Cosmogenic nuclide ages for Last Glacial Maximum moraine at Schnells Ridge, Southwest Tasmania

Moraines on Schnells Ridge, southwest Tasmania, have been dated using in situ ¹⁰Be. An age of 19,400 ± 600 yr is indicated for the well-preserved innermost moraine from consistent measurements on four large quartzite boulders. This corresponds closely with exposure ages reported by T.T. Barrows et al. (2002, Quaternary Science Reviews 21, 159–173) for Last Glacial Maximum glacial features farther north in Tasmania and southeast Australia. In contrast, ages between 39,000 and 141,000 yr were obtained from a series of boulders on a more extensive outer moraine, indicating that this has had a more complex history.     

New chronological and stratigraphical data on the Ivrea amphitheatre (Piedmont, NW Italy)

The Ivrea amphitheatre (IA) in NW Italy has been studied since 1850, on pedostratigraphic and morphological bases. Three stratigraphic groups of glacial sediments were distinguished. Newly recognized stratigraphic boundaries are based on interstadial/interglacial units, palaeosols and lacustrine organic layers interbedded with glacigenic deposits, and on pedostratigraphy. Mapping of morphological features and associated marginal and sub-glacial deposit facies was used to characterize and reconstruct glacial margin fluctuations. Based on the field evidence, the stratigraphical limits recognized at single sites can be interpolated over the whole amphitheatre. Ten stratigraphic units (referred to as alloformations: Afs) were distinguished and mapped. They are related to at least as many glacial episodes ranging in age from the end of the Early Pleistocene to the Late Pleistocene. The youngest three glacial units (Serra Af, Piverone Af and Ivrea Af) and one interstadial level (Alice Superiore Unit between Serra and Piverone Afs) are discussed in detail. Based on biostratigraphical and pedological, as well as sedimentological and morphological data, the Serra Af can be attributed to MIS 6 and Piverone Af to MIS 4. The ¹⁰Be surface exposure ages from two boulders (27.9±3.1, 32.4±4.0 kyr) on the Serra d’Ivrea moraine provide only a minimum age for moraine construction. The alignment of typical ice marginal landforms (moraines and kame terraces) for the more recent unit (Ivrea Af) has allowed recognition of 12 principal stadials during the LGM and Lateglacial; 6 stadials in the amphitheatre and 6 stadials in Dora Baltea Valley, and reconstruction of the nature of the last glacial retreat from the amphitheatre to the cirques. ¹⁰Be exposure ages from three boulders related to Ivrea Af are 13.1±1.0, 17.4±2.6 and 20.8±1.5 ka. The latter two ages indicate that the Dora Baltea Glacier deposited the Ivrea Af in the IA during MIS 2. The ¹⁰Be exposure ages of 14.6±1.2 and 14.0±0.9 ka from a polished bedrock surface some 15 km upstream from the amphitheatre provide a minimum age for ice decay.     

Exposure ages from relict lateral moraines overridden by the Fennoscandian ice sheet

Lateral moraines constructed along west to east sloping outlet glaciers from mountain centred, pre-last glacial maximum (LGM) ice fields of limited extent remain largely preserved in the northern Swedish landscape despite overriding by continental ice sheets, most recently during the last glacial. From field evidence, including geomorphological relationships and a detailed weathering profile including a buried soil, we have identified seven such lateral moraines that were overridden by the expansion and growth of the Fennoscandian ice sheet. Cosmogenic ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al exposure ages of 19 boulders from the crests of these moraines, combined with the field evidence, are correlated to episodes of moraine stabilisation, Pleistocene surface weathering, and glacial overriding. The last deglaciation event dominates the exposure ages, with ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al data derived from 15 moraine boulders indicating regional deglaciation 9600 ± 200 yr ago. This is the most robust numerical age for the final deglaciation of the Fennoscandian ice sheet. The older apparent exposure ages of the remaining boulders (14,600-26,400 yr) can be explained by cosmogenic nuclide inheritance from previous exposure of the moraine crests during the last glacial cycle. Their potential exposure history, based on local glacial chronologies, indicates that the current moraine morphologies formed at the latest during marine oxygen isotope stage 5. Although numerous deglaciation ages were obtained, this study demonstrates that numerical ages need to be treated with caution and assessed in light of the geomorphological evidence indicating moraines are not necessarily formed by the event that dominates the cosmogenic nuclide data.     

