Ostracodes in Owens Lake core OL-92: Alteration of saline and freshwater forms through time

Ostracode species’ geographic distributions are limited by parameters such as water temperature, salinity, and dissolved-ion composition. Because these parameters are, in part, determined by climate, ostracode biogeographic distributions serve as proxies for past climates. Therefore, the ostracodes in Core OL-92 from Owens Lake, southeast California, reveal climatic oscillations during the past 800,000 yr. The climatic history of the Owens Lake area, as indicated by the fossil ostracode record, reflects a number of high-latitude glacial and interglacial episodes in which glacial-period terminations fall at approximately 120 ka (Termination II), 225 ka (Termination III), 340 ka (Termination IV), and 438 ka (Termination V). A plot of saline versus freshwater ostracodes over time agrees quite well with a number of other geochemical and biological climatic indicators from the Owens Lake core.