Abstract
A 9.3-m-long lake sediment core from dune-impounded Lake Kai Iwi in Northland, New Zealand provides a nearly continuous record of environmental changes from multi-proxy organic, physical index, and µ-XRF elemental data sets. The chronology for the upper 3 m of the core was established by 210Pb, 14C and tephrochronology and includes Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 1 (Holocene), MIS 2 and late MIS 3. From this well-dated section of the core stratigraphy we were able to infer the environmental proxies that respond to wind and/or precipitation during cool periods (MIS 2 and 4) and with the warm periods (MIS 1 and 5). Principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis were performed on the µ-XRF elemental data set including elements common in lake sediments (P, S, Fe, Ti, K, Ca, and Si) and five ratios (Sr/Ca, Br/Cl, Mn/Fe, Ti/K, and Inc/coh) to identify patterns in the µ-XRF proxy data associated with environmental change manifesting as changes in precipitation and wind deposition. The PCA indicates that Component (PC)-1 represents detrital versus organic deposition, and PC-2 is associated with nutrient influx versus anoxic conditions in the lake. The cool periods of MIS 2 and 4 are apparent in the µ-XRF data as having increased detrital influx in the form of Sr/Ca from marine derived sediments from the exposed continental shelf during low sea level indicating cool and dry conditions. Warmer and wetter periods (MIS 1 and 5) are identified by increased Ti/K influx from precipitation runoff and increased organic productivity as shown by Inc/coh and total organic carbon. The Holocene warm equivalent conditions of MIS 5e are not represented in the lower part of the Lake Kai Iwi core stratigraphy consistent with an extrapolated basal age of 117 ± 8.5 ka BP.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alloway B, Lowe D, Barrell D, Newnham R, Almond P, Augustinus P, Bertler N, Carter L, Litchfield N, McGlone M, Shulmeister J, Vandergoes M, Williams P, NZ-INTIMATE Members (2007) Towards a climate event stratigraphy for New Zealand over the past 30 000 years (NZ-INTIMATE project). J Quat Sci 22:9–35
Appleby PG, Oldfield F (1978) The calculation of lead-210 dates assuming a constant rate of supply of unsupported 210Pb to the sediment. CATENA 5:1–8
Augustinus P, D’Costa D, Deng Y, Hagg J, Shane P (2011) A multi-proxy record of changing environments from ca. 30,000 to 9000 cal. a BP: Onepoto maar palaeolake, Auckland, New Zealand. J Quat Sci 26:389–401
Blaauw M, Christen JA (2011) Flexible paleoclimate age-depth models using an autoregressive gamma process. Bay Anal 6:457–474. https://doi.org/10.1214/11-BA618
Chagué-Goff C, Chan JCH, Goff J, Gadd P (2016) Late Holocene record of environmental changes, cyclones and tsunamis in a coastal lake, Mangaia, Cook Islands. Isl Arc 25:333–349. https://doi.org/10.1111/iar.12153
Chappell J (1975) Upper quaternary warping and uplift rates in the bay of plenty and west coast, North Island, New Zealand. N Z J Geol Geophys 18:129–154. https://doi.org/10.1080/00288306.1975.10426351
Chappell PR (2013) The climate and weather of Northland, 3rd edn. NIWA, Wellington
Chawchai S, Kylander ME, Chabangborn A, Löwemark L, Wohlfarth B (2016) Testing commonly used X-ray fluorescence core scanning-based proxies for organic-rich lake sediments and peat. Boreas 45:180–189. https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.12145
Corella JP, Brauer A, Mangili C, Rull V, Vegas-Vilarrúbia T, Morellón M, Valero-Garcés BL (2012) The 1.5-ka varved record of Lake Montcortès (southern Pyrenees, NE Spain). Quat Res (U S) 78:323–332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2012.06.002
Croudace IW, Rindby A, Rothwell RG (2006) ITRAX: description and evaluation of a new multi-function X-ray core scanner. Geol Soc Lond Spec Publ 267:51–63. https://doi.org/10.1144/gsl.sp.2006.267.01.04
Daniau AL, Harrison SP, Bartlein PJ (2010) Fire regimes during the last glacial. Quat Sci Rev 29:2918–2930. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.11.008
