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Wetter and cooler late Holocene climate in the southwestern United States from mites preserved in stalagmites

¹ Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131, USA
² 2007 29th Street, Lubbock, Texas 79411, USA
³ College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York, Syracuse, New York 13210, USA

The presence of at least 12 species of well-preserved mites in two late Holocene stalagmites from Hidden Cave, Guadalupe Mountains, New Mexico, depicts changing climate over the past 3200 yr. Growth of both stalagmites, determined by uranium-series dating, occurred from at least 3171 ± 48 yr ago and ceased by 819 ± 82 yr ago. Some of the 12 subfossil genera and species in the stalagmites are like those currently found in wetter and cooler climates, northern-like, and distinctly different from those known in the cave (n = 16) and on the surface immediately around the cave (n = 32). The mismatch of genera and species in the stalagmites, cave, and surface near the cave argues for a wetter and cooler late Holocene climate in the southwestern United States from ca. 3200 to 800 yr ago.

Key Words: mites • stalagmites • late Holocene • paleoclimate • uranium-series dating

This article has been cited by other articles:

				V. J. Polyak, J. B.T. Rasmussen, and Y. Asmerom Prolonged wet period in the southwestern United States through the Younger Dryas Geology, January 1, 2004; 32(1): 5 - 8. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				V. J. Polyak and Y. Asmerom Late Holocene Climate and Cultural Changes in the Southwestern United States Science, October 5, 2001; 294(5540): 148 - 151. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]