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Geochemical Variations in Peoria Loess of Western Iowa Indicate Paleowinds of Midcontinental North America during Last Glaciation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Daniel R. Muhs  and
E. Arthur Bettis III
Daniel R. Muhs
Affiliation:
U.S. Geological Survey, MS 980, Box 25046, Federal Center, Denver, Colorado, 80225
E. Arthur Bettis III
Affiliation:
Department of Geoscience, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, 52242
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Abstract

Peoria Loess deposited in western Iowa during the last glacial maximum (LGM) shows distinct geochemical and particle-size variations as a function of both depth and distance east of the Missouri River. Geochemical and particle-size data indicate that Peoria Loess in western Iowa probably had two sources: the Missouri River valley, and a source that lay to the west of the Missouri River. Both sources indicate that LGM paleowinds in western Iowa had a strong westerly component, similar to interpretations of previous workers. A compilation of loess studies in Iowa and elsewhere indicates that westerly winds were dominant during loess transport over much of the midcontinent south of the Laurentide ice sheet, which is not in agreement with paleowinds simulated by atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs). AGCMs consistently generate a glacial anticyclone with easterly or northeasterly winds over the Laurentide ice sheet and the area to the south of it. Loess deposition in the midcontinent during the LGM may be a function of infrequent northwesterly winds that were unrelated to the presence of the glacial anticyclone.

Keywords

loessIowaNorth American midcontinentlast glacial maximumpaleowindsclimate models
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 53 , Issue 1 , January 2000 , pp. 49 - 61
Copyright
University of Washington

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