an 15 000 year record of el nino driven alluviation in southwestern ecuador debris flows have deposited inorganic laminae in an alpine lake that is 75 kilometers east of the pacific ocean in ecuador these storm induced events were dated by radiocarbon and the age of laminae that are less than 200 years old matches the historic record of el nino events from about 15 000 to about 7000 calendar years before the present the periodicity of clastic deposition is greater than or equal to 15 years thereafter there is a progressive increase in frequency to periodicities of 2 to 8 5 years this is the modern el nino periodicity which was established about 5000 calendar years before the present this may reflect the onset of a steeper zonal sea surface temperature gradient which was driven by enhanced trade winds

modeling suspended sediment discharge from the waipaoa river system new zealand the last 3000 years hydrotrend a hydrologic transport model is used to simulate the water and suspended sediment discharge of the waipaoa river system over the last 3 kyr a time period in which a well documented sequence of natural events and anthropogenic activities that profoundly impacted drainage basin processes occurred comparisons between observed and simulated data show that the model output replicates the frequency and distribution of flow events and the suspended sediment concentration discharge relationship and the long term trends in suspended sediment discharge are consistent with the sediment record preserved on the middle shelf water discharge tracks precipitation and average annual discharge may have been up to 20 higher and 6 lower at different times in the past suspended sediment discharge changed from 2 3 4 5 to 14 9 8 7 mt yr 1 during the anthropocene increasing by 140 after polynesian arrival by 350 after european colonization and by 660 after the catchment headwaters were deforested

australasian evidence for mid holocene climate change implies precessional control of walker circulation in the pacific abstract at its simplest the pacific cell of the walker circulation may be regarded as a thermal circulation driven by the temperature contrast between the west and east pacific evidence from australasia is summarized indicating that this circulation was greatly weakened in the early holocene but was enhanced at about 5000 bp the initial effect of this enhancement was the intensification of the northern australian monsoon within the australian tropics but this was reversed abruptly after 3700 bp the enhancement is attributed to an increased polar equator pressure gradient after 5000 bp with consequent intensification of the overall circulation pattern in the southern hemisphere including the mid latitude westerlies and the trade winds this in turn appears to be a result of increased southern hemisphere seasonality driven by the precessional cycle it is proposed that increased wind speeds off south america after 5000 bp in both mid and low latitudes enhanced upwelling and reduced sea surface temperatures ssts this created a greater east west surface temperature contrast across the pacific compounding a pre existing trend towards enhanced circulation and flipping climates in the southern hemisphere pacific basin from an early holocene mode to a late holocene mode under reduced circulation conditions early holocene climates at low latitudes in the southern hemisphere may have been dominated by monsoonal heat transfers

short and long term delivery rates of meteoric 10be to terrestrial soils well constrained long term average meteoric 10be deposition rates are important when meteoric 10be is used as a chronometer or tracer of earth surface processes to constrain meteoric 10be delivery to terrestrial soils we estimate time integrated 10be deposition rates from meteoric 10be inventories measured in dated soils and compare these results to a new synthesis of short term measurements of 10be in precipitation comparison of these long term rates to short term measurements suggests that short term measurements likely predict long term meteoric 10be deposition rates within uncertainties of 20 in precipitation measurements it is possible to deconvolve the contribution of atmospherically produced primary meteoric 10be from recycled meteoric 10be delivered by terrestrial dust if a second isotope is measured that quantifies either the recycled or primary components of meteoric 10be deposition we use dust concentration dependent differences between 7be and 10be measurements to make new estimates of the recycled contribution to total meteoric 10be flux delivered to the earth s surface these dust corrected data show a strong linear dependence between precipitation amount and primary meteoric 10be flux concentrations of primary meteoric 10be in mid and low latitude precipitation vary predictably by latitude between 0 63 104 and 2 05 104 atoms cm3 of precipitation providing a first order estimate of primary meteoric 10be deposition for a given latitude and precipitation rate

