THE HISTORY OF LAKE LAHONTAN VIEWED THROUGH THE PRISM OF ITS RESEARCH HISTORY

Of the more than 80 pluvial lake basins in the Great Basin, few are as well studied as Lake Lahontan. Along with Bonneville, Owens, Mono, Searles, and Death Valley, the Lahontan basin has served as one of the “benchmark” basins where much of our understanding of pluvial lakes has developed. In addition, many of the techniques and paradigms that are used in Quaternary geology underwent fundamental development in the Lahontan basin. This presentation highlights the impressive accomplishments of the many researchers who have contributed to our ever-growing understanding of Lake Lahontan and other pluvial lakes, but focuses on the work of Larry Benson who, perhaps more than anyone, has set the standard for integrative pluvial lake research.

Lake Lahontan only has one history. Interpretations of its history, however, have undergone multiple revisions that reflect advances in approaches and techniques, a few of which are highlighted here. Russell (1885) conducted the seminal work in Lahontan, determining the broad outlines of lake-level fluctuations and other aspects of history that still guide us today. Many decades later, Broecker et al. (1958, 1965) constructed the first radiocarbon chronology for the last lake cycle in the basin, which has been repeatedly revised by Benson et al. (1978, 1981, 1986, 1987ab, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, and 1997) and Adams et al. (1998, 2003, 2007, 2008, and 2010). This work was conducted within the pedo- and allostratigraphic framework of the basin defined by Morrison (1964, 1991), which was expanded through the use of tephrochronology by Davis (1978, 1983) and the tufa record defined by Benson et al. (1994, 1995ab, 1996). Early estimates of the climate and hydrologic conditions necessary for Lahontan to exist were put forward by Russell (1885) and refined by Mifflin and Wheat (1979) and Benson et al. (1981, 1989, and 2002a). In addition to these advancements, Benson et al. (1991, 1997, and 2002b) have defined high-resolution changes in the water balance of the basin by tracking various proxies from multiple cores in Pyramid and Walker lakes. To further improve our interpretations of the history of Lake Lahontan, studies to integrate these high-resolution proxies with absolute changes in lake-surface elevation and area defined by shoreline and outcrop studies should be pursued.