See more from this Division: General Discipline Sessions
See more from this Session: Geomorphology
Abstract:
The paleoclimate archives in and near the San Luis Valley record the evolution of a broad range of contrasting environments since the last full glacial. The sequence began at a time when cold-water lakes similar to those in present-day Arctic Canada existed just upwind from the Great Sand Dunes. Then climate warmed and food and water became sufficient to support large mammals (nine mammoth localities) and the largest concentration of Folsom sites in Colorado. After about 8,000 cal yr B.P., climate became more arid, and between about 7,100 and 3,100, eolian sand was deposited over much of the east side of the basin. Between about 3,100 and 1,800 cal yr B.P., climate became effectively wetter and water table rose, causing lakes and wetlands to form and streams to aggrade. Subsequently the water table fell, and since 1,800 cal yr B.P. episodes of eolian sand transport have waxed and waned; today, a small number of dunes migrate through broad areas of stable eolian sand.
See more from this Division: General Discipline Sessions
See more from this Session: Geomorphology