magnitude and frequency of landsliding in a large new zealand catchment knowledge of long term average rates of erosion is necessary if factors affecting sediment yields from catchments are to be understood without such information it is not possible to assess the potential influence of extreme storms and therefore to evaluate the relative importance of various components of a sediment budget a study of the sediment budget for the waipaoa catchment north island new zealand included evaluation of long term rates of landsliding for six landslide prone land systems in the catchment the number of landslides per unit area generated by each of several storms was counted on sequential aerial photographs and correlated with the magnitude of the corresponding storm the resulting relationships were combined with magnitude frequency relationships derived for storms from 70 to 100 year rainfall records in the area to estimate a long term magnitude frequency relationship for landsliding for each land system the long term average values of the areal landslide frequency number of slides per unit area per unit time were then calculated from these relationships the volumes of a sample of landslide scars were measured in the field and the proportion of slides that deliver sediment to channels was determined from aerial photographs these measurements then allowed calculation of the long term average rate of sediment production to streams from landslides for different land systems and types of vegetation results suggest that shallow landslides currently contribute about 15 5 of the suspended sediment load in the waipaoa river above the kanakanaia gauging station and that 75 of the sediment production from the landslides occurs during storms with recurrence intervals of less than 27 years reforestation of 6 3 93 km2 of the slide prone lands in the catchment between 1990 and 1995 resulted in a calculated decrease in slide derived sediment of 10 calculations suggest that reforestation of an additional 3 66 km2 of the catchment in areas with the most sensitive combinations of land system and storm regime could decrease the total sediment inputs from landsliding by about 20

holocene shoreline depositional processes at poverty bay a tectonically active area northeastern north island new zealand abstract holocene depositional processes at poverty bay have been affected by 1 tectonism 2 sea level response to climate change 3 fluvial processes responding to 1 and 2 severe storms and volcanic eruptions the height distribution of radiocarbon dated beach and estuarine shells and wood show that during the holocene relative uplift of the land has occurred at the northeastern margin of the poverty bay flats while subsidence has occurred at the southwestern margin three holocene tectonic subregions are distinguished at the poverty bay flats coast a northern gisborne wainui uplift area a central makaraka awapuni static pivotal area and a southern patutahi muriwai downdrop area periods of significant fluvial upstream degradation into gravel terrace deposits and downstream gravel aggradation are dated at ca late last glaciation 12 000 9000 and 7000 5000 bp the 12 000 9000 bp gravel deposits show tilting to the southwest major erosion and infilling events also occurred at ca 1700 and 300 bp holocene marine transgression and progradation shoreline locations are mapped and the coastal processes are reviewed in terms of the tectonic fluvial and eustatic sea level influences

signals of watershed change preserved in organic carbon buried on the continental margin seaward of the waipaoa river new zealand abstract holocene sediments buried on the continental shelf seaward of the waipaoa river northeastern new zealand preserve a stratigraphic record of terrestrial environmental change the well characterized long term record of storms volcanism and human disturbance in this region provides an opportunity to examine how such changes are reflected in the character of organic carbon oc buried on the continental margin complimentary evidence obtained from analyses of the 14 c content and the elemental and stable carbon isotopic composition of different sedimentary fractions including charcoal wood and clay sized isolates indicates that these perturbations led to mobilization of oc components with variable storage histories in the watershed charcoal transported in the modern waipaoa river and buried in offshore depocenters includes a highly aged component that has apparently been slowly released from storage in soil or alluvial terraces the charcoal fraction ages become dramatically younger in sediments deposited after the taupo volcanic eruption 1717 cal yr bp and then polynesian settlement ca 700 cal yr bp both signaling biomass burning the mean age of woody plant fragments and clay bound oc deposited on the shelf also varies over time with older material having accumulated in the middle holocene and since human occupation deposition of older than average wood fragments and clay bound oc between about 5 and 3 6 kyr bp correlates with evidence for a period of increased storm frequency in the region and may reflect the enhanced delivery of aged soil and sedimentary rock mobilized from hill slopes via earthflows and or deep seated landslides similarly the deposition of older wood and clay bound oc commensurate with the first anthropogenic disturbance ca 700 years ago is consistent with accelerated mass wasting due to deforestation at the same time a change in the elemental and stable isotopic composition of bulk and clay bound oc buried on the shelf may reflect increased marine primary productivity and or mobilization of oc from deep levels in soil profiles deforestation of the waipaoa headwaters by european settlers beginning in the middle 19th century is evinced by a sharper rise in the age of clay associated oc buried offshore today deep gully incision into fractured sedimentary bedrock is a major source of sediment and kerogen to the river and this process has left its mark on the age of sedimentary oc delivered to the adjacent margin

