The basic approach for constructing this database was to scour the literature for relevant papers and other peer-reviewed publications that have something to do with Great Basin paleoenvironments. In this effort, we have focused on peer-reviewed publications, which necessarily excluded much of the gray literature and conference abstracts, although many abstracts are included. To further constrain the number of entries to a manageable number, the time frame covered by the database extends from the last glacial cycle (Oxygen Isotope Stage 2) to the present, although many excellent studies have focused on time periods prior to Stage 2. We have also limited geographic coverage to the hydrographic Great Basin, which includes all contiguous closed basins. With all of these constraints, the number of database base entries is approaching 800.

Once publications were collected, either electronically or in hard copy, the complete reference and abstracts were extracted and entered into a row on a Google earth template, which is based on an Excel worksheet. This template can be accessed in the link below. Also see the Power Point presentation on exactly how the Google earth interface was constructed.

The location for each record was selected using Google earth, which at times was challenging. Some papers are published with detailed locations in the form of UTM coordinates or lat-long pairs, while others are published with reasonably detailed location maps. Many papers, however, are published with poor location maps and/or only vague hints as to where the study was conducted. We did the best that we could with the information presented. As an aside, our experience in assigning locations for different studies emphasizes the need for detailed location information in all publications. Don’t you want people to know where your study sites are? Exceptions include archaeological studies where the authors may not want the general public to know exactly where a site is, to help protect them from looting. Therefore, we have intentionally obfuscated the locations of archaeological sites in the database.

Of course, not all studies focus on a particular site and may be more regional in nature. In these cases locations were chosen based on the general theme of the publication. Many other publications focus on multiple study sites. In some of these cases, a single location was selected to represent the publication but in others, multiple sites were selected to better represent the geographic breadth of the study.

What is included, what is not, and how to submit missing or new publications

Entries in this database consist of peer-reviewed studies that were conducted within the hydrographic Great Basin on some aspect of paleoenvironments (loosely defined) and that encompass the time period from the last major glaciation to the present (30 – 0 ka). No editing was performed on the entries nor was there any editorializing. You will have to decide for yourself as to the relevance and veracity of the individual studies. Because of copyright laws, only abstracts and not the full text of papers were included. Abstracts were not available for all entries, as many publications do not contain formal abstracts.

Only peer-reviewed studies are in the database, which includes journal articles, books, book chapters, USGS publications, geologic maps (limited), theses, and conference abstracts (limited). Although some guidebooks and the articles they contain were included, many guidebooks such as those written for FOP field trips are not. A longer term goal is to create a complete list of the fieldtrips along with pdf versions of the guidebooks that will be archived on this website, so check back soon if you are interested.

A sincere effort was made to include all relevant literature, however, it is virtually certain that some publications were missed and new ones are being published all of the time. In particular, I know that many publications in the archaeological literature have been missed and an effort is underway to include these in future revisions of the GBPED. If you are aware of missing publications from this database or new ones that are just coming out, please send the full reference, study location (lat-long pairs in decimal degrees), and pdf of the publication (if possible) to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and I will make sure that the entry gets included in updates of the database. In addition, if you notice that a particular publication has an apparently erroneous location associated with it, let me know about this as well and it will be corrected.

Disclaimers

This database is intended for educational purposes only. Errors in locations or citations are unintentional. Again, if you notice errors, please let me know.