Late Quaternary eolian sand depositional record for southwestern Kansas: Landscape sensitivity to droughts

Abstract

Eolian deposits and landforms are ubiquitous in western Kansas, particularly south of the Arkansas River with the presence of a stabilized dune field. Stratigraphic studies and associated optical dating reveal a complex depositional history for this dune field spanning the late Quaternary. The oldest eolian deposits from ca. 16 to 12 ka completely or partially bury high terraces with ages of ca. 16 and 33 ka. It is unknown whether these eolian deposits reflect regional aridity and/or a change in sediment availability with the transition of the Arkansas River from a single channel to a braided system. There is pervasive evidence for episodic eolian erosion and deposition ca. 9.8 to 6.3 ka, generally coincident with loess deposition on upland surfaces [Olson, C.G., Nettleton, W.D., Porter, D.A., Brasher, B.R., 1997. Middle Holocene aeolian activity on the High Plains of west-central Kansas. Holocene, 7(3): 255–261], and thus it is inferred to reflect regional aridity. Sites within the dune field show a sequence of eolian sands and weak buried soils, reflecting either dune migration or sand sheet accretion at ca. 1490, 430, 380–320, 180, and 70 yr ago, which correspond well with continental-scale droughts in the tree-ring record. Eolian sand in the Arkansas River dune field may be derived principally with variability in fluvial activity and in climate during the late Pleistocene to the middle Holocene, with substantial reactivation of eolian systems during decadal-scale drought variability in the past 2000 yr.