Davies SJ, Lamb HF, Roberts SJ (2015) Micro-XRF core scanning in palaeolimnology: recent developments. In: Croudace IW, Rothwell RG (eds) Micro-XRF studies of sediment cores. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 189–226
Ding Q, Steig EJ, Battisti DS, Wallace JM (2012) Influence of the tropics on the southern annular mode. J Clim 25:6330–6348. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00523.1
Edbrooke SW (2001) 1:250000 Geological Map—Auckland
Evans G, Augustinus P, Gadd P, Zawadzki A, Ditchfield A (2019) A multi-proxy μ-XRF inferred lake sediment record of environmental change spanning the last ca. 2230 years from Lake Kanono, Northland. New Zealand. Quat Sci Rev. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106000
Fitzsimmons KE, Rhodes EJ, Magee JW, Barrows TT (2007) The timing of linear dune activity in the Strzelecki and Tirari Deserts, Australia. Quat Sci. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2007.06.010
Flude S, Storey M (2016) 40Ar/39Ar age of the Rotoiti Breccia and Rotoehu Ash, Okataina Volcanic Complex, New Zealand, and identification of heterogeneously distributed excess40Ar in supercooled crystals. Quat Geochron 33:13–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quageo.2016.01.002
Ghaleb B (2009) Overview of the methods for the measurement and interpretation of short-lived radioisotopes and their limits. IOP Conf Ser Earth Environ Sci 5:012007. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1307/5/1/012007
Gray T (2013) Kai Iwi Lakes catchment description: final draft. Retrieved from TEC Services: Prepared for Northland Regional Council. https://www.kaipara.govt.nz/uploads/kaiiwi/NRC%20Outstanding%20Waterbodies%20KI%20Lakes%2020130219.pdf
Hamill PF, Ballance PF (1985) Heavy mineral rich beach sands of the waitakere coast, Auckland, New Zealand. N Z J Geol Geophys 28:503–511. https://doi.org/10.1080/00288306.1985.10421203
Harrell Jr FE (2018) Hmisc: Harrell Miscellaneous: R package version 4.1-1. Retrieved from https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=Hmisc
Heyng AM, Mayr C, Lücke A, Striewski B, Wastegård S, Wissel H (2012) Environmental changes in northern New Zealand since the Middle Holocene inferred from stable isotope records (δ15 N, δ13C) of Lake Pupuke. J Paleolimnol 48:351–366. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-012-9606-5
Hogg AG, Hua Q, Blackwell PG, Niu M, Buck CE, Guilderson TP, Niu M, Heaton TJ, Palmer JG, Reimer PJ, Reimer RW, Turney CSM, Zimmerman SRH (2013) SHcal13 Southern Hemisphere calibration, 0–50,000 years cal BP. Radiocarbon 55:1889–1903. https://doi.org/10.2458/azu_js_rc.55.16783
Hughes B, Stephens T, Snelder T, Kelly D (2016) Lake FMU’s for Northland. Recommendations for policy development. Lyttelton: Land and Water People Client Report for Northland Regional Council. Unpublished
Jara IA, Newnham RM, Alloway BV, Wilmshurst JM, Rees ABH (2017) Pollen-based temperature and precipitation records of the past 14,600 years in northern New Zealand (37 S) and their linkages with the Southern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation. Holocene 27:1756–1768. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683617708444
Jouve G, Francus P, Lamoureux S, Provencher-Nolet L, Hahn A, Haberzettl T, Fortin D, Nuttin L (2013) Microsedimentological characterization using image analysis and μ-XRF as indicators of sedimentary processes and climate changes during Lateglacial at Laguna Potrok Aike, Santa Cruz, Argentina. Quat Sci Rev 71:191–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2012.06.003
Jouzel J, Masson-Delmotte V, Cattani O, Dreyfus G, Falourd S, Hoffmann G, Minster B, Nouet J, Barnola JM, Chappellaz J, Fischer H, Gallet JC, Johnsen S, Leuenberger M, Loulergue L, Luethi D, Oerter H, Parrenin F, Raisbeck G, Raynaud D, Schilt A, Schwander J, Selmo E, Souchez R, Spahni R, Stauffer B, Steffensen JP, Stenni B, Stocker TF, Tison JL, Werner M, Wolff EW (2007) Orbital and millennial antarctic climate variability over the past 800,000 years. Science 317:793–796. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1141038
