Glacial anticyclone recorded in Palouse loess of northwestern United States

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

8-1-2004

Publication Title

Geology

Keywords

Columbia Plateau, Glacial anticyclone, Last Glacial Maximum, Loess

Abstract

Climate simulations for the Last Glacial Maximum using general circulation models typically show a glacial anticyclone that produced an easterly wind anomaly south of the North American ice sheets. Evidence of this phenomenon has not been found in eolian sedimentary deposits that record surface wind patterns. Luminescence ages of loess and accompanying paleoecologic records from opal phytoliths and paleosol units across the Columbia Plateau, Washington State, United States, document a decrease, up to fivefold, in regional dust production and accumulation from 35 ka to 15 ka. This interval corresponds to simulations indicating that a glacial anticyclone weakened prevailing south-southwesterly winds that have shaped the eolian landscape of the Columbia Plateau since at least 75 ka. At the same time that the glacial anticyclone suppressed dust production and accumulation, enhanced cold and dry conditions resulted in soil formation dominated by intense bioturbation in periglacial steppe accompanied by shallow calcium carbonate precipitation. This is the first evidence from eolian deposits in North America verifying that the glacial anticyclone altered surface wind patterns and affected eolian systems during the Last Glacial Maximum. © 2004 Geological Society of America.

Volume

32

Issue

8

First Page

705

Last Page

708

ISSN

00917613

DOI

10.1130/G20584.1

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