Paleoenvironmental reconstruction and water balance of a mid-Pleistocene pluvial lake, Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt

Abstract

Research Article| July 01, 2009 Paleoenvironmental reconstruction and water balance of a mid-Pleistocene pluvial lake, Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt Johanna M. Kieniewicz; Johanna M. Kieniewicz † 1Department of Geosciences, Denison University, Granville, Ohio 43023, USA †E-mail: kieniewiczj@denison.edu Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Jennifer R. Smith Jennifer R. Smith 2Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, Campus Box 1169, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar GSA Bulletin (2009) 121 (7-8): 1154–1171. https://doi.org/10.1130/B26301.1 Article history received: 02 Aug 2007 rev-recd: 09 Jun 2008 accepted: 05 Jul 2008 first online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Johanna M. Kieniewicz, Jennifer R. Smith; Paleoenvironmental reconstruction and water balance of a mid-Pleistocene pluvial lake, Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt. GSA Bulletin 2009;; 121 (7-8): 1154–1171. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/B26301.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract Mid-Pleistocene lacustrine sediments exposed as erosional remnants in Dakhleh Oasis in the Western Desert of Egypt provide evidence for a more humid climate than that which persists today. The sediments range in facies from palustrine to fully lacustrine and generally reflect an increase in water depth upward through the strata. Ironstone spring deposits associated with the lacustrine sediments and modern artesian discharge in the oasis indicate that Nubian aquifer water was probably an important component of the water balance, but the high carbonate content of the lake sediments requires the input of surface drainage derived from the nearby limestone-capped Libyan Plateau. Although definitive shorelines have not been observed, a maximum lake size of 1735 km2 is derived from extrapolation of the elevations of the deposits onto the modern deflated topography. Theoretical water balance modeling suggests that in addition to the discharge derived from the Nubian aquifer, ~410–860 mm/yr of rainfall would be required over the Dakhleh Oasis drainage basin in order to maintain the lake at hydrologic steady state. The persistence of climatic and hydrologic conditions amenable to maintaining a shallow freshwater lake would have allowed the region to be inhabited by a savanna fauna, as well as early human groups. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.