US EditionNevada Cave Reveals 580,000 Years of Climate Shifts
The study reveals sharp mid-interglacial groundwater declines and vegetation loss in Nevada using oxygen-isotope analysis from Devils Hole calcite deposits.
- Last week, Oregon State paleoclimatologist Kathleen Wendt led a team that reported a calcite deposit in Devils Hole fissure, southern Nevada, preserves 580,000 years of climate history in Nature Communications.
- Faced with sparse terrestrial archives in the Southwest United States, scientists turned to groundwater depositing metre-thick mineral layers that record past climate in arid regions.
- Wendt abseiled 20m into Devils Hole II and drilled a one-metre core to extract calcite, then analyzed oxygen isotopes to reconstruct past hydroclimate conditions.
- Analysis indicates alternating glacial and interglacial periods, with sharp mid-interglacial groundwater declines and vegetation losses linked to Pacific storm track shifts.
- By filling a terrestrial gap, the study provides a rare hydroclimate archive for the arid US Southwest, with Christo Buizert, Oregon State associate professor and co-author, noting this informs understanding of current and future climates.
7 Articles
7 Articles
Controls on the southwest USA hydroclimate over the last six glacial-interglacial cycles - Nature Communications
The Great Basin in the southwest United States experienced major hydroclimate shifts throughout the Quaternary. Understanding the drivers behind these past changes has become increasingly important for improving future climate projections. Here, we present an absolute-dated δ18O and δ13C record from Devils Hole cave 2 (southern Nevada) that reveals climate and environmental changes in the southern Great Basin over the last 580,000 years. Water i…
Controls on the southwest USA hydroclimate over the last six glacial-interglacial cycles
The Great Basin in the southwest United States experienced major hydroclimate shifts throughout the Quaternary. Understanding the drivers behind these past changes has become increasingly important for improving future climate projections. Here, we ...
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