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Holocene Climate and Environmental Change in the Great Basin of the Western United States: A Paleolimnological Approach

Reinemann, Scott A
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1372764346

Abstract Details

2013, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Geography.
In this dissertation, I have completed a research project that focused on reconstructing past climate and environmental conditions in the Great Basin of the western United States. This research project incorporates four discrete but interrelated studies. (1) The geochemistry of lake sediments was used to identify anthropogenic factors influencing aquatic ecosystems of sub-alpine lakes in the western United States during the past century. Sediment cores were recovered from six high elevation lakes in the central Great Basin of the United States. Mercury (Hg) flux varied among lakes but all exhibited increasing fluxes during the mid-20th century and declining fluxes during the late 20th century. Peak Spheroidal Carbonaceous Particles (SCP) flux for all lakes occurred at approximately 1970, after which SCP flux was greatly reduced. Atmospheric deposition is the primary source of Hg and anthropogenically produced SCPs to these pristine high elevation lakes during the late 20th century. (2) Chironomids are used to develop centennial length temperature reconstructions for six sub-alpine and alpine lakes in the central Great Basin of the United States. Chironomid-inferred temperature estimates indicate that four of the six lakes were characterized by above average air temperatures during the post-AD 1980 interval and below average temperatures during the early 20th century. This study adds to the growing body of evidence that sub-alpine and alpine lakes in the western United States have been, and are increasingly being affected by anthropogenic climate change in the early 21st century. (3) A sediment core representing the past two millennia was recovered from Stella Lake in the Snake Range of the central Great Basin in Nevada. The core was analyzed for sub-fossil chironomids and sediment organic content. The chironomid-based mean July air temperature (MJAT) reconstruction suggests that the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA), was characterized by MJAT elevated 1.0°C above the subsequent Little Ice Age (LIA), but likely not as warm as recent conditions. The Stella Lake record provides evidence that elevated summer temperature contributed to the increased aridity that characterized the western United States during the MCA. (4) Lake sediment cores spanning roughly the last 7,000 years were recovered from four small sub-alpine and alpine lakes located in central Great Basin of the United States. Reconstructions of MJAT were developed for each of the study sites using a chironomid-based inference model for MJAT (two-component Weighted Averaging-Partial Least Squares (WA-PLS)). The elevated temperature that characterizes the mid-Holocene at Stella Lake is surpassed only during the Medieval Climate Anomaly and in the post-AD 1800 interval. The reconstructions for the sites located in the northern portion of the study transect are characterized by greater variability, likely reflecting the influence of both radiative forcing and catchment-specific conditions.
Bryan Mark, PhD (Advisor)
David Porinchu, PhD (Advisor)
Ellen Mosley-Thompson, PhD (Committee Member)
Alvaro Montenegro, PhD (Committee Member)
226 p.
Atmospheric Sciences; Geography; Paleoclimate Science; Paleoecology; Physical Geography
Lake; Sediment; Mercury; Spheroidal Carbonaceous Particles; Deposition; Nevada, Great Basin, Subalpine; Medieval Climate Anomaly; Little Ice Age; paleoclimate; chironomids; midges; temperature;

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Citations

  • Reinemann, S. A. (2013). Holocene Climate and Environmental Change in the Great Basin of the Western United States: A Paleolimnological Approach [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1372764346

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Reinemann, Scott. Holocene Climate and Environmental Change in the Great Basin of the Western United States: A Paleolimnological Approach. 2013. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1372764346.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Reinemann, Scott. "Holocene Climate and Environmental Change in the Great Basin of the Western United States: A Paleolimnological Approach." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1372764346

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.