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Holocene Depositional History Inferred From Single‐Grain Luminescence Ages in Southern California, North America
Author(s) -
Saha Sourav,
Moon Seulgi,
Brown Nathan D.,
Rhodes Edward J.,
Scharer Katherine M.,
McPhillips Devin,
McGill Sally F.,
Castillo Bryan A.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2021gl092774
Subject(s) - sedimentary depositional environment , geology , sedimentary rock , deposition (geology) , lithology , sediment , holocene , feldspar , paleontology , geochemistry , structural basin , quartz
Significant sediment flux and deposition in a sedimentary system are influenced by climate changes, tectonics, lithology, and the sedimentary system's internal dynamics. Identifying the timing of depositional periods from stratigraphic records is a first step to critically evaluate the controls of sediment flux and deposition. Here, we show that ages of single‐grain K‐feldspar luminescence subpopulations may provide information on the timing of previous major depositional periods. We analyzed 754 K‐feldspar single‐grains from 17 samples from the surface to ∼9 m‐depth in a trench located downstream of the Mission Creek catchment. Single‐grain luminescence subpopulation ages significantly overlap at least eight times since ∼12.0 ka indicating a common depositional history. These depositional periods correspond reasonably well with the Holocene intervals of wetter than average climate conditions based on hydroclimatic proxies from nearby locations. Our findings imply a first‐order climatic control on sediment depositional history in southern California on a millennial timescale.