Surface exposure dating of the Great Aletsch Glacier Egesen moraine system,western Swiss Alps,using the cosmogenic nuclide 10Be

Egesen moraines throughout the Alps mark a glacial advance that has been correlated with the Younger Dryas cold period. Using the surface exposure dating method, in particular the measurement of the cosmogenic nuclide ¹⁰Be in rock surfaces, we attained four ages for boulders on a prominent Egesen moraine of Great Aletsch Glacier, in the western Swiss Alps. The ¹⁰Be dates range from 10 460±1100 to 9040±1020 yr ago. Three ¹⁰Be dates between 9630±810 and 9040±1020 yr ago are based upon samples from the surfaces of granite boulders. Two ¹⁰Be dates, 10 460±1100 and 9910±970 yr ago, are based upon a sample from a quartz vein at the surface of a schist boulder. In consideration of the numerous factors that can influence apparently young ¹⁰Be dates and the scatter within the data, we interpret the weighted mean of four boulder ages, 9640±430 yr (including the weighted mean of two ¹⁰Be dates of the quartz vein), as a minimum age of deposition of the moraine. All ¹⁰Be dates from the Great Aletsch Glacier Egesen moraine are consistent with radiocarbon dates of nearby bog‐bottom organic sediments, which provide minimum ages of deglaciation from the moraine. The ¹⁰Be dates from boulders on the Great Aletsch Glacier Egesen moraine also are similar to ¹⁰Be dates from Egesen moraines of Vadret Lagrev Glacier on Julier Pass, in the eastern Swiss Alps. Both the morphology of the Great Aletsch Glacier Egesen moraine and the comparison with ¹⁰Be dates from the inner Vadret Lagrev Egesen moraine support the hypothesis that the climatic cooling that occurred during the Younger Dryas cold episode influenced the glacial advance that deposited the Great Aletsch Glacier Egesen moraine. Because of the large size and slow response time of Great Aletsch Glacier, we suggest that the Great Aletsch Glacier Egesen moraine was formed during the last glacial advance of the multiphased Egesen cold period, the Kromer stage, during the Preboreal chron. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Paleoecology of a Middle Wisconsin Deposit from Southern California

Analysis of a buried deposit in the Diamond Valley of southern California has revealed well-preserved pollen, wood, and diatom remains. Accelerator mass spectrometry dates of 41,200±2100 and 41,490±1380 ¹⁴C yr B.P. place this deposit in marine isotope stage 3. Diatoms suggest a shallow lacustrine environment. Pollen data suggest that several plant communities were present near the site, with grassland, scrub, chaparral, forest, and riparian communities represented. Comparison with modern pollen suggests similarities with montane forests in the nearby San Bernardino and San Jacinto ranges, indicating vegetation lowering by at least 900 m elevation and temperatures 4°–5°C cooler than today. An increase in high-elevation conifer pollen documents climatic cooling near the profile top. Early-profile diatoms are typical of warm water with high alkalinity and conductivity, whereas later diatoms suggest a higher flow regime and input of cooler water into the system. We suggest that the sequence is part of the cooling phase of an interstadial Dansgaard–Oeschger cycle. Records of the middle Wisconsin period are rare in southern California, but the Diamond Valley site is similar to records from Tulare Lake in the San Joaquin Valley and the ODP Site 893A record from Santa Barbara Basin. It is probable that the Diamond Valley assemblage is a local expression of a vegetation type widespread in the ranges and basins of southwestern California during the middle Wisconsin.     

