Mid-Holocene Hydrologic Model of the Shingobee Watershed, Minnesota

Authors: Filby S.K.¹; Locke S.M.²; Person M.A.³; Winter T.C.⁴; Rosenberry D.O.⁴; Nieber J.L.⁵; Gutowski W.J.⁶; Ito E.¹

Source: Quaternary Research, Volume 58, Number 3, November 2002 , pp. 246-254(9)

Publisher: Academic Press

Abstract:

A hydrologic model of the Shingobee Watershed in north-central Minnesota was developed to reconstruct mid-Holocene paleo-lake levels for Williams Lake, a surface-water body located in the southern portion of the watershed. Hydrologic parameters for the model were first estimated in a calibration exercise using a 9-yr historical record (1990–1998) of climatic and hydrologic stresses. The model reproduced observed temporal and spatial trends in surface/groundwater levels across the watershed. Mid-Holocene aquifer and lake levels were then reconstructed using two paleoclimatic data sets: CCM1 atmospheric general circulation model output and pollen-transfer functions using sediment core data from Williams Lake.

Calculated paleo-lake levels based on pollen-derived paleoclimatic reconstructions indicated a 3.5-m drop in simulated lake levels and were in good agreement with the position of mid-Holocene beach sands observed in a Williams Lake sediment core transect. However, calculated paleolake levels based on CCM1 climate forcing produced only a 0.05-m drop in lake levels. We found that decreases in winter precipitation rather than temperature increases had the largest effect on simulated mid-Holocene lake levels. The study illustrates how watershed models can be used to critically evaluate paleoclimatic reconstructions by integrating geologic, climatic, limnologic, and hydrogeologic data sets. © 2002 University of Washington.

Language: English

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/qres.2002.2377

Affiliations: 1: Department of Geology & Geophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55455 2: University of Southern Maine, Portland, Maine, 04104 3: Department of Geological Sciences, Indiana University, 1001 E. 10th Street, Bloomington, Indiana, 47405 4: United States Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado, 80225 5: Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, 55108 6: Department of Atmospheric and Geological Sciences, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, 50011

Publication date: 2002-11-01

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• In this Subject: Geology
• By this author: Filby S.K. ;  Locke S.M. ;  Person M.A. ;  Winter T.C. ;  Rosenberry D.O. ;  Nieber J.L. ;  Gutowski W.J. ;  Ito E.

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