Open AccessGrain-size data from four cores from Walker Lake, Nevada
Author(s) -
James C. Yount,
M.F. Quimby
Publication year - 1990
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/137929
Subject(s) - geology , grain size , sedimentary rock , sedimentary depositional environment , sorting , sediment , silt , paleoclimatology , pleistocene , hydrology (agriculture) , physical geography , climate change , structural basin , mineralogy , geomorphology , geochemistry , paleontology , oceanography , geography , geotechnical engineering , computer science , programming language
A number of cores, taken from within and near Walker Lake, Nevada are being studied by various investigators in order to evaluate the late-Pleistocene paleoclimate of the west-central Great Basin. In particular, the cores provide records that can be interpreted in terms of past climate and compared to proposed numerical models of the region`s climate. All of these studies are being carried out as part of an evaluation of the regional paleoclimatic setting of a proposed high-level nuclear waste storage facility at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Changes in past climate often manifest themselves in changes in sedimentary processes or in changes in the volume of sediment transported by those processes. One fundamental sediment property that can be related to depositional processes is grain size. Grain size effects other physical properties of sediment such as porosity and permeability which, in turn, affect the movement and chemistry of fluids. The purposes of this report are: (1) to document procedures of sample preparation and analysis, and (2) to summarize grain-size statistics for 659 samples from Walker Lake cores 84-4, 84-5, 84-8 and 85-2. Plots of mean particle diameter, percent sand, and the ratio of silt to clay are illustrated for various depth intervals within each core. Summary plots of mean grain size, sorting, and skewness parameters allow comparison of textural data between each core. 15 refs., 8 figs., 3 tabs