Cosmogenic 10Be Surface Exposure Dating and Numerical Modeling of Late Pleistocene Glaciers and Lakes in Northwestern Nevada
Abstract
This thesis focuses on the glacial record in the Pine Forest and Santa Rosa Ranges located in the northwestern Great Basin. Seventeen cosmogenic exposure ages in the two ranges are consistent with observations elsewhere in the Great Basin where glacier maxima and lake highstands in the northwestern Great Basin occurred at ~18-17 ka. Developing chronologies of moraines in the Santa Rosa and Pine Forest Ranges has helped to precisely limit the relative timing of glacier and lake maxima. Model results are consistent with previous studies of the LGM (21-20 ka) interval and early Heinrich Stadial 1 (18-17 ka) intervals, such that the northern Great Basin was colder with near-modern precipitation during the LGM and likely greater than modern precipitation during the subsequent interval 18-17 ka. Overall, the chronology of glacial deposits in the northwestern Great Basin and inferred climate during the last glaciation show consistency across the northern Great Basin.