A 27,000-YEAR-OLD SEDIMENT CORE RECORD FROM REDDEN SPRINGS PROPER, BONNEVILLE BASIN, UTAH, USA

A 4.72-meter-long sediment core was extracted from Redden Springs Proper, a location within Utah's Bonneville basin, in order to study the vegetation and fire history of the area. Redden Springs Proper (4430444 m N, 269654 m E, elevation 1288 m) was chosen as a coring location due to its close proximity to an active spring mound. A fire and vegetation study conducted on a core from a nearby site, North Redden Springs, indicated that a hiatus existed within its preserved record (Howard, 2015). Due to its central spring location, Redden Springs Proper may contain a more complete record. Redden Springs Proper was covered by Pleistocene pluvial Lake Bonneville up until 12 cal yr BP, when the lake entered a rapid regressive phase due to its hydrologic input outpacing its evaporative output. By 11.5 cal yr BP, Redden Springs Proper was exposed. Paleoenvironmental study of this core involves multiple analysis methods, including pollen analysis, charcoal analysis, loss-on-ignition, magnetic susceptibility, and X-Ray Fluorescence. AMS radiocarbon dating of pollen indicates that the bottom of this core is 27,000 years old. The results of this study will contribute to the emerging body of work detailing environmental changes in the Bonneville basin.