Floods and Megadroughts in the Missouri River Valley

The focus for my research is on Blyburg Lake. Blyburg Lake is an oxbow floodplain lake in Nebraska. Coring was done on the lake to gather a historic record of regional flooding and climate change. Our results and radiocarbon dates show silica peaks that correspond to known increased aeolian activity in the Nebraska Sand Hills (NSH). Sand dune activity is associated with major regional drought. Our suspected relationship with Blyburg's silica data means Blyburg has a good potential drought and flood record which can be used for further research on how Midwest responds to extreme climate changes.