Juggins S (2017) Rioja: analysis of quaternary science data: R package version (0.9–15.1). http://cran.r-project.org/package=rioja
Koinig KA, Shotyk W, Lotter AF, Ohlendorf C, Sturm M (2003) 9000 Years of geochemical evolution of lithogenic major and trace elements in the sediment of an alpine lake—the role of climate, vegetation, and land-use history. J Paleolimnol 30:307–320. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026080712312
Kylander ME, Ampel L, Wohlfarth B, Veres D (2011) High-resolution X-ray fluorescence core scanning analysis of Les Echets (France) sedimentary sequence: new insights from chemical proxies. J Quat Sci 26:109–117. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.1438
Lambert F, Bigler M, Steffensen JP, Hutterli M, Fischer H (2012) Centennial mineral dust variability in high-resolution ice core data from Dome C, Antarctica. Clim Past 8:609–623. https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-609-2012
Lisiecki LE, Raymo ME (2005) A Pliocene-Pleistocene stack of 57 globally distributed benthic δ 18O records. Paleoceanography 20:1–17. https://doi.org/10.1029/2004PA001071
López P, Navarro E, Marce RR, Ordóñez SJ, Caputo GL, Armengol J (2006) Elemental ratios in sediments as indicators of ecological processes in Spanish reservoirs. Limnetica 25:499–512
Lorrey AM, Vandergoes M, Almond P, Renwick J, Stephens T, Bostock H, Mackintosh A, Newnham R, Williams PW, Ackerley D, Neil H, Fowler AM (2012) Palaeocirculation across New Zealand during the last glacial maximum at ~ 21 ka. Quat Sci Rev 36:189–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2011.09.025
Lowe D, Shane P, Alloway B, Newnham R (2008) Fingerprints and age models for widespread New Zealand tephra marker beds erupted since 30,000 years ago: a framework for NZINTIMATE. Quat Sci Rev 27:95–126
Manville V, Wilson CJN (2004) The 26.5 ka oruanui eruption, New Zealand: a review of the roles of volcanism and climate in the post-eruptive sedimentary response. New Zealand Jf Geol Geophys 47:525–547. https://doi.org/10.1080/00288306.2004.9515074
Mark DF, Petraglia M, Smith VC, Morgan LE, Barfod DN, Ellis BS, Pearce NJ, Pal JN, Korisettar R (2014) A high-precision 40Ar/39Ar age for the Young Toba Tuff and dating of ultra-distal tephra: forcing of quaternary climate and implications for hominin occupation of India. Quat Geochronol 21:90–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quageo.2012.12.004
Marshall MH, Lamb HF, Huws D, Davies SJ, Bates R, Bloemendal J, Boyle J, Leng MJ, Umer M, Bryant C (2011) Late Pleistocene and Holocene drought events at Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile. Glob Planet Change 78:147–161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2011.06.004
Martín-Puertas C, Valero-Garcés BL, Mata MP, Moreno A, Giralt S, Martínez-Ruiz F, Jiménez-Espejo F (2011) Geochemical processes in a Mediterranean Lake: a high-resolution study of the last 4,000 years in Zoñar Lake, southern Spain. J Paleolimnol 46:405–421. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-009-9373-0
Melles M, Brigham-Grette J, Minyuk PS, Nowaczyk NR, Wennrich V, DeConto RM, Anderson PM, Andreev AA, Coletti A, Cook TL, Haltia-Hovi E, Kukkonen M, Lozhkin AV, Rosén P, Tarasov P, Vogel H, Wagner B (2012) 2.8 Million years of arctic climate change from Lake El’gygytgyn, NE Russia. Science 337:315–320. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1222135
Meyers PA (1997) Organic geochemical proxies of paleoceanographic, paleolimnologic, and paleoclimatic processes. Org Geochem 27:213–250
Meyers PA (2003) Applications of organic geochemistry to paleolimnological reconstructions: a summary of examples from the Laurentian Great Lakes. Org Geochem 34:261–289
Molloy C, Shane P, Augustinus P (2009) Eruption recurrence rates in a basaltic volcanic field based on tephralayers in maar sediments: implications for hazards in the Auckland volcanic field. Bull Geol Soc Am 121:1666–1677. https://doi.org/10.1130/B26447.1
