A Reconstruction of Late Pleistocene and Holocene Paleoclimate Record Using Radiocarbon Dating and Noble Gas Thermometry of Groundwater in Shelby County, Tennessee

Author

Megan Marie Purvis

Date

2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Earth Sciences

Committee Chair

Dorian Burnette

Committee Member

Daniel Larsen

Committee Member

Rachel Lombardi

Abstract

Paleoclimate proxies, including groundwater, tree rings, ice, deep-sea sediments, and speleothems, have identified climate changes of various magnitudes throughout Earth’s history. Previous research has utilized noble gas temperatures and radiocarbon (14C) dating of groundwater to understand prehistoric climate, and the groundwater under Shelby County, Tennessee, is ideal for obtaining high-precision paleoclimate data for the south-central region of North America. This research derived groundwater recharge temperatures ranging from Pleistocene and Holocene ages utilizing available noble gas data modeled with the program PANGA. The program estimated paleotemperatures using inverse modeling with the unfractionated excess air (UA) and closed-system equilibration (CE) model. The reconstructed recharge temperatures indicate temperatures that align with the geological ages of Pleistocene and Holocene. Furthermore, these temperatures align with previous research suggesting cooler conditions during the early Holocene (10,000 – 9,000 cal yr B.P.).

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest.

Notes

Open Access

Recommended Citation

Purvis, Megan Marie, "A Reconstruction of Late Pleistocene and Holocene Paleoclimate Record Using Radiocarbon Dating and Noble Gas Thermometry of Groundwater in Shelby County, Tennessee" (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3873.
https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/etd/3873