Geomorphic Expression of Abrupt Climate Change in Southwestern North America at the Glacial Termination |
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| Authors: | Roger Y Anderson Bruce D Allen Kirsten M Menking |
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| Institution: | Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87131;New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, New Mexico, 87801;Department of Geology and Geography, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York, 12604 |
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| Abstract: | Eolian and subaqueous landforms composed of gypsum sand provide geomorphic evidence for a wet episode at the termination of glacial climate in southwestern North America. Drying of pluvial Lake Estancia, central New Mexico, occurred after ca. 12,000 14C yr B.P. Thereafter, eolian landforms on the old lake floor, constructed of gypsum sand, were overridden by rising lake water, modified by subaqueous processes, and organized into beach ridges along the lake's eastern shore. Preservation of preexisting eolian landforms in the shallow lake suggests abupt changes in lake level and climate. Available radiocarbon ages suggest that the final highstand recorded by beach ridges may have developed during the Younger Dryas (YD) stade. The beach ridges provide information about lake surface area, which was 45% of the lake area reached during the maximum highstands of the late Pleistocene. A similar proportional response has been reported for YD climate changes outside the North Atlantic region. |
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