Bonneville basin shoreline records of a large lake during Marine Isotope Stage 16

The occurrence of the 650,000-year-old Rye Patch Dam tephra within shoreline sedimentary sequences suggests the presence of a large lake in the Bonneville basin in North America during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 16. The observed shoreline sedimentology and stratigraphy indicate that the lake was expanding when the air-fall ash landed onto the lake water. The minimum estimated surface area of the 650 ka lake almost equals that of Lake Bonneville during the Provo stage in late MIS 2. The magnitude of the 650 ka large lake implies that the climatic and hydrologic conditions in the Bonneville basin during early MIS 16 might have been comparable to those in late MIS 2.

► The shoreline sediment in the Bonneville basin contains the 650 ka Rye Patch Dam tephra.
► The minimum surface area of the 650 ka lake is estimated.
► The MIS 16 lake is comparable to Lake Bonneville during the Provo stage in MIS 2.
► The MIS 16 Bonneville climate might have been at least similar to that of MIS 2.