Radiocarbon analyses of pollen, ostracodes, and total organic carbon (TOC) provide a reliable chronology for the sediments deposited in Bear Lake over the past 30,000 years. The differences in apparent age between TOC, pollen, and carbonate fractions are consistent and in accord with the origins of these fractions. Comparisons among different fractions indicate that pollen sample ages are the most reliable, at least for the past 15,000 years. The post-glacial radiocarbon data also agree with ages independently estimated from aspartic acid racemization in ostracodes. Ages in the red, siliclastic unit, inferred to be of last glacial age, appear to be several thousand years too old, probably because of a high proportion of reworked, refractory organic carbon in the pollen samples. Age-depth models for five piston cores and the Bear Lake drill core (BL00-1) were constructed by using two methods: quadratic equations and smooth cubic-spline fits. The two types of age models differ only in detail for individual cores, and each approach has its own advantages. Specific lithological horizons were dated in several cores and correlated among them, producing robust average ages for these horizons. The age of the correlated horizons in the red, siliclastic unit can be estimated from the age model for BL00-1, which is controlled by ages above and below the red, siliclastic unit. These ages were then transferred to the correlative horizons in the shorter piston cores, providing control for the sections of the age models in those cores in the red, siliclastic unit. These age models are the backbone for reconstructions of past environmental conditions in Bear Lake. In general, sedimentation rates in Bear Lake have been quite uniform, mostly between 0.3 and 0.8 mm yr ‒1 in the Holocene, and close to 0.5 mm yr ‒1 for the longer sedimentary record in the drill core from the deepest part of the lake.

A ~220,000-year record recovered in a 120-m-long sediment core from Bear Lake, Utah and Idaho, provides an opportunity to reconstruct climate change in the Great Basin and compare it with global climate records. Paleomagnetic data exhibit a geomagnetic feature that possibly occurred during the Laschamp excursion (ca. 40 ka). Although the feature does not exhibit excursional behavior (≥40° departure from the expected value), it might provide an additional age constraint for the sequence. Temporal changes in salinity, which are likely related to changes in freshwater input (mainly through the Bear River) or evaporation, are indicated by variations in mineral magnetic properties. These changes are represented by intervals with preserved detrital Fe-oxide minerals and with varying degrees of diagenetic alteration, including sulfidization. On the basis of these changes, the Bear Lake sequence is divided into seven mineral magnetic zones. The differing magnetic mineralogies among these zones reflect changes in deposition, preservation, and formation of magnetic phases related to factors such as lake level, river input, and water chemistry. The occurrence of greigite and pyrite in the lake sediments corresponds to periods of higher salinity. Pyrite is most abundant in intervals of highest salinity, suggesting that the extent of sulfidization is limited by the availability of SO 4 2‒ . During MIS 2 (zone II), Bear Lake transgressed to capture the Bear River, resulting in deposition of glacially derived hematite-rich detritus from the Uinta Mountains. Millennial-scale variations in the hematite content of Bear Lake sediments during the last glacial maximum (zone II) resemble Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) oscillations and Heinrich events (within dating uncertainties), suggesting that the influence of millennial-scale climate oscillations can extend beyond the North Atlantic and influence climate of the Great Basin. The magnetic mineralogy of zones IV–VII (MIS 5, 6, and 7) indicates varying degrees of post-depositional alteration between cold and warm substages, with greigite forming in fresher conditions and pyrite in the more saline conditions.

A continuous, 120-m-long core (BL00-1) from Bear Lake, Utah and Idaho, contains evidence of hydrologic and environmental change over the last two glacial-interglacial cycles. The core was taken at 41.95°N, 111.31°W, near the depocenter of the 60-m-deep, spring-fed, alkaline lake, where carbonate-bearing sediment has accumulated continuously. Chronological control is poor but indicates an average sedimentation rate of 0.54 mm yr ‒1 . Analyses have been completed at multi-centennial to millennial scales, including (in order of decreasing temporal resolution) sediment magnetic properties, oxygen and carbon isotopes on bulk-sediment carbonate, organic- and inorganic- carbon contents, palynology; mineralogy (X-ray diffraction), strontium isotopes on bulk carbonate, ostracode taxonomy, oxygen and carbon isotopes on ostracodes, and diatom assemblages. Massive silty clay and marl constitute most of the core, with variable carbonate content (average = 31 ± 19%) and oxygen-isotopic values (δ 18 O ranging from ‒18‰ to ‒5‰ in bulk carbonate). These variations, as well as fluctuations of biological indicators, reflect changes in the water and sediment discharged from the glaciated headwaters of the dominant tributary, Bear River, and the processes that influenced sediment delivery to the core site, including lake-level changes. Although its influence has varied, Bear River has remained a tributary to Bear Lake during most of the last quarter-million years. The lake disconnected from the river and, except for a few brief excursions, retracted into a topographically closed basin during global interglaciations (during parts of marine isotope stages 7, 5, and 1). These intervals contain up to 80% endogenic aragonite with high δ 18 O values (average = ‒5.8 ± 1.7‰), indicative of strongly evaporitic conditions. Interglacial intervals also are dominated by small, benthic/tychoplanktic fragilarioid species indicative of reduced habitat availability associated with low lake levels, and they contain increased high-desert shrub and Juniperus pollen and decreased forest and forest-woodland pollen. The 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values (>0.7100) also increase, and the ratio of quartz to dolomite decreases, as expected in the absence of Bear River inflow. The changing paleoenvironments inferred from BL00-1 generally are consistent with other regional and global records of glacial-interglacial fluctuations; the diversity of paleoenvironmental conditions inferred from BL00-1 also reflects the influence of catchment-scale processes.

