Provisional chronology of a late Quaternary core from Lake Waikare, North Island, New Zealand

Abstract

Lake Waikare is a shallow ( < 2 m), 34. 4 km² riverine lake near Hamilton, North Island, New Zealand (175° 12' S, 37° 24'E). Ac. 12.5 m long (corrected depth) sediment core taken from the lake in 1990 comprises mainly green-grey lacustrine clays with interbedded layers of peat, brownish clays, occasional fluvial sandy layers, and several thin tephra deposits. Lake sediment at the base of the core has been dated at 26 000 ± 1600 years BP (old half life basis) using the C-14 method; charcoal fragments at c. 11.7 m depth were dated at 17 300 ± 400 years BP; and a tephra layer at c. 8.5 m depth has been provisionally identified, using major element composition of glass, as the Rerewhakaaitu Tephra with an age of 14 700 ± 110 years BP. These ages accord with previous work in the area.