Late Holocene aeolian activity in the Cimarron River valley of west–central Oklahoma

This investigation uses a multidisciplinary approach including geomorphic surface mapping, soil stratigraphic analysis, radiocarbon dating and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating to investigate the chronology of soil formation and aeolian activation periods recorded in ridge dune deposits as well as the spatial variability of aeolian processes during active aeolian episodes. This study shows that aeolian landforms superimposed on fluvial terraces adjacent to the Cimarron River in southeastern Major County and northwestern Kingfisher County, Oklahoma are the product of distinct late Holocene climatic conditions, in which periods of dune activity are episodic and accumulation of sediments is relatively rapid. Soil-forming processes operated on the stabilized dunes during intervening periods. We also demonstrate that the synthesis of geomorphic techniques, soil stratigraphy, 14C dating and OSL dating can provide complimentary and high-resolution data about aeolian activity in the Southern Plains.