Abstract
Aeolian landforms and deposits are important sources of paleoclimatic data, especially when associated with other climate controlled landforms. Aeolian activity has modified Pleistocene glacial moraines at Bishop Creek, California through the deposition of dust, tephra, and sand on moraine surfaces and the abrasion of till boulders. About 5 cm of aeolian dust on top of a 525 year old tephra indicates that the area has experienced an average dust flux of about 150 g m-2 a-1. The magnitude of the aeolian modifications to the moraines appear to vary over small distances in response to the complex topography. Dust influx influences pedogenesis and rock weathering significantly. The spatial variation of dust deposits is superposed on the chronosequence of glacial moraines and confounds expected weathering and pedologic trends. Ventifact populations formed ~15-22 ka and ~60-65 ka reveal that aeolian erosive activity is associated with full and retreating glacial conditions. Before chronosequence research is conducted on dryland landforms, site to site variability in aeolian influence must be scrutinized to assess constancy in affects.