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Abstract Holocene sediment thicknesses measured from seismic-reflection profiles, together with long-term rates of sediment accumulation calculated from these thicknesses and the history of relative sea level, indicate that the Chesapeake Bay has filled rapidly with sediment during Holocene submergence of the bay. Sediment-accumulation patterns indicate that both the Susquehanna River system and the continental shelf are important sources of sediment; averaged over Holocene time, sediment transported from the continental shelf through the mouth of the bay may be volumetrically more important than sediment derived from rivers. Average Holocene rates of sediment accumulation show considerable spatial variability, presumably related to local variations in sediment sources, wave energy, and tidal currents. Nonetheless, these rates show several clear trends. Rates on the shallow marginal shelves of the bay tend to be low (0 to 2 mm/yr) and to increase only slightly toward the bay mouth. Rates in the deep channels are higher (1 to 5 mm/yr), have local maxima, and increase distinctly toward the bay mouth. At any given position in the bay, sediment-accumulation rates increase with depth to the base of the Holocene section. Our estimates of average Holocene rates of sediment accumulation are clearly higher in many places than previous estimates, but they are somewhat less than short-term rates previously measured by a variety of methods. Short-term rates may be affected by anthropogenic changes in the basin and by recent acceleration of relative sea-level rise. In addition, most short-term rates are site specific, biased in their distribution, and fail to account for the large spatial variability observed in long-term rates. Maximum long-term rates of sediment accumulation are limited by the rate of submergence; many existing short-term measurements clearly cannot be extrapolated back in time. Long-term rates of sediment accumulation confirm the ephemeral nature of estuaries and the close tie between sea level and estuarine history. These observations are important considerations for studies of the evolution of estuaries and the record of estuaries in the geologic record.

Weathering-rind thicknesses were measured on volcanic clasts in sequences of glacial deposits in seven mountain ranges in the western United States and in the Puget lowland. Because the rate of rind development decreases with time, ratios of rind thicknesses provide limits on corresponding age ratios. In all areas studied, deposits of late Wisconsinan age are obvious; deposits of late Illinoian age (ca. 140 ka) also seem to be present in each area, although independent evidence for their numerical age is circumstantial. The weathering-rind data indicate that deposits that have intermediate ages between these two are common, and ratios of rind thicknesses suggest an early Wisconsinan age (about 60 to 70 ka) for some of the intermediate deposits. Three of the seven studied alpine areas (McCall, Idaho; Yakima Valley, Washington; and Lassen Peak, California) appear to have early Wisconsinan drift beyond the extent of late Wisconsinan ice. In addition, Mount Rainier and the Puget lowland, Washington, have outwash terraces but no moraines of early Wisconsinan age. The sequences near West Yellowstone, Montana; Truckee, California; and in the southern Olympic Mountains have no recognized moraines or outwash of this age. Many of the areas have deposits that may be of middle Wisconsinan age. Differences in the relative extents of early Wisconsinan alpine glaciers are not expected from the marine oxygen-isotope record and are not explained by any simple trend in climatic variables or proximity to oceanic moisture sources. However, alpine glaciers could have responded more quickly and more variably than continental ice sheets to intense, short-lived climatic events, and they may have been influenced by local climatic or hypsometric effects. The relative sizes of early and late Wisconsinan alpine glaciers could also reflect differences between early and late Wisconsinan continental ice sheets and their regional climatic effects.

Abstract A wide variety of dating methods are used in Quaternary research, and each method has many applications and limitations. Because of this variety, we cannot discuss the applications and limitations of all methods here. The more versatile and widely used methods, including 14 C, K/Ar, fission-track, U-series, paleomagnetism, thermoluminescence, and amino acid dating are treated more comprehensively in this chapter than other methods that are shown on the summary chart. The summary chart is provided here to give an overview of dating work and research for the Quaternary. This summary consists mainly of a table (Plate 2) that is modified and updated from Colman and Pierce (1977, Plate 1, ref. 66). The table is intended as an overview and concise guide to Quaternary dating methods. It contains many subjective judgments and should not be considered definitive; the entries for applicability, age range, and optimum resolution are particularly interpretive. Details concerning assumptions, analytical techniques, uncertainties, and interpretations should be obtained from specialized references using the key references in Plate 2 as a guide. The dating methods described range from well-known and established techniques to experimental procedures whose results are subject to considerable interpretation. Key references included on Plate 2 are intended as an entry into the vast literature on dating methods; space prohibits a more complete listing. We have emphasized recent review papers and notable examples of applications as sources of additional references and information. Dating methods discussed in other sections of this chapter are indicated by asterisks in.