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Topographic and climatic influences on accelerated loess accumulation since the last glacial maximum in the Palouse, Pacific Northwest, USA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Mark R. Sweeney ,
Alan J. Busacca  and
David R. Gaylord
Mark R. Sweeney*
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-2812, USA
Alan J. Busacca
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-2812, USA Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-6420, USA
David R. Gaylord
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-2812, USA
*
⁎Corresponding author. Desert Research Institute, 2215 Raggio Parkway, Reno, NV 89512-1095, USA.E-mail address:[email protected] (M.R. Sweeney).
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Abstract

Topographic and climatic influences have controlled thick loess accumulation at the southern margin of the Palouse loess in northern Oregon. Juniper and Cold Springs Canyons, located on the upwind flank of the Horse Heaven Hills, are oriented perpendicular to prevailing southwesterly winds. These canyons are topographic traps that separate eolian sand on the upwind side from thick accumulations (nearly 8 m) of latest Pleistocene to Holocene L1 loess on the downwind side. Silt- and sand-rich glacial outburst flood sediment in the Umatilla Basin is the source of eolian sand and loess for the region. Sediment from this basin also contributes to loess accumulations across much of the Columbia Plateau to the northeast. Downwind of Cold Springs Canyon, Mt. St. Helens set S and Glacier Peak tephras bracket 4 m of loess, demonstrating that approximately 2500 g m−2 yr−1 of loess accumulated between about 15,400–13,100 cal yr B.P. Mass accumulation rates decreased to approximately 250 g m−2 yr−1 from 13,100 cal yr B.P. to the present. Tephrochronology suggests that the bulk of near-source Palouse loess accumulated in one punctuated interval in the latest Pleistocene characterized by a dry and windy climate.

Keywords

LoessPacific NorthwestTopographic trapPaleoclimateMass accumulation rate
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 63 , Issue 3 , May 2005 , pp. 261 - 273
Copyright
University of Washington

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