Laminated sediments in Lake Ohau, Mackenzie Basin, New Zealand, offer a potential high-resolution climate record for the past 17 kyr. Such records are particularly important due to the relative paucity of detailed palaeoclimate data from the Southern Hemisphere mid-latitudes. This paper presents outcomes of a study of the sedimentation processes of this temperate lake setting. Hydrometeorological, limnological and sedimentological data were collected over a 14 month period between 2011 and 2013. These data indicate that seasonality in the hydrometeorological system in combination with internal lake dynamics drives a distinct seasonal pattern of sediment dispersal and deposition on a basin-wide scale. Sedimentary layers that accumulate proximal to the lake inflow at the northern end of the lake form in response to discrete inflow events throughout the year and display an event stratigraphy. In contrast, seasonal change in the lake system controls accumulation of light (winter) and dark (summer) laminations at the distal end of the lake, resulting in the preservation of varves. This study documents the key processes influencing sediment deposition throughout Lake Ohau and provides fundamental data for generating a high-resolution palaeoclimate record from this temperate lake.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	Grain size, modern process, palaeoclimate, sediment deposition, varves
Research Division:	Engineering
Research Group:	Fluid mechanics and thermal engineering
Research Field:	Fluid mechanics and thermal engineering not elsewhere classified
Objective Division:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Group:	Expanding knowledge
Objective Field:	Expanding knowledge in the environmental sciences
UTAS Author:	Forrest, AL (Dr Alexander Forrest)
ID Code:	97673
Year Published:	2015 (online first 2014)
Web of Science® Times Cited:	18
Deposited By:	NC Maritime Engineering and Hydrodynamics
Deposited On:	2015-01-07
Last Modified:	2017-10-30
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