holocene depositional history of the burdekin river delta of northeastern australia a model for a low accommodation highstand delta abstract the burdekin river of northeastern australia has constructed a substantial delta during the holocene delta plain area 1260 km2 the vertical succession through this delta comprises 1 a basal coarse grained transgressive lag overlying a continental omission surface overlain by 2 a mud interval deposited as the coastal region was inundated by the postglacially rising sea in turn overlain by 3 a generally sharp based sand unit deposited principally in channel and mouth bar environments with lesser volumes of floodplain and coastal facies the holocene burdekin delta was constructed as a series of at least thirteen discrete delta lobes formed as the river avulsed each lobe consists of a composite sand body typically 5 8 m thick the oldest lobes formed during the latter stages of the postglacial sea level rise 10 5 5 kyr bp are larger than those formed during the highstand 5 5 3 kyr bp which are in turn larger than those formed during the most recent slight sea level lowering and stillstand 3 0 kyr bp radiocarbon ages and other stratigraphic data indicate that inter avulsion period has decreased through time coincident with the decrease in delta lobe area the primary control on holocene delta architecture appears to have been a change from a pluvial climate known to characterize the region 12 4 kyr bp to the present drier enso dominated climate in addition to decreasing the sediment supply via lower rates of chemical weathering this change may have contributed to the shorter avulsion period by facilitating extreme variability of discharge more frequent avulsion may also have been facilitated by the lengthening of the delta plain channels as the system prograded seaward

el nino southern oscillation signal associated with middle holocene climate change in intercorrelated terrestrial and marine sediment cores north island new zealand a synchronous textural variation in intercorrelated high resolution sediment records from floodplain continental shelf and continental slope settings of the eastern north island new zealand provides evidence of increased storminess after ca 4 ka an upcore change in sediment texture reflects the transition to landsliding which supplanted fluvial incision as the dominant mode of sediment production in the middle holocene this signal which appears in all three records indicates a regional response to external forcing and records the impact of an intensified atmospheric circulation marking the establishment of the contemporary climate that is strongly influenced by the el nino southern oscillation the change in climate was a hemispheric event and in the southern hemisphere its timing is confirmed by independent proxy records from elsewhere in new zealand and the circum south pacific region

