New Mexico Geological Society Annual Spring Meeting — Abstracts

Lake Lucero, a playa lake system located in the lowest topographic depression of the Tularosa Basin, is one of the largest remnants of a pluvial lake system (Lake Otero) that existed in the basin during the late Quaternary. The presence of this preexisting lake is evident in the abandoned shorelines located topographically above the present day Lake Lucero plain. The climatic influences responsible for the presence of a larger lake must be different than those present today (i.e., higher precipitation and lower evaporation). However, before an investigation of climate change is possible, a better understanding of the current hydrographic system is necessary through the construction of a water-balance equation for the Lake Lucero system. Geographic information system technology is used in conjunction with modern climatic data to estimate a water-balance for Lake Lucero.