Improving in Situ Cosmogenic Chronometers

New radiocarbon ages for Sierra Nevada deglaciation, the first ¹⁰ Be measurements from the Laurentide terminal moraine, and calculations based on paleomagnetic field strength have the potential to substantially improve the accuracy of cosmogenic age estimates. Specifically, three new constraints apply to the interpretation of measured abundances of in situ produced cosmogenic ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al: (1) A suite of minimum-limiting radiocarbon dates indicates that the Sierra Nevada was deglaciated at least several thousand years earlier than assumed when Nishiizumi et al. (1989) first calibrated ¹⁰Be and ²⁶ Al production rates based on polished bedrock surfaces in the range, with retreat beginning by 18,000 cal yr B.P. and completed by 13,000 cal yr B.P. (2) Concentrations of ¹⁰Be in moraine boulders and glacier-polished bedrock in New Jersey show little variance (10%, 1σ) and can be used to calculate a preliminary ¹⁰Be production rate (integrated over the past 21,000-22,000 cal yr B.P. at 41°, 200-300 m altitude) that is about 20% lower than currently accepted. (3) Calculations of the effect of past geomagnetic field-strength variations on production rates suggest that the use of temporally averaged production rates may generate age errors of >20%; however, cosmogenic exposure ages can be corrected for this effect, although the corrections currently are imprecise. Many previously reported late-Pleistocene ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al exposure ages are probably too young and are less accurate and less precise than implied by reported uncertainties. The discrepancy between accepted production rates and those calculated from Laurentide exposures, when considered together with the Sierran deglacial chronology and the model results, suggest that correlations between cosmogenic and other numerical ages, especially for brief events like the Younger Dryas and Heinrich events, will not be robust until temporal variations and the altitude/latitude scaling of production rates are fully understood and quantified at levels comparable to current analytic uncertainties (3%).     

Cosmogenic nuclide exposure ages for moraines in the Lago San Martin Valley, Argentina

At several times during the Quaternary, a major eastward-flowing outlet glacier of the former Patagonian Ice Sheet occupied the Lago San Martin Valley in Argentina (49°S, 72°W). We present a glacial chronology for the valley based on geomorphological mapping and cosmogenic nuclide (¹⁰Be) exposure ages (n = 10) of boulders on moraines and lake shorelines. There are five prominent moraine belts in the Lago San Martin Valley, associated with extensive sandar (glaciofluvial outwash plains) and former lake shorelines. Cosmogenic nuclide exposure ages for boulders on these moraines indicate that they formed at 14.3 ± 1.7 ka, 22.4 ± 2.3 ka, 34.4 ± 3.4 ka to 37.6 ± 3.4 ka (and possibly 60 ± 3.5 ka), and 99 ± 11 ka (1σ). These dated glacier advances differ from published chronologies from the Lago San Martin Valley based on ¹⁴C age determinations from organic sediments and molluscs in meltwater channels directly in front of moraines or in kettleholes within end moraine ridges. The moraine boulder ages also point to possible pre-LGM glacial advances during the last glacial cycle and a key observation from our data is that the LGM glaciers were probably less extensive in the Lago San Martin Valley than previously thought.     

Moraine chronosequence of the Donnelly Dome region, Alaska

We present ¹⁰Be exposure ages from moraines in the Delta River Valley, a reference locality for Pleistocene glaciation in the northern Alaska Range. The ages are from material deposited during the Delta and Donnelly glaciations, which have been correlated with MIS 6 and 2, respectively. ¹⁰Be chronology indicates that at least part of the Delta moraine stabilized during MIS 4/3, and that the Donnelly moraine stabilized ∼ 17 ka. These ages correlate with other dates from the Alaska Range and other regions in Alaska, suggesting synchronicity across Beringia during pulses of late Pleistocene glaciation. Several sample types were collected: boulders, single clasts, and gravel samples (amalgamated small clasts) from around boulders as well as from surfaces devoid of boulders. Comparing ¹⁰Be ages of these sample types reveals the influence of pre/post-depositional processes, including boulder erosion, boulder exhumation, and moraine surface lowering. These processes occur continuously but seem to accelerate during and immediately after successive glacial episodes. The result is a multi-peak age distribution indicating that once a moraine persists through subsequent glaciations the chronological significance of cosmogenic ages derived from samples collected on that moraine diminishes significantly. The absence of Holocene ages implies relatively minor exhumation and/or weathering since 12 ka.     