a source to sink perspective of the waipaoa river margin abstract a fundamental goal of the earth science community is to understand how perturbations on earth s surface are preserved in the stratigraphic record recent source to sink s2s studies of the waipaoa sedimentary system wss new zealand are synthesized herein to provide a holistic perspective of the processes that generate transport and preserve sedimentary strata and organic carbon on the waipaoa margin in the late quaternary rapid uplift associated with subduction processes and weak sedimentary units have conspired to generate rapid rates of incision and erosion in the waipaoa catchment since the last glacial maximum lgm we show that although much of the sediment exported offshore during this time interval originated from valley excavation a substantial portion emanated from hillslopes mostly through deep seated landslide and earthflow processes that were vigorous during periods of rapid fluvial incision just prior to the pleistocene holocene transition lacustrine sediments deposited in naturally dammed 7 ky old lake tutira provide a record of holocene environmental controls on upper catchment sedimentation in the wss with 1400 storms identified storm frequency is modulated by the waxing and waning of atmospheric teleconnections between the tropics and antarctica furthermore clear long term changes in sediment yield are evident from the lake tutira record following human settlement as conversion to pasture is accompanied by a 3 fold increase in the long term lake sediment accumulation rate whereas there is ample evidence that waipaoa river flood deposits are routinely deposited offshore in the sheltered confines of poverty bay over the longer term waves and currents subsequently resuspend and transport these deposits both landward sandy fraction and seaward finer fraction thus the timing of sediment supply to areas of net sediment accumulation is more often driven by wave events that are not associated with river flooding therefore we conclude that asynchronicity of river sediment delivery and of wave resuspension in most instances precludes the direct preservation of flood events in the stratigraphic record of the waipaoa shelf over the longer term the sediment package preserved on the shelf and slope since the lgm can be explained in large measure by sequence stratigraphic models forced by varying sea level and ongoing tectonic deformation of the margin as sea level rose sediment supply to the slope was reduced by about a factor of 5 due to shelf trapping despite this reduction turbidites are found at similar frequency throughout the lgm present as the dominant trigger appears to be subduction earthquakes with large ones having a return interval of about 200 100 years sediment budget exercises that consider both modern river discharge versus centennial accumulation rates and post lgm terrestrial production versus offshore isopachs mass balances indicate that about half of the total sediment production from the waipaoa escapes the study area moreover a coupled sediment transport hydrodynamic model and observations of textural trends on the shelf indicate that a large fraction of the sediment is carried outside the study area along the shelf to the northeast by the river plume or by combined current wave activity therefore we conclude that the wss is an open system with sediment escape from the present day through the lgm the organic matter associated with sediment as it moves from upland source to marine sink is a product of particle history and provides a record of materials that have cycled over timescales of days to millions of years the ubiquity of fossil organic carbon oc in both the terrestrial and marine realms of the waipaoa attests both to the chronic nature of its source crumbling mudstones further destabilized by land use and its biogeochemical recalcitrance modern oc persists by virtue of its continual production along the s2s transit and is buried and preserved within the adjacent marine depocenters the waipaoa contrasts with dispersal systems on wide energetic shelves e g the amazon and fly rivers where sediment is extensively refluxed in oxygenated overlying water resulting in the biogeochemical incineration of particulate oc the waipaoa like other small mountainous rivers on active margins exhibits a high riverine oc preservation efficiency 50 in its marine depocenters because of the relatively rapid event driven accumulation of sediment

seasonal variations in aridity and temperature characterize changing climate during the last deglaciation in new zealand abstract new multiproxy records of aridity from northern new zealand assess the seasonality and overall pattern of wetness through the last glacial coldest period lgcp to the early holocene in the subtropical southwest pacific biomass burning indicators based on terrestrial biomarkers and 13 c of individual plant leaf wax carbon compounds n alkanoic acids from a maar lake were used to track aridity in combination with published sea surface temperatures and new pollen based temperature estimates from the same core seasonal climatological changes in the auckland area were determined from 27 to 9 cal ka bp these proxies document a shift from cold and dry conditions in the last glacial maximum to seasonally wetter conditions through the deglaciation spring became warmer first and possibly wetter while summers remained drier and initially cooler the progression from cold dry to warm wet was punctuated by the antarctic cold reversal acr which stands out as having wetter conditions in both spring and summer and mild cooling largely concentrated in spring the seasonal climate trends observed here can be plausibly explained by a rapid change from a subpolar climate to one with subtropical control in this region of the southwest pacific across the last glacial to interglacial transition a southerly shift and decreasing intensity of the westerly wind belt after the lgcp is considered to have driven the early deglacial warming and pulse of wetness whereas a northward shift without a commensurate increase in intensity of the westerlies may explain conditions in the acr

from mountain source to ocean sink the passage of sediment across an active margin waipaoa sedimentary system new zealand abstract the joint us nz source to sink initiative aims to unravel the tectonic climatic and other processes that shape the landscape from the mountains to deep ocean of two focus areas chosen world wide the waipaoa sedimentary system wss of north eastern new zealand was identified as an example of a mid latitude high sediment input system it resides within the westerly wind belt and extends across the convergence zone of the australian and pacific plates accordingly the tectonic and climatic drivers are prominent and their influences on the wss are decipherable as is documented in the suite of source to sink studies presented in this special issue of marine geology the wss is forced at several temporal and spatial scales which collectively appear as short term events storms earthquakes and volcanic eruptions superimposed on long term behavioural shifts tectonic uplift and eustatic sea level change overall the wss is undergoing uplift which has been contributing to valley incision since the last glacial maximum uplift is both gradual and intermittent the latter relating to fault and subduction related earthquakes such seismic activity destabilises the landscape and together with frequent storms generates large amounts of sediment as this sediment passes through the system part is captured in traps formed by local subsidence of the coastal plain and middle continental shelf where large thicknesses of holocene and probably older sediment are sequestered e g 200 m under the coastal plain nevertheless substantial sediment still reaches the continental slope to accumulate in canyon heads and slope basins with other deposits redistributed down slope in mass flows major volcanic eruptions also affect the sediment flux via direct input from ash fall and by enhanced erosion following volcanic destruction of terrestrial vegetation frequent storms of varying intensity play a key role in the generation and transfer of sediment major events such as cyclone bola of 1988 inundated the shelf with sediment but identifiable flood deposits were preserved only locally attesting to the effectiveness of shelf physical and biological mixing regimes despite the storms earthquakes and volcanic eruptions the largest perturbation of the wss at least in the last 2400 years has been the human deforestation of the landscape the resultant influx of sediment overwhelmed the shelf s storage capacity instead of capturing 90 the fluvial input as in pre human times the modern shelf retains only 25 the remainder escaping to the slope and elsewhere

