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Speleothem and glacier records of latest Pleistocene–early Holocene climate change in the western North American interior
Author(s) -
Quirk Brendon J.,
Mackey Glen N.,
Fernandez Diego P.,
Armstrong Andy,
Moore Jeffrey R.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of quaternary science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.142
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1099-1417
pISSN - 0267-8179
DOI - 10.1002/jqs.3221
Subject(s) - speleothem , geology , holocene , glacier , glacial period , climate change , younger dryas , glacier mass balance , pleistocene , physical geography , climatology , holocene climatic optimum , cave , oceanography , paleontology , archaeology , geography
ABSTRACT Rapid and high‐magnitude North Atlantic climate oscillations following the Last Glacial Maximum have been correlated to climate change events in western North America. However, the strength of teleconnections between the North Atlantic and the interior of western North America remains poorly understood. We present a U‐series calibrated speleothem record from Timpanogos Cave National Monument, located at 2040 m asl in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, spanning 13.5–10.6 ka. Additionally, we carried out a climate reconstruction for a coeval glacier advance in the Wind River Range of Wyoming. Our results indicate that between 13.5 and 12.8 ka, the Wasatch was probably first cool and dry and then warmed. After 12.8 ka, our record suggests cool and/or wetter conditions followed by reduced moisture until 11.8 ka, followed by an early Holocene wet period. The Timpanogos record exhibits few similarities with those from the North Atlantic. Climate reconstructions of the Titcomb Basin glacier suggest modest temperature depressions relative to modern (<−3 °C) were necessary to sustain the glacier with a moderate increase in precipitation (>150%). The high‐altitude speleothem record presented here provides a valuable basis for understanding latest Pleistocene–early Holocene glacial episodes in western North America.