Age of the Cutler Dam Alloformation (Late Pleistocene), Bonneville Basin, Utah

Luminescence geochronology, especially infrared stimulated luminescence analyses on marsh mud, shows that a relatively deep lake reached its peak (1340 m above sea level) in the Bonneville basin 59,000±5000 yr ago. The age is consistent with nonfinite ¹⁴C ages and with amino acid geochronology on ostracodes. The Cutler Dam Alloformation was deposited during this lake cycle, which, like the subsequent Bonneville lake cycle, appears to have reached its maximum highstand following the peak of a global glacial stage (marine oxygen-isotope stage 4) but at a time when other records from North America show evidence for cold climate and expanded glacier ice.     

Determination of Cl Production Rates Derived from the Well-Dated Deglaciation Surfaces of Whidbey and Fidalgo Islands, Washington

The ³⁶Cl dating method is increasingly being used to determine the surface-exposure history of Quaternary landforms. Production rates for the ³⁶Cl isotopic system, a critical component of the dating method, have now been refined using the well-constrained radiocarbon-based deglaciation history of Whidbey and Fidalgo Islands, Washington. The calculated total production rates due to calcium and potassium are 91±5 atoms ³⁶Cl (g Ca)⁻¹ yr⁻¹ and are 228±18 atoms ³⁶Cl (g K)⁻¹ yr⁻¹, respectively. The calculated ground-level secondary neutron production rate in air, P_f(0), inferred from thermal neutron absorption by ³⁵Cl is 762±28 neutrons (g air)⁻¹ yr⁻¹ for samples with low water content (1–2 wt.%). Neutron absorption by serpentinized harzburgite samples of the same exposure age, having higher water content (8–12 wt.%), is 40% greater relative to that for dry samples. These data suggest that existing models do not adequately describe thermalization and capture of neutrons for hydrous rock samples. Calculated ³⁶Cl ages of samples collected from the surfaces of a well-dated dacite flow (10,600–12,800 cal yr B.P.) and three disparate deglaciated localities are consistent with close limiting calibrated ¹⁴C ages, thereby supporting the validity of our ³⁶Cl production rates integrated over the last 15,500 cal yr between latitudes of 46.5° and 51°N. Although our production rates are internally consistent and yield reasonable exposure ages for other localities, there nevertheless are significant differences between these production rates and those of other investigators.     

Late Quaternary glacial and climate history of the Pamir Mountains derived from cosmogenic Be exposure ages

Moraines southwest of Lake Yashilkul, Pamir, Tajikistan, were dated using ¹⁰Be exposure ages of boulder surfaces. We found evidence for (1) an extensive glaciation ∼60,000 yr ago; (2) a less extensive glacial advance, which deposited a characteristic hummocky moraine lobe with exposure ages ranging from ∼11,000 to 47,000 yr, probably deposited at or before 47,000 yr ago; and (3) lateral moraines with exposure ages of ∼40,000 yr, 27,000 yr and 19,000 yr, respectively. Increasing aridity in the Pamir is most likely responsible for the progressively limited extent of the glaciers during the Late Pleistocene.     