Moy CM, Seltzer GO, Rodbell DT, Anderson DM (2002) Variability of El Niño/Southern Oscillation activity at millennial timescales during the Holocene epoch. Nature 420:162
Newnham RM, Vandergoes MJ, Hendy CH, Lowe DJ, Preusser F (2007) A terrestrial palynological record for the last two glacial cycles from southwestern New Zealand. Quat Sci Rev 26:517–535. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2006.05.005
Newnham RM, Alloway BV, Holt KA, Butler K, Rees ABH, Wilmshurst JM, Dunbar G, Hajdas I (2017) Last Glacial pollen–climate reconstructions from Northland, New Zealand. J Quat Sci 32:685–703. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.2955
NRC (2018) Kai Iwi Lakes Management Plan. https://www.nrc.govt.nz/media/9537/kaiiwilakesmanagementplanwebsite.pdf
Oksanen J, Blanchet FG, Friendly M, Kindt R, Legendre P, McGlinn D, Minchin P, O’Hara RB, Simpson G, Solymos P, Henry M, Stevens H, Szoecs E, Wagner H (2018) Vegan: community ecology package: R package version 2.5-1. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=vegan
Olsen J, Anderson JN, Leng MJ (2013) Limnological controls on stable isotope records of late-Holocene palaeoenvironment change in SW Greenland: a paired lake study. Quat Sci Rev 66:85–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2012.10.043
Pahnke K, Zahn R, Elderfield H, Schulz M (2003) 340,000-Year centennial-scale marine record of southern hemisphere climatic oscillation. Science 301:948–952. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1084451
Palmer AS, Pillans BJ (1996) Record of climatic fluctuations from ca. 500 ka loess deposits and paleosols near Wanganui, New Zealand. Quat Int 34:155–162. https://doi.org/10.1016/1040-6182(95)00080-1
Pillans B (1990) Pleistocene marine terraces in New Zealand: a review. N Z J Geol Geophys 33:219–231. https://doi.org/10.1080/00288306.1990.10425680
R Core Team (2018) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing. https://www.R-project.org/
Richardson RJH (1985) Quaternary geology of the North Kaipara Barrier, Northland, New Zealand. N Z J Geol Geophys 28:111–127
Rothwell RG, Hoogaker B, Thomson J, Croudace IW, Frenz M (2006) Turbidite emplacement on the southern Balearic Abyssal Plain (western Mediterranean Sea) during Marine Isotope Stages 1–3: an application of ITRAX XRF scanning of sediment cores to lithostratigraphic analysis. In: Rothwell RG (ed) New techniques in sediment core analysis, vol 267. Special Publications, Geological Society, London, pp 79–98
Ryan MT, Dunbar GB, Vandergoes MJ, Neil HL, Hannah MJ, Newnham RM, Bostock H, Alloway BV (2012) Vegetation and climate in Southern Hemisphere mid-latitudes since 210 ka: new insights from marine and terrestrial pollen records from New Zealand. Quat Sci Rev 48:80–98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2012.06.001
Schittek K, Forbriger M, Mächtle B, Schäbitz F, Wennrich V, Reindel M, Eitel B (2015) Holocene environmental changes in the highlands of the southern Peruvian Andes (14 S) and their impact on pre-Columbian cultures. Clim Past 11:27–44. https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-27-2015
Schofield JC (1970) Coastal sands of Northland and Auckland. N Z J Geol Geophys 13:767–824. https://doi.org/10.1080/00288306.1970.10431354
Shane P (2000) Tephrochronology: a New Zealand case study. Earth Sci Rev 49:223–259. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0012-8252(99)00058-6
Shane P, Sandiford A (2003) Paleovegetation of marine isotope stages 4 and 3 in Northern New Zealand and the age of the widespread Rotoehu tephra. Quat Res 59:420–429. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0033-5894(03)00044-9
Shane P, Sikes EL, Guilderson TP (2006) Tephra beds in deep-sea cores off northern New Zealand: implications for the history of Taupo Volcanic Zone, Mayor Island and White Island volcanoes. J Volcanolo Geotherm Res 154:276–290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2006.03.021
Shulmeister J, Thackray GD, Rittenour TM, Fink D, Patton NR (2019) The timing and nature of the last glacial cycle in New Zealand. Quat Sci Rev 206:1–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.12.020