slip slidin away a post glacial environmental history of the waipaoa river basin abstract the dramatic changes that occurred to the post glacial landscape in the headwaters of the waipaoa river basin are a consequence of perturbations about the equilibrium that exists between the rate of tectonic uplift and fluvial incision at times when the amount of coarse sediment delivered to channels exceeds the capacity of streams to remove it the channel bed rises at the rate of tectonic uplift once bedload overcapacity is replaced by undercapacity and the alluvial cover is depleted streams reestablish contact with bedrock and recuperate the time lost to fluvial incision the first major perturbation occurred during the final phase of the last glaciation ca 33 17 5 cal ka when aggradation was driven by a climate forced variation in the relative supplies of sediment and water we suggest that the subsequent transformation of channels in the headwaters of the waipaoa river basin from alluvial to bedrock occurred as the atmospheric and oceanic circulation converged on their contemporary patterns ca 12 cal ka a second major perturbation that continues to the present began ca 1910 1912 ce when a massive increase in sediment load was accompanied by a modest increase in water discharge after the native vegetation cover in the headwaters was replaced by pasture the processes of terrace creation and incision are inherently unsteady and in five interim cases incision was arrested by a transient increase in the thickness of the alluvial cover that was a response to climatic forcing events that disrupted the native vegetation cover in the headwaters also modulated patterns of sediment dispersal and accumulation in other parts of the fluvial system and caused rapid storm driven infilling of the poverty bay flats tectonic subsidence dictates the course of the waipaoa river across poverty bay flats which because the modern rate of floodplain construction by vertical accretion is rapid relative to the amount of destruction by lateral channel migration has remained virtually unchanged for the past 100 years during this time the channel assumed a narrower deeper form that is in equilibrium with the contemporary supply of sediment and hydraulic regime

holocene sedimentary record from lake tutira a template for upland watershed erosion proximal to the waipaoa sedimentary system northeastern new zealand abstract a holocene lake record from northeastern new zealand provides a detailed record of environmental controls on upper watershed sedimentation and is proximal to the waipaoa margins source to sink focus site in that context lake tutira in hawke s bay was cored in 2003 to recover a complete sedimentary record since the lake s formation ca 7 2 ka the 27 14 m long core contains alternating lithotypes that are sedimentary responses to lacustrine organic accumulation normal to severe rainfalls earthquakes and volcanism a diatom allochthonous ranking scheme pollen counts and c and n percentages were used to identify intra lake and watershed derived storm deposits and modes of lithotype deposition the lithotypes and depositional modes are tephras volcanic airfall organic rich mud algal rich lake sedimentation massive to weakly graded brown silty clay beds homogenites and redeposited lake sediments grey graded sandy mud beds intense storm delivered sediment and thin yellow clay layers run off from small storms using 12 tephras and 3 radiocarbon ages to provide a chronology the long term sedimentation rate is ca 3 3 mm year which increases to 10 mm year following european colonisation storm beds occur in response to rainfall events with no obvious correlation to el nino southern oscillation polarity or strength moreover no single climate index appears to correlate strongly with the historic rainfall event record having characterised and identified storm beds over the lake s history a hindcast relationship implies that around 53 pre historic storms occurred with a magnitude similar to the severe cyclone bola event of 1988 plus 7 potentially larger storm events despite the prominence of storm beds a summation of the total percent thickness as an indication of the relative modes of emplacement for each lithotype shows that proportionally the balance of intra lake versus storm sources preserved in the lake bed is 69 and 26 respectively as well as storms lake sedimentation is strongly influenced by earthquakes that destabilize the terrigenous sediment laden lake margins to generate homogenites represented by the brown silty clay beds these deposits tend to be thicker after a hiatus in seismic activity and after sustained periods of lake margin loading as inferred from the occurrence of thick graded storm beds comparison with marine records on the adjacent continental margin suggests that more terrestrial events are captured in the lake record due to i close hillslope lake connectivity with little intervening storage of sediment compared with the waipaoa sedimentary system and ii the preservation of event stratigraphy at tutira compared to its reduced preservation in the dynamic marine environment only major storms such as cyclone bola leave an imprint traceable to the ocean whereas identifiable sedimentary responses to individual earthquakes are localized although through landscape preconditioning and sediment production they contribute to the overall high terrigenous input to the ocean in contrast low frequency high magnitude perturbations volcanic eruptions european deforestation are preserved through the source to sink sedimentary system consistent with earlier hypotheses

