DESERT WETLANDS RECORD HYDROLOGIC VARIABILITY WITHIN THE YOUNGER DRYAS CHRONOZONE, MOJAVE DESERT, USA

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey S. Pigati ◽  
◽  
Kathleen B. Springer ◽  
Jeffrey S. Honke
Keyword(s):  
Mojave Desert ◽  
Younger Dryas ◽  
Hydrologic Variability ◽  
Desert Wetlands

Desert wetlands record hydrologic variability within the Younger Dryas chronozone, Mojave Desert, USA

2018 ◽  
Vol 91 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey S. Pigati ◽  
Kathleen B. Springer ◽  
Jeffrey S. Honke
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Great Basin ◽  
Mojave Desert ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Younger Dryas ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Wetland Ecosystems ◽  
Hydrologic Variability ◽  
Dry Conditions ◽  
Wet And Dry Cycles

AbstractOne of the enduring questions in the field of paleohydrology is how quickly desert wetland ecosystems responded to past episodes of abrupt climate change. Recent investigations in the Las Vegas Valley of southern Nevada have revealed that wetlands expanded and contracted on millennial and sub-millennial timescales in response to changes in climate during the late Quaternary. Here, we evaluate geologic evidence from multiple localities in the Mojave Desert and southern Great Basin that suggests the response of wetland systems to climate change is even faster, occurring at centennial, and possibly decadal, timescales. Paleowetland deposits at Dove Springs Wash, Mesquite Springs, and Little Dixie Wash, California, contain evidence of multiple wet and dry cycles in the form of organic-rich black mats, representing periods of past groundwater discharge and wet conditions, interbedded with colluvial, alluvial, and aeolian sediments, each representing dry conditions. Many of these wet-dry cycles date to within the Younger Dryas (YD) chronozone (12.9–11.7 ka), marking the first timeintra-YD hydrologic variability has been documented in paleowetland deposits. Our results illustrate that desert wetland ecosystems are exceptionally sensitive to climate change and respond to climatic perturbations on timescales that are relevant to human society.

scholarly journals Late Pleistocene to present lake-level fluctuations at Pyramid and Winnemucca lakes, Nevada, USA

2019 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
pp. 146-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth D. Adams ◽  
Edward J. Rhodes
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Conditions ◽  
River Discharge ◽  
Lake Level ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Younger Dryas ◽  
Level Curve ◽  
Dry Period ◽  
Volume Changes ◽  
Hydrologic Variability ◽  
State Changes

AbstractA new lake-level curve for Pyramid and Winnemucca lakes, Nevada, is presented that indicates that after the ~15,500 cal yr BP Lake Lahontan high stand (1338 m), lake level fell to an elevation below 1200 m, before rising to 1230 m at the 12,000 cal yr BP Younger Dryas high stand. Lake level then fell to 1155 m by ~10,500 cal yr BP followed by a rise to 1200 m around 8000 cal yr BP. During the mid-Holocene, levels were relatively low (~1155 m) before rising to moderate levels (1190–1195 m) during the Neopluvial period (~4800–3400 cal yr BP). Lake level again plunged to about 1155 m during the late Holocene dry period (~2800–1900 cal yr BP) before rising to about 1190 m by ~1200 cal yr BP. Levels have since fluctuated within the elevation range of about 1170–1182 m except for the last 100 yr of managed river discharge when they dropped to as low as 1153 m. Late Holocene lake-level changes correspond to volume changes between 25 and 55 km3 and surface area changes between 450 and 900 km2. These lake state changes probably encompass the hydrologic variability possible under current climate boundary conditions.

THE REGIONAL RESPONSE OF DESERT WETLANDS TO ABRUPT CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE MOJAVE DESERT AND SOUTHERN GREAT BASIN

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen B. Springer ◽  
◽  
Jeffrey S. Pigati ◽  
Jeffrey S. Pigati ◽  
Craig R. Manker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Great Basin ◽  
Mojave Desert ◽  
Abrupt Climate Change ◽  
Desert Wetlands

LATE HOLOCENE HYDROLOGIC VARIABILITY IN THE SOUTHEAST MOJAVE DESERT USING SEDIMENTS FROM FORD LAKE, CALIFORNIA

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenifer A. Leidelmeijer ◽  
◽  
Matthew E. Kirby ◽  
William T. Anderson ◽  
Stefanie A. Mayer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mojave Desert ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Hydrologic Variability

scholarly journals Subpopulation augmentation among habitat patches as a tool to manage an endangered Mojave Desert wetlands-dependent rodent during anthropogenic restricted water climate regimes

PLoS ONE ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. e0224246
Author(s):  
Andrés M. López-Pérez ◽  
Janet Foley ◽  
Austin Roy ◽  
Risa Pesapane ◽  
Stephanie Castle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mojave Desert ◽  
Habitat Patches ◽  
Desert Wetlands

Late Quaternary paleohydrology of desert wetlands and pluvial lakes in the Soda Lake basin, central Mojave Desert, California (USA)

2019 ◽  
Vol 216 ◽  
pp. 89-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.S. Honke ◽  
J.S. Pigati ◽  
J. Wilson ◽  
J. Bright ◽  
H.L. Goldstein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mojave Desert ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Soda Lake ◽  
Lake Basin ◽  
Pluvial Lakes ◽  
Desert Wetlands

scholarly journals Accumulation of impact markers in desert wetlands and implications for the Younger Dryas impact hypothesis

2012 ◽  
Vol 109 (19) ◽  
pp. 7208-7212 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. Pigati ◽  
C. Latorre ◽  
J. A. Rech ◽  
J. L. Betancourt ◽  
K. E. Martinez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Younger Dryas ◽  
Desert Wetlands ◽  
Impact Hypothesis
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