Two-million-year record of deuterium depletion in Great Basin ground waters
Winograd IJ, Szabo BJ, Coplen TB, Riggs AC, Kolesar PT. 1985. Two-million-year record of deuterium depletion in Great Basin ground waters. Science. 227(4686):519-522
The authors analyzed fluid inclusions in calcitic veins in Pliocene and Pleistocene sediments at Ash Meadows, NV and Furnace Creek Wash in Death Valley National Park, for clues to Paleoclimatic conditions. Veins were selected for uranium-series dating and deuterium analyses (methods described in paper). The authors found a reduction in the deuterium content of ground-water recharge during the Pleistocene and discuss possible causes. They tentatively conclude that it can best be attributed to the gradual uplift of the Sierra Nevada Range and the Transverse Ranges during the Pleistocene, and if so, provides a record for increasing aridity in the southern Great Basin during the Pleistocene.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Winograd, Isaac; Szabo, Barney; Coplen, Tyler; Riggs, Alan; Kolesar, Peter
- Units
- DEVA
- Keywords
- Ash Meadows NV, Death Valley National Park CA NV, fluid inclusions, Furnace Creek Wash Death Valley National Park CA NV, Groundwater, Isotopic Dating, Paleoenvironment, Physical Sciences, Pleistocene, Pliocene, Sediments