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Description
Kentucky possesses two very important Late Quaternary paleohydrological
archives: lacustrine sediments and speleothems (cave deposits). Extensive glacialage
lacustrine and alluvial deposits along the northern border of the state reveal that
1) Kentucky is geographically located in a unique region that yields important
paleoclimatic information regarding atmospheric circulation patterns and geomorphic
responses to climate change in an area proximal to continent-scale ice sheets, and
2) Quaternary climate change and its impacts on the drainage patterns within the
Ohio Valley have a commanding effect on the modern surface and near-surface
hydrology of Kentucky. Preliminary investigations undertaken by the USGS and
KGS along the Ohio River in the vicinities of Owensboro and Paducah identified at
least two large Wisconsin-age paleolakes within the glacial valley train. In addition,
investigations in the Salt River basin revealed that the lower reaches of the Salt and
its tributaries were occupied by a large, long-lived paleolake, perhaps during
Illinoisan and Wisconsin glacial episodes. The proposed study expands on previous
paleolimnological work by 1) constructing coherent geochronologies for Wisconsinage
fluvio-Iacustrine deposits in the lower Ohio Valley drainage, 2) characterizing
regional variability in geomorphic/hydrological settings during the last glacial
episode, and 3) developing a paleohydrology/paleoclimatology record from
lacustrine facies preserved in the Salt River basin.
While speleothem-based records of paleohydrological change have been
developed in many karstified regions of the globe over the past decade, no such
records exist from Kentucky's world-renown karst systems. Preliminary results
developed for the proposed study suggest that 1) abundant speleothems from
several locations across the Interior Low Plateau of Kentucky can be age-dated by
the U-series disequilibrium method and possess a wide range of ages, and 2)
geochemical results from Kentucky speleothems record distinct and sizeable shifts
in what is presumably regional hydrology. The proposed study seeks to 1) develop
and expand the speleothem-based records of paleohydrological change in the
region, and 2) better define the hydrogeological significance of isotopic and
geochemical signatures archived in speleothems.
The proposed research relies largely upon the AMS_14C and the U-series
disequilibrium methods for proper age control for lake sediments and speleothems,
respectively. In addition, isotopic and geochemical tracers of paleowaters preserved
in sedimentary components (ostracode carapaces, organic matter) and in the calcite
lattice of speleothems are to be used to infer hydrological transformations brought
about by large-scale climatic and regional-scale geomorphic changes. Improved
geochronological and geochemical constraints on glacial-age sedimentary deposits
within the lower Ohio Valley drainage network will yield a clearer understanding of 1)
the effect glacial processes had on regional paleohydrology, and 2) the effect glacial
processes have on the modern hydrologic system. Geochemical and
geochronological studies of speleothems across the Upper Cumberland, the
Middle/Lower Kentucky, and the Green River basins will provide a continuous record
of paleohydrological changes that extends into the past at least to the last
interglacial (-130,000 years BP). Both paleolimnological and speleological
components of the study will provide a more comprehensive evaluation of the spatial
limits associated with utilizing surface and near-surface resources in the region.
Status | Finished |
---|---|
Effective start/end date | 3/1/05 → 2/28/06 |
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Projects
- 1 Finished
-
State Water Resources Research Institute Grant
Kipp, J. (PI), Coyne, M. (CoI), ELSKUS, A. (CoI), Matocha, C. (CoI), Phillips, J. (CoI), Rowe, H. (CoI) & SHEPHERD, B. (CoI)
3/1/01 → 2/28/06
Project: Research project