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Data release for Evidence of glacial activity during MIS 4 in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado, USA

Metadata Updated: October 30, 2025

The Ziegler Reservoir fossil site near Snowmass Village, Colorado (USA) provides a rare opportunity to examine environmental conditions in the Rocky Mountains during marine isotope stage (MIS) 4 (71–57 ka). Although recognized as a global-scale cold event, MIS 4 is typically absent from Rocky Mountain glacial chronologies because the geologic evidence was either covered or destroyed during the subsequent, and larger, MIS 2 (Pinedale; 29–14 ka) glaciation. The Ziegler Reservoir site is perched on a ridge above Pinedale glacial limits, which allowed for the preservation of a long-lived sequence of predominantly eolian sediments that spans from late MIS 6 (ca. 140 ka) through early MIS 3 (ca. 55 ka). Sediments dating to MIS 4 exhibit a significant increase in clay-sized particles, which suggests the source areas were enriched with fine-grained material at that time. We hypothesize that this increase in clay content is the result of rock-flour production by nearby valley glaciers that were active in the Rocky Mountains during MIS 4. If correct, our study illustrates how recognizing indirect evidence of glacial activity can result in a more complete record of past climate conditions than what could be achieved by the study of glacial moraines alone.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

Downloads & Resources

Dates

Metadata Created Date September 13, 2025
Metadata Updated Date October 30, 2025

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI USGS DCAT-US

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date September 13, 2025
Metadata Updated Date October 30, 2025
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
Identifier http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/usgs-60f79c8ed34e9143a4ba4edb
Data Last Modified 2021-09-22T00:00:00Z
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://ddi.doi.gov/usgs-data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id 90d13dab-ecae-4643-a216-143a6afbee48
Harvest Source Id 2b80d118-ab3a-48ba-bd93-996bbacefac2
Harvest Source Title DOI USGS DCAT-US
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial -107.0500, 39.0900, -106.7000, 39.2700
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash fdedbc8a1e0ca45eaedade5ebe28fb088af30ae567c5432875a59f7a5c7025bf
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": -107.0500, 39.0900, -107.0500, 39.2700, -106.7000, 39.2700, -106.7000, 39.0900, -107.0500, 39.0900}

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