Extensive Early and Middle Wisconsin Glaciation on the Western Olympic Peninsula, Washington, and the Variability of Pacific Moisture Delivery to the Northwestern United States

Large glaciers descended western valleys of the Olympic Mountains six times during the last (Wisconsin) glaciation, terminating in the Pacific coastal lowlands. The glaciers constructed extensive landforms and thick stratigraphic sequences, which commonly contain wood and other organic detritus. The organic material, coupled with stratigraphic data, provides a detailed radiocarbon chronology of late Pleistocene ice-margin fluctuations. The early Wisconsin Lyman Rapids advance, which terminated prior to ca. 54,000 ¹⁴C yr B.P., represented the most extensive ice cover. Subsequent glacier expansions included the Hoh Oxbow 1 advance, which commenced between ca. 42,000 and 35,000 ¹⁴C yr B.P.; the Hoh Oxbow 2 advance, ca. 30,800 to 26,300 ¹⁴C yr B.P.; the Hoh Oxbow 3 advance, ca. 22,000–19,300 ¹⁴C yr B.P.; the Twin Creeks 1 advance, 19,100–18,300 ¹⁴C yr B.P.; and the subsequent, undated Twin Creeks 2 advance. The Hoh Oxbow 2 advance represents the greatest ice extent of the last 50,000 yr, with the glacier extending 22 km further downvalley than during the Twin Creeks 1 advance, which is correlative with the global last glacial maximum. Local pollen data indicate intensified summer cooling during successive stadial events. Because ice extent was diminished during colder stadial events, precipitation—not summer temperature—influenced the magnitude of glaciation most strongly. Regional aridity, independently documented by extensive pollen evidence, limited ice extent during the last glacial maximum. The timing of glacier advances suggests causal links with North Atlantic Bond cycles and Heinrich events.     

Cosmogenic-nuclide ages for New England coastal moraines, Martha's Vineyard and Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA

Cosmogenic-nuclide exposure ages for 13 glacially transported boulders atop the Martha's Vineyard moraine, MA, USA, indicate that the southeastern margin of the Laurentide ice sheet reached its maximum extent during the last glaciation 23,200±500 yr ago. Another 10 age determinations from the younger Buzzards Bay moraine near Woods Hole, MA, indicate that this moraine complex was formed 18,800±400 yr ago. These ages correlate approximately with the terminations of cooling cycles recorded in Greenland ice cores and coeval ice-rafting events, suggesting that the marginal position of this sector of the ice sheet was tightly coupled to North Atlantic climate during the last glacial maximum.     

Constructing Seasonal Climograph Overlap Envelopes from Holocene Packrat Midden Contents, Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado

Five Neotoma spp. (packrat) middens are analyzed from Sand Canyon Alcove, Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado. Plant remains in middens dated at approximately 9870, 9050, 8460, 3000, and 0 ¹⁴C yr B.P. are used to estimate Holocene seasonal temperature and precipitation values based on modern plant tolerances published by Thompson et al. (1999a, 1999b). Early Holocene vegetation at the alcove shows a transition from a cool/mesic to a warmer, more xeric community between 9050 and 8460 ¹⁴C yr B.P. Picea pungens, Pinus flexilis, and Juniperus communis exhibit an average minimum elevational displacement of 215 m. Picea pungens and Pinus flexilis are no longer found in the monument.Estimates based on modern plant parameters (Thompson et al., 1999a) suggest that average temperatures at 9870 ¹⁴C yr B.P. may have been at least 1° to 3°C colder in January and no greater than 3° to 10°C colder in July than modern at this site. Precipitation during this time may have been at least 2 times modern in January and 2 to 3 times modern in July. Discrepancies in estimated temperature and precipitation tolerances between last occurrence and first occurrence taxa in the midden record suggest that midden assemblages may include persisting relict vegetation.     

Constraints on the late Quaternary glaciations in Tibet from cosmogenic exposure ages of moraine surfaces