improvements in long core measurement techniques applications in palaeomagnetism and palaeoceanography we report on new developments in the long core measurement techniques using u channels in connection with new small access cryogenic magnetometers with these new instruments u channel samples allow us to measure a wide range of magnetic parameters along entire core length with a spatial resolution and accuracy virtually equivalent to that obtained using discrete cubic samples an additional advantage is that the sediment disturbance when sampling is significantly less when using u channels we present comparisons of results from both continuous and discrete measurements and examine the effectiveness of minimal deconvolution using various techniques examples of continuous measurements of low field susceptibility nrm arm irm hrc from north atlantic deep sea cores show that it is possible to generate logs of combination of parameters related to rock magnetic characteristics of the sediments useful in palaeoceanography in particular the continuous method allows us to rapidly detect core regions with fast changing magnetic parameters useful for correlation between cores and also for understanding changes in palaeo environmental conditions the fast scan also allows us to detect regions of the core where the rock magnetic parameters are suitable or not suitable for palaeomagnetic studies related to changes in the geomagnetic field such as the relative changes in palaeointensity

stratigraphic architecture of the montenegro n albania continental margin adriatic sea central mediterranean abstract the montenegro northern albania continental margin macm in the eastern adriatic sea is a convergent margin at the dinarides chain front supplied by major fluvial systems such as the buna bojana and drini rivers analysis of high resolution seismic reflection profiles and core samples which included paleobiologic legacy of macrofossil assemblages and radiometric dating shows that the post last glacial maximum lgm deposits are confined into mid shelf basins partially bounded toward the sea by tectonic highs such as the kotor and bar ridges while the outer shelf exposes lowstand deposits locally covered by a thin veneer of holocene mud pre lgm units consist of four depositional sequences bounded by erosional surfaces of regional extent related to sea level lowstands during marine isotopic stages mis 10 8 6 and 2 this pattern is observed close to the shelf break at water depths of 200 220 m where a stack of sedimentary sequences records sea level changes at the scale of 100 kyr position and estimated ages of buried shorelines indicate that the outer shelf subsidence rate has been about 1 12 mm yr during the last 350 kyr while a morphological analysis carried out along the lgm paleoshoreline suggests that the northern sector of the macm has been uplifted of up to several tens of meters during the last 20 kyr

late holocene sediment accumulation on the northern california shelf oceanic fluvial and anthropogenic influences the late holocene sedimentary record of the northern california continental shelf archives the combined influences of fluvial and oceanic mechanisms of land to ocean sediment flux and provides perspective on the cumulative impacts of major floods and land use change in the drainage basin during historical time piston cores collected on the shelf 50 150 m water depths off the eel and klamath rivers were analyzed to identify lithologies indicative of depositional processes over the past 5 k y and dated using 137cs and 14c methods to resolve spatial patterns in sediment accumulation rates sediment accumulation rates averaged over the past several millennia display along and across shelf gradients that reflect interactions between the shelf flow field and antecedent tectonically produced topography the highest rates 3 6 mm yr 0 4 0 8 g cm2 yr are associated with structural lows on the middle shelf whereas the lowest rates 0 2 0 6 mm yr 0 03 0 05 g cm2 yr occur at structural highs and at the shelf edge this accumulation pattern is spatially coincident with postglacial sediment thicknesses on the shelf and with depocenters that form on shorter time scales in response to oceanic flood events the sediment column exhibits an upward fining sequence consistent with increased bypass of river silt and clay as delta plains progressively filled during the holocene transgression sedimentary event beds indicative of major river floods including two probable hyperpycnal discharges of the eel river within the past 1 k y are preserved stratigraphic evidence of accelerated sediment delivery to the shelf during historical time in the form of increased burial of fluvial mud relative to fine grained sand is superimposed on this natural record this change is concordant with the regional history of forest clearing and related land use practices in the watershed after the early 1800s and appears to record the combined impacts of timber harvesting and several extreme floods after ca a d 1950

holocene river dynamics in northland new zealand the influence of valley floor confinement on floodplain development abstract valley floor mapping sedimentology and 14c dating have been used to reconstruct the fluvial history at eight floodplain sites spread throughout northland a region removed from the main areas of tectonic and volcanic activity in new zealand we present a probability based record of holocene river behaviour for northland using 14c dated holocene fluvial deposits and compare this with independent palaeoclimate proxy records from the north island holocene floodplain evolution and fluvial behaviour have been conditioned by the degree of valley floor confinement in the most and least confined valley settings holocene floodplain evolution has involved the development of a single floodplain surface at partly confined sites the river terrace and floodplain geomorphology are more complex region wide progressive floodplain alluviation through the mid to late holocene and a period of increased river activity between 3500 and 2800 cal ybp in response to climatically driven increases in sediment supply was followed by a period of valley floor incision and terrace formation beginning after 1900 cal ybp in partly confined valley settings this was followed by the aggradation of a lower holocene floodplain surface with rapid rates of vertical accretion in response to post settlement catchment disturbance the results of this study indicate that valley floor confinement has played a major role in controlling northland holocene river floodplain development producing a continuum of floodplain and river terrace landforms in response to climatically and anthropogenically driven variations in sediment flux

southern oscillation signal in south american palaeoclimatic data of the last 7000 years abstract during strong el nino events rainfall anomalies and changes in wind patterns are observed in different regions of south america along the central brazilian coast during the 1983 el nino year the frontal systems were blocked to the south provoking a reversal of the longshore sand transport long duration reversals of longshore transport were also recorded in holocene beach ridge terraces from the rio doce coastal plain this led to the formulation of a model relating these reversals of longshore transport to el nino like conditions el nino like conditions are past average climate situations that generate the same perturbations as the strong el nino events observed during the last decade they are likely to correspond to the long duration low phase of the southern oscillation to confirm this hypothesis we compared the holocene beach ridge record with other palaeoenvironmental records from regions where strong el nino events would have a substancial signal as well 1 water level fluctuations of lake titicaca 2 a pollen and sediment record in an eastern amazonian lake 3 changes of the rio xingu discharge in eastern amazonia and 4 variations of sand supply at the rio piura and rio chira outlets in the sechura desert the occurrences of el nino like conditions were numerous before 3900 3600 yr b p absent between 39003600 and 2800 2500 yr b p and infrequent after 2800 2500 yr b p

extratropical transition of southwest pacific tropical cyclones part i climatology and mean structure changes a database of tropical cyclone best track and intensity information for the southwest pacific ocean basin is used to construct a 28 year climatology for tropical cyclones that move into middle latitudes of the nine or so tropical cyclones that form each year an average of about three can be expected to migrate south of 358s with the greatest fraction in march storms entering the tasman sea west of new zealand nz move almost due south on average and retain greater intensity than those to the east of nz where storms decay quickly while moving rapidly away to the southeast storms east of nz are embedded in a stronger more zonal flow than those to the west which move poleward ahead of a larger amplitude trough during el nino years tropical cyclones that move into middle latitudes exhibit stronger zonal motion and occur over a wider range of longitudes than during la nina years storm intensity is only weakly correlated with concurrent sst anomalies suggesting that atmospheric circulation is the dominant influence on storm properties average structure changes during extratropical transition et are identified using the ncep ncar reanalysis dataset for a subset of 33 transitioning storms during 1980 97 composites are used to construct a three dimensional conceptual model of the transformation from a mature hurricane to an asymmetric baroclinic midlatitude cyclone southwest pacific tropical cyclones encounter the baroclinic westerlies early in their lives accounting for their average eastward and poleward motion at maximum average intensity near 208s baroclinic effects are already important with warm frontogenesis appearing in the southeast quadrant and outflow aloft into a downstream subtropical wind maximum that moves poleward with the storm by 258s the average tc has lost the characteristic symmetric anticyclonic outflow aloft and acquired the characteristics of a baroclinic midlatitude storm including regions of warm and cold frontogenesis a vertical motion dipole and a westward tilt with height from about 308s poleward a second upper tropospheric wind maximum appears west of the storm with strengthening cyclonic vorticity advection aloft below about 400 hpa the storm retains the vertical warm cyclonic core as it migrates poleward

erosion thresholds and suspended sediment yields waipaoa river basin new zealand characteristics of the suspended sediment load in the waipaoa river new zealand and in two of its tributaries mangatu and te arai rivers are examined for evidence of different dominant erosion processes in the basins upstream different shapes of the suspended sediment concentration water discharge relations lead to differences in long term average yield event yield magnitude frequency relations and relative importance of large flows and rare events in the mangatu river frequent runoff events 2 1 are relatively more important to the long term yield 11 540 t km yr half of the long term average load is transported by events with return periods less than 1 year and there is little evidence of an erosion threshold limitation on sediment supply this is consistent with the predominance in the mangatu basin of hillslope erosion processes that involve scour by surface and channelized runoff particularly gully erosion this contrasts with the te arai river where sediment concentration tends to be much lower at low and moderate flows frequent runoff events transport less of the long term yield 4600 t km 2 yr than do rarer large magnitude flood events event sediment yields are an order of magnitude lower during events with subannual return periods and half of the long term average load is transported during events with a return period of 2 years some of these characteristics appear to result in part from two populations of runoff events in the te arai basin nonetheless they are consistent with field evidence that most of the sediment supplied to the te arai stream network is generated by shallow landslides which are activated once a rainfall threshold is exceeded

hillslope response to climate modulated river incision in the waipaoa catchment east coast north island new zealand quantifying how hillslopes respond to river incision and climate change is fundamental to understanding the evolution of uplifting landscapes during glacial interglacial cycles we investigated the interplay among uplift river incision and hillslope response in the nonglacial waipaoa river catchment located in the exhumed inner forearc of an active subduction margin on the east coast of the north island of new zealand new high resolution topographic data sets light detection and ranging lidar and photogrammetry combined with field mapping and tephrochronology indicate that hillslopes adjusted to rapid latest pleistocene and holocene river incision through the initiation and reactivation of deep seated landslides in the erodible marine sedimentary rocks of the waipaoa sedimentary system postincision deep seated landslides can occupy over 30 of the surface area the ages of tephra cover beds identified by electron microprobe analysis on 80 tephra samples from 173 soil test pits and 64 soil auger sites show that 4000 5000 yr after the initiation of river incision widespread hillslope adjustment started between the deposition of the ca 14 000 cal yr b p waiohau tephra and the ca 9420 cal yr b p rotoma tephra tephrochronology and geomorphic mapping analysis indicate that river incision and deep seated landslide slope adjustment were synchronous between main stem rivers and headwater tributaries hillslope response in the catchment can include the entire slope measured from river to ridgeline and in some cases the interfluves between incising subcatchments have been dramatically modified through ridgeline retreat and or lowering using the results of our landform tephrochronology and geomorphic mapping we derive a conceptual time series of hillslope response to uplift and climate change induced river incision over the last glacial interglacial cycle

asynchronous climate change between new zealand and the north atlantic during the last deglaciation climatic fluctuations recorded in antarctica and greenland during the last deglaciation 18 10 ka differ markedly in their timing it remains controversial whether local climