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A spatially explicit model of runoff, evaporation, and lake extent: Application to modern and late Pleistocene lakes in the Great Basin region, western United States

“…[9] Multiple studies have estimated the climatic conditions that caused the formation of megalakes in the Great Basin during the late Pleistocene. Methods used to study paleoclimates include: radiocarbon dating and assessment of environmental limitations on ostracodes [Forester, 1987;Forester et al, 2005;Oviatt et al, 1999;Quade et al, 2003] and plants preserved in fossil middens [Madsen et al, 2001;Spaulding and Graumlich, 1986], estimation of homogenization temperatures of halite inclusions Lowenstein et al, 1999;Roberts and Spencer, 1995;Roberts et al, 1997], measurements of sediment yield rates [Lemons et al, 1996], examination of diatoms and fossilized pollen extracted from lake sediment cores [Platt Bradbury, 1997;Litwin et al, 1999], and simulations via various computer models, such as General Circulation Models (GCMs) [Gates, 1976;Hostetler and Benson, 1990], water balance models [Menking et al, 2004;Wells et al, 2003], and energy balance models [Benson, 1981]. Estimates of paleoclimatic conditions during the late Pleistocene given in these studies range widely (Table 1).…”