This contribution provides new constraints on the timing of Tibetan glacial recessions recorded by the abandonment of moraines. We present cosmogenic radionuclide ¹⁰Be inventories at 17 sites in southern and western Tibet (32 crests, 249 samples) and infer the range of permissible emplacement ages based on these analyses. Individual large embedded rock and boulder samples were collected from the crests of moraine surfaces and analyzed for ¹⁰Be abundance. We consider two scenarios to interpret the age of glacial recession leading to the moraine surface formation from these sample exposure ages: 1) Erosion of the moraine surface is insignificant and so the emplacement age of the moraines is reflected by the mean sample age; and 2) Erosion progressively exposes large boulders with little prior exposure, and so the oldest sample age records the minimum moraine emplacement age. We found that depending on the scenario chosen, the moraine emplacement age can vary by > 50% for ～100 ka-old samples. We consider two scaling models for estimating the production rates of ¹⁰Be in Tibet, which has an important, although lesser, effect on inferred moraine ages. While the data presented herein effectively increase the database of sample exposure ages from Tibet by ～20%, we find that uncertainties related to the interpretation of the ¹⁰Be abundance within individual samples in terms of moraine emplacement ages are sufficient to accommodate either a view in which glacial advances are associated with temperature minima or precipitation maxima that are recorded by independent paleoclimate proxies. A reanalysis of published data from moraines throughout Tibet shows that the variation we observe is not unique to our dataset but rather is a robust feature of the Tibetan moraine age database. Thus, when viewed in a similar way with other samples collected from this area, uncertainties within moraine exposure ages obscure attribution of Tibetan glacial advances to temperature minima or precipitation maxima. Our work suggests that more reliable chronologies of Tibetan glaciations will come from improvements in production rate models for this portion of the world, as well as a better understanding of the processes that form and modify these geomorphic surfaces.     

<Superscript>10</Superscript>Be surface exposure dating of the last deglaciation in the Aare Valley,Switzerland

The combined Rhone and Aare Glaciers presumably reached their last glacial maximum (LGM) extent on the Swiss Plateau prior to 24 ka. Two well-preserved, less extensive moraine stades, the Gurten and Bern Stade, document the last deglaciation of the Aare Valley, yet age constraints are very scarce. In order to establish a more robust chronology for the glacial/deglacial history of the Aare Valley, we applied ¹⁰Be surface exposure dating on eleven boulders from the Gurten and Bern Stade. Several exposure ages are of Holocene age and likely document post-depositional processes, including boulder toppling and quarrying. The remaining exposure ages, however yield oldest ages of 20.7 ± 2.2 ka for the Gurten Stade and 19.0 ± 2.0 ka for the Bern Stade. Our results are in good agreement with published chronologies from other sites in the Alps.     

The AD 1717 rock avalanche deposits in the upper Ferret Valley (Italy): a dating approach with cosmogenic 10Be

On 12 September AD 1717, a rock volume larger than 10 million m³ collapsed onto the Triolet Glacier, mobilized a mass composed of ice and sediment and travelled more than 7 km downvalley in the upper Ferret Valley, Mont Blanc Massif (Italy). This rock avalanche destroyed two small settlements, causing seven casualties and loss of livestock. No detailed maps were made at the time. Later investigators attributed accumulations of granitic boulders and irregular ridges on the upper valley floor to either glacial deposition, or the AD 1717 rock avalanche, or a complex mixture of glacial deposition, earlier rock avalanche and AD 1717 rock avalanche origin. In this study, we present cosmogenic ¹⁰Be exposure ages from nine boulders in the extensive chaotic boulder deposit with irregular ridges, two from Holocene glacier‐free areas, and one from a Little Ice Age moraine. Exposure ages between 330 ± 23 and 483 ± 123 a from eight of nine boulders from the chaotic deposit indicate that at least seven were deposited by the AD 1717 rock avalanche. The other three boulders yielded ¹⁰Be exposure ages of 10 900 ± 400, 9700 ± 400 and 244 ± 97 a, respectively. Our results are in good agreement with the existing chronology from dendrochronology and lichenometry, and radiocarbon analysis of wood samples, but not with older ¹⁴C ages from a peat bog in the upper part of the valley. Based on the new age control, the rock avalanche deposits cover the whole bottom of the upper Ferret valley. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cosmogenic Be dating of the Salpausselkä I Moraine in southwestern Finland

