Oxygen isotope composition of annually banded modern and mid-Holocene travertine and evidence of paleomonsoon floods, Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA

Auteurs :
O'BRIEN, G.R.
KAUFMAN, D.S.
SHARP, W.D.
ATUDOREI, V.
PARNELL, R.A.
CROSSEY, L.J.

Description :
Holocene and modern travertine formed in spring-fed Havasu Creek of the Grand Canyon, Arizona, was studied to determine the factors governing its oxygen-isotope composition. Analysis of substrate-grown travertine indicates that calculated calcite-formation temperatures compare favorably with measured water temperatures, and include silt-rich laminae deposited by monsoon-driven floods. These silt-rich laminae suggest that similar temperature-precipitation conditions, as well as monsoon-generated summer floods, prevailed in the mid-Holocene as they do throughout the Grand Canyon region today.


Type de document :
Article de périodique

Source :
Quaternary research, issn : 0033-5894, 2006, vol. 65, n°. 3, p. 366-379, nombre de pages : 14, Collation : Illustration, Références bibliographiques : 48 ref.

Date :
2006

Editeur :
Pays édition : Etats-Unis, San Diego, CA, Elsevier