Late Quaternary Valley Fills and Paleoenvironments of the Southern High Plains

该研究考察了南部高平原的晚第四纪沉积物，以获取有关过去环境的信息。在过去的11000年里，许多干谷（峡谷）穿过该地区，慢慢地充满了沉积物。以往零散的地貌研究强烈表明，晚第四纪沉积和成土事件与类似的区域环境变化具有同向性。研究的第一个目标是记录该区晚第四纪地层历史，以验证同步、区域地貌和土壤形成事件的假设。另一个目标是了解更新世末期的环境和水文变化。在1.1万年至1万年之间，沿着河流和河流之间有明显的非相水文变化，从流动到静止。bp：目前还不清楚这些变化是由于当地地貌条件还是环境差异造成的。第三个目标是了解全新世中期环境。这一时期似乎出现了区域性的大规模风成沉积，暗示着严重的大面积干旱。这项拟议的研究将有助于建立一个广大地区（超过12万公里）的晚第四纪古环境记录，迄今为止只从少数地点知道。记录似乎是一个戏剧性的环境变化，这显然是历史时期的情况。了解这些过去的变化有助于应对未来的极端气候。

The research examines late-Quaternary sediments on the Southern High Plains for information on past environments. A number of dry valleys (draws) cross the region and have slowly filled with sediments for the past +11,000 years. Previous scattered geomorphic investigations strongly suggest synchroneity in late Quaternary depositional and soil-forming events and similar regional environmental changes. The first objective of the research is to document the late Quaternary stratigraphic histories of the draws to test the hypothesis of synchronous, regional geomorphic and soil-forming events. Another objective is to understand environmental and hydrologic changes at the end of the Pleistocene. There are marked out-of-phase hydrologic changes from flowing to standing water along and among the draws between 11,000 and 10,000 yrs. B.P. It is unclear whether these variations are due to local geomorphic conditions or environmental differences. The third objective is aimed at understanding middle Holocene environments. There appears to have been regional, massive eolian deposition at this time, suggestive of severe widespread aridity. The proposed research will help establish the late Quaternary paleoenvironmental record for a vast region (over 120,000 km), hitherto known only from a few sites. The record appears to be one of dramatic environmental changes, which is clearly the case for historic times. Understanding these past changes could help in dealing with future climatic extremes.