker and Orr, 1958;Broecker and Walton, 1959;Broecker and Kaufman, 1965) were the first to attempt a determination of the absolute chronology of Lake Lahontan. Certain inconsistencies in Broecker's radiocarbon determinations led to a redetermination of the chronology (Benson, 1978).…”

“…During the Quaternary, the Great Basin of the western United States was the site of several large lake systems (Russell, 1885;Gilbert, 1890;Broecker and Orr, 1958;Broecker and Kaufman, 1965;Horrison and Frye, 1965;Hifflin and Wheat, 1977). Various workers have attempted to estimate the type of paleoclimate responsible for the creation and maintenance of these lakes (Russell, 1885;Jones, 1925;Antevs, 1952;Broecker and Orr, 1958;Snyder and Langbein, 1962;Galloway 1970;Reeves, 1973;Brakenridge, 1978) usually postulating a change in the precipitation or evaporation rate as the controlling factor.…”

“…Various workers have attempted to estimate the type of paleoclimate responsible for the creation and maintenance of these lakes (Russell, 1885;Jones, 1925;Antevs, 1952;Broecker and Orr, 1958;Snyder and Langbein, 1962;Galloway 1970;Reeves, 1973;Brakenridge, 1978) usually postulating a change in the precipitation or evaporation rate as the controlling factor. However, the relative importance of these factors remains controversial.…”

Preliminary paleolimnologic data for the Walker Lake subbasin, California and Nevada

“…2). During the Pleistocene large pluvial lakes occupied the Lahontan basin several times (Russell, 1885;Broecker and Orr, 1958;Kaufman, 1964;Morrison, 1964;Broecker and Kaufman, 1965;Kaufman and Broecker, 1965;Benson, 1978;Benson, 1981;Davis, 1982;Morrison and Davis, 1984;Thompson and others, 1986;Benson and Thompson, 1987a). For the most part, the prehistoric record of lake-level variation in the Lahontan basin generally was the result of climatic change.…”