Latest Pleistocene to Holocene loess in the central Great Plains: Optically stimulated luminescence dating and multi-proxy analysis of the enders loess section (Nebraska, USA)

Abstract

© 2019 The Authors Loess deposits of the central Great Plains, USA, and their intercalated soils provide a detailed record of climatically driven changes within the aeolian system during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition and the Holocene. Here we present a detailed optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) chronology as well as multi-proxy analysis obtained for the first time on the Enders section, located in southwestern Nebraska, central Great Plains. The section records multiple episodes of rapid loess deposition alternating with soil formation. Rapid accumulation of Late Pleistocene Peoria Loess was replaced around 13–14 ka by formation of the Brady Soil until 9.5 ± 0.6 ka. The Holocene Bignell Loess then buried the Brady Soil and accumulated episodically throughout the Holocene. The loess-paleosol stratigraphy since the Late Pleistocene at the Enders site is very similar to that at other sites in western Nebraska, and the newly developed OSL chronology (based on three grain size classes) adds new confidence to earlier dating. The high-resolution grain size profile from Enders shares many features with similar data from the previously studied Wauneta site, including three peaks of fine-grained material just above and within the Brady Soil, likely representing response to millennial-scale climatic changes during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. This study demonstrates the potential for developing high-resolution, well-dated paleoclimatic records from the loess of the central Great Plains. Contrasts between Great Plains and Eurasian loess records reflect differences in the Late Pleistocene to Holocene climatic evolution and other factors influencing the loess system.