Sikes EL, Howard WR, Neil HL, Volkman JK (2002) Glacial-interglacial sea surface temperature changes across the subtropical front east of New Zealand based on alkenone unsaturation ratios and foraminiferal assemblages. Paleoceanography 17:2-1
Stephens T, Atkin D, Augustinus P, Shane P, Lorrey A, Street-Perrott A, Nilsson A, Snowball I (2012) A late glacial Antarctic climate teleconnection and variable Holocene seasonality at Lake Pupuke, Auckland, New Zealand. J Paleolimnol 48:785–800. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-012-9644-z
Unkel I, Fernandez M, Björck S, Ljung K, Wohlfarth B (2010) Records of environmental changes during the Holocene from Isla de los Estados (54.4 S), southeastern Tierra del Fuego. Glob Planet Change 74:99–113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2010.07.003
Urban NR, Ernst K, Bernasconi S (1999) Addition of sulfur to organic matter during early diagenesis of lake sediments. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 63:837–853. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7037(98)00306-8
van den Bos V, Rees A, Newnham R, Vandergoes M, Wilmshurst J, Augustinus P (2018) Holocene temperature, humidity and seasonality in northern New Zealand linked to Southern Hemisphere summer insolation. Quat Sci Rev 201:77–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.10.008
Vandergoes MJ, Newnham RM, Preusser F, Hendy CH, Lowell TV, Fitzsimons SJ, Hogg AG, Kasper HU, Schlüchter C (2005) Regional insolation forcing of late quaternary climate change in the Southern Hemisphere. Nature 436:242–245. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03826
Vandergoes MJ, Hogg AG, Lowe DJ, Newnham RM, Denton GH, Southon J, Barrell DJA, Wilson CJN, McGlone MS, Allan ASR, Almond PC, Petchey F, Dabell K, Dieffenbacher-Krall AC, Blaauw M (2013) A revised age for the Kawakawa/Oruanui tephra, a key marker for the Last Glacial Maximum in New Zealand. Quat Sci Rev 74:195–201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2012.11.006
Wang L, Liang T (2015) Distribution characteristics of phosphorus in the sediments and overlying water of Poyang Lake. PLoS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0125859
Werne JP, Lyons TW, Hollander DJ, Formolo MJ, Sinninghe Damsté JS (2003) Reduced sulfur in euxinic sediments of the Cariaco Basin: sulfur isotope constraints on organic sulfur formation. Chem Geol 195:159–179. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0009-2541(02)00393-5
Whittaker TE, Hendy CH, Hellstrom JC (2011) Abrupt millennial-scale changes in intensity of Southern Hemisphere westerly winds during marine isotope stages 2–4. Geology 39:455–458. https://doi.org/10.1130/G31827.1
Williams PW, McGlone M, Neil H, Zhao JX (2015) A review of New Zealand palaeoclimate from the last interglacial to the global last glacial maximum. Quat Sci Rev 110:92–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.12.017
Yung YL, Lee T, Wang CH, Shieh YT (1996) Dust: a diagnostic of the hydrologic cycle during the last glacial maximum. Science 271:962–963. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.271.5251.962
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank AINSE Ltd for providing financial assistance (Award—PGRA 11784) to enable work on this Project. We would like to thank the field crew at the University of Auckland for help with logistics and coring, and we would also like to thank the lab technicians at the University of Auckland and ANSTO for providing their expertise and advice for this Project. The authors would like to thank Dr. Claire Kain for use of her computer scripts for PCA and cluster analysis on the R platform.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Evans, G., Augustinus, P., Gadd, P. et al. A multi-proxy paleoenvironmental interpretation spanning the last glacial cycle (ca. 117 ± 8.5 ka BP) from a lake sediment stratigraphy from Lake Kai Iwi, Northland, New Zealand. J Paleolimnol 65, 101–122 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-020-00151-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-020-00151-z