We determined in situ cosmogenic ¹⁰Be ages for nine boulders sampled on the Salpausselkä I (Ss I) Moraine. Previous dating of this moraine indicated that it formed during the Younger Dryas Stadial along the southern margin of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet in southern Finland. Our new exposure ages range from 10.9±1.0 to 13.5±1.2 ¹⁰Be ka, with an error-weighted mean age of 12.4±0.7 ¹⁰Be ka. Our results confirm four previous ¹⁰Be ages obtained 40 km northeast of our sample location. The combined data (n=13) indicate that retreat from the Ss I Moraine occurred at 12.5±0.7 ¹⁰Be ka, in excellent agreement with an age of 12.1 ka for retreat from the Ss I Moraine based on varve chronologies. These results identify the Ss I Moraine as among the best-dated margins associated with Late Quaternary ice sheets.     

A Late Glacial–Holocene Tephrochronology for Glacial Lakes in Southern Ecuador

Despite the presence of numerous active volcanoes in the northern half of Ecuador, few, if any, distal tephras have been previously recognized in the southern one third of the country. In this article, we document the presence of thin (0.1–1.0-cm-thick) distal tephras comprising glass and/or phenocrysts of hornblende and feldspar in sediment cores from five glacial lakes and one bog in Las Cajas National Park (2°40′–3°00′S, 79°00′–79°25′W). The lake cores contain from 5 to 7 tephras, and each has a diagnostic major element geochemistry as determined from electron microprobe analysis of 710 glass shards and 440 phenocrysts of feldspar and hornblende. The loss of sodium with exposure to the electron microbeam causes a 10±7 wt.% (±1σ) reduction in Na content, which we empirically determined and corrected for before correlating tephras among the sediment cores. We use a similarity coefficient to correlate among the sediment cores; pair-wise comparison of all tephras generally yields an unambiguous correlation among the cores. Six tephras can be traced among all or most of the cores, and several tephras are present in only one or two of the cores. Twenty-six accelerator mass spectrometry ¹⁴C dates on macrofossils preserved in the sediment cores provide the basis for establishing a regional tephrochronology. The widespread tephras were deposited 9900, 8800, 7300, 5300, 2500, and 2200 cal yr B.P. The oldest tephras were deposited 15,500 and 15,100 cal yr B.P., but these are not found in all cores. Two of the tephras appear correlative with volcaniclastic strata on the flanks of Volcán Cotopaxi and one tephra may correlate with strata on the flanks of Volcán Ninahuilca; both volcanoes are in central Ecuador. The absence of tephras in sediment cores correlative with the numerous eruptions of active volcanoes of the past two millennia implies that the earlier eruptions, which did deposit tephras in the lakes, must have been either especially voluminous, or southerly winds must have prevailed at the time of the eruption, or both.     

Terminal Pleistocene/Early Holocene Environmental Change at the Sunshine Locality, North-Central Nevada, U.S.A.

Sedimentological, faunal, and archaeological investigations at the Sunshine Locality, Long Valley, Nevada reveal a history of human adaptation and environmental change at the last glacial–interglacial transition in North America's north-central Great Basin. The locality contains a suite of lacustrine, alluvial, and eolian deposits associated with fluvially reworked faunal remains and Paleoindian artifacts. Radiocarbon-dated stratigraphy indicates a history of receding pluvial lake levels followed by alluvial downcutting and subsequent valley filling with marsh-like conditions at the end of the Pleistocene. A period of alluvial deposition and shallow water tables (9,800 to 11,000 ¹⁴C yr B.P.) correlates to the Younger Dryas. Subsequent drier conditions and reduced surface runoff mark the early Holocene; sand dunes replace wetlands by 8,000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. The stratigraphy at Sunshine is similar to sites located 400 km south and supports regional climatic synchroneity in the central and southern Great Basin during the terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene. Given regional climate change and recurrent geomorphic settings comparable to Sunshine, we believe that there is a high potential for buried Paleoindian features in primary association with extinct fauna elsewhere in the region yet to be discovered due to limited stratigraphic exposure and consequent low visibility.