Moon Lake 11,000 Year Diatom-inferred Salinity Data ----------------------------------------------------------------------- World Data Center for Paleoclimatology, Boulder and NOAA Paleoclimatology Program ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: PLEASE CITE CONTRIBUTORS WHEN USING THIS DATA!!!!! NAME OF DATA SET: Moon Lake 11,000 Year Diatom-inferred Salinity Data LAST UPDATE: 4/2003 (Original Receipt by WDCA Paleo) CONTRIBUTORS: Kathleen R. Laird, Sherilyn C. Fritz, Eric C. Grimm and P.G. Mueller. IGBP PAGES/WDCA CONTRIBUTION SERIES NUMBER: 2003-030 SUGGESTED DATA CITATION: Laird, K.R., et al., 2003, Moon Lake 11,000 Year Diatom-inferred Salinity Data, IGBP PAGES/World Data Center for Paleoclimatology Data Contribution Series #2003-030. NOAA/NGDC Paleoclimatology Program, Boulder CO, USA. ORIGINAL REFERENCE: Laird, K.R., Fritz, S.C., Grimm, E.C., and Mueller, P.G. (1996) Century-scale paleoclimatic reconstructions from Moon Lake, a closed-basin lake in the northern Great Plains. Limnol. Oceanogr. 41(5): 890-902. ADDITIONAL REFERENCE: Laird, K.R., S.C. Fritz, K.A. Maasch, and B.F. Cumming, 1996, Greater drought intensity and frequency before AD 1200 in the Northern Great Plains, USA, Nature v.384 552-554. GEOGRAPHIC REGION: Northern Great Plains, USA and Canada PERIOD OF RECORD: 11 KYrBP - present DESCRIPTION: 11,000 year diatom-derived salinity record, interpreted as a drought intensity and frequency proxy on the Great Plains of North America Site: Moon Lake, North Dakota, USA (46 51' 27" N, 98 09' 30" W. ~35 ha, max. depth ~13m). ABSTRACT: Estimates of past lake-water salinity from fossil diatom assemblages were used to infer past climatic conditions at Moon Lake, a climatically sensitive site in the northern Great Plains. A good correspondence between diatom-inferred salinity and historical records of mean annual precipitation minus evapotranspiration (P-ET) strongly suggests that the sedimentary record from Moon Lake can be used to reconstruct past climatic conditions. Century-scale analysis of the Holocene diatom record indicates four major hydrological periods: an early Holocene transition from an open freshwater system to a closed saline system by 7300 BP, which corresponds with a transition from spruce forest to deciduous parkland to prairie and indicates a major shift from wet to dry climate; a mid-Holocene period of high salinity from 7300 to 4700 BP, indicating low effective moisture (P-ET); a transitional period of high salinity 4700 to 2200 BP, characterized by poor diatom preservation; and a late Holocene period of variable lower salinity during the past 2,200 years, indicating fluctuations in effective moisture. DATA: Moon Lake salinity - Holocene depth 14Cdate salinity (cm) 14CyrsBP g/L 0 0 15.410 8 24 12.566 16 48 15.120 24 78 18.560 32 112 3.714 40 147 3.290 48 182 13.929 56 217 7.683 64 251 6.787 72 286 11.056 80 321 19.202 104 425 5.008 112 460 9.052 120 498 7.493 128 536 10.623 136 574 3.881 144 612 1.391 152 650 22.065 160 688 2.907 168 726 21.499 176 764 15.534 184 802 26.206 192 839 12.528 200 876 19.298 208 913 25.662 216 950 28.417 224 987 15.658 232 1024 22.399 240 1061 22.421 248 1129 13.874 256 1226 21.955 264 1323 9.718 272 1420 6.619 280 1517 16.593 288 1614 19.925 296 1711 14.197 304 1808 10.423 312 1905 25.894 320 2003 16.297 328 2100 12.110 336 2197 20.206 344 2294 18.597 352 2435 9.116 360 2578 39.686 368 2722 42.820 376 2866 13.572 384 3009 43.207 392 3153 14.717 400 3297 30.877 408 3441 32.753 416 3584 25.204 424 3728 24.804 432 3872 23.736 440 4015 26.602 448 4159 24.459 456 4303 27.113 464 4446 41.059 472 4590 22.805 480 4660 44.434 488 4730 43.423 496 4800 36.672 504 4870 33.515 512 4939 38.590 520 5009 32.427 528 5079 34.744 536 5149 32.753 544 5219 36.892 552 5289 35.695 560 5359 41.141 568 5429 41.141 576 5503 36.416 584 5576 36.598 592 5649 38.359 600 5723 40.772 608 5796 37.600 616 5870 36.966 624 5943 38.054 632 6016 40.569 640 6090 38.900 648 6163 29.195 656 6237 31.849 664 6310 36.635 672 6324 34.329 680 6338 31.500 688 6352 38.668 696 6366 33.616 704 6381 29.518 712 6395 34.953 720 6409 32.169 728 6423 31.343 736 6437 29.224 744 6451 31.722 752 6465 22.242 760 6479 31.944 768 6494 35.058 776 6508 26.180 784 6522 26.128 792 6536 34.192 800 6550 30.908 808 6564 18.803 816 6578 28.191 824 6592 37.675 832 6606 36.017 840 6669 19.550 848 6748 33.182 856 6827 31.000 864 6906 33.549 872 6985 33.954 880 7063 28.474 888 7142 21.607 900 7261 22.131 908 7418 22.154 912 7536 10.014 920 7773 7.164 924 7891 3.323 928 8009 7.257 936 8245 4.464 944 8481 5.743 952 8718 3.579 960 8954 4.229 968 9190 4.129 976 9427 3.111 984 9629 2.656 988 9716 2.048 1000 9980 1.293 1008 10155 0.917 1016 10330 1.228 1024 10506 1.603 1032 10681 1.190 1040 10836 1.655 1048 10965 1.489 1056 11094 2.022