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Late Holocene Eolian Activity in the Mineralogically Mature Nebraska Sand Hills

Bibliographic Data

ID24087929
AuthorsDaniel R Muhs (0000-0001-7449-251X, United States Geological Survey), Thomas W Stafford (0000-0003-4094-9889, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research), James B Swinehart (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), Scott D Cowherd (United States Geological Survey), Shannon A Mahan (0000-0001-5214-7774, United States Geological Survey), Charles A Bush (United States Geological Survey), Richard F Madole (0000-0002-9081-570X, United States Geological Survey), Paula B Maat
Year1997
Volume48
Issue2
Pages162-176
Publication date1997-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueQuaternary Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0033-5894 • E-ISSN: 1096-0287
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1006/qres.1997.1913
OpenAlexW2120932199
LanguageEN
Citations received24
References cited32

The age of sand dunes in the Nebraska Sand Hills has been controversial, with some investigators suggesting a full-glacial age and others suggesting that they were last active in the late Holocene. New accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon ages of unaltered bison bones and organic-rich sediments suggest that eolian sand deposition occurred at least twice in the past 3000 14 C yr B.P. in three widely separated localities and as many as three times in the past 800 14 C yr at three other localities. These late Holocene episodes of eolian activity are probably the result of droughts more intense than the 1930s “Dust Bowl” period, based on independent Great Plains climate records from lake sediments and tree rings. However, new geochemical data indicate that the Nebraska Sand Hills are mineralogically mature. Eolian sands in Nebraska have lower K-feldspar (and K 2 O, Rb, and Ba) contents than most possible source sediments and lower K-feldspar contents than dunes of similar age in Colorado. The most likely explanation for mineralogical maturity is reduction of sand-sized K-feldspar to silt-sized particles via ballistic impacts due to strong winds over many cycles of eolian activity. Therefore, dunes of the Nebraska Sand Hills must have had a long history, probably extending over more than one glacial–interglacial cycle, and the potential for reactivation is high, with or without a future greenhouse warming.

Aeolian processes · Feldspar · Geochemistry · Glacial period · Holocene · Interglacial · Period (music) · Physical geography · Provenance · Quartz · Radiocarbon dating · Silt · Aeolian processes and effects · Fire effects on ecosystems · Geology · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Paleontology

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Unique citing works24
Citations per year0,86
Citation span1998 - 2022 (25)
Citation velocityhistorical
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 18
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