60-3 Exploring the Relationship Between Soil Bands and Large Climatic Events at The Claremont Wilderness Park

Session: 2YC and 4YCU Geoscience Student Research Poster Showcase

Presenting Author:

Authors:

Abstract:

The Claremont Hills Wilderness Park (CHWP) is located along the alluvial fans of the San Gabriel Mountains in Claremont, CA. The CHWP has accessible trails with occasional outcrops of red, bedded soil on top of beige soils. The origin of the red soil has been of interest to the local community that hikes within the CHWP. Nearby studies conducted at Cow Canyon and in the Mission Creek catchment suggest a large landsliding event, potentially caused by a wetter-than-average period ~30 ka. At both Cow Canyon and the Mission Creek catchment, researchers have observed similarly weathered, red soils, which are similar to those observed at the CHWP.  To establish a correlation between the red soils of the CHWP and the Cow Canyon and Mission Creek catchment sites, we are using luminescence dating to investigate the burial ages of the red soils at CHWP. We collected four samples at various depths along an outcrop at CHWP. We collected two samples close to the surface at 20 cm, and two samples from greater depths of 2 m.  After determining the ages of the CHWP soils, we can compare the ages of the shallow and deeper samples to determine whether there may have been multiple depositional events or one large-scale depositional event. We can then compare the depositional ages from CHWP to those obtained from Cow Canyon and Mission Creek. We can also compare the ages to the timing of wetter-than-average periods to determine if there is a link between large-scale landsliding events and climate. Ultimately, we aim to educate the local community about the prevalence of landslides and debris flows, thereby helping to mitigate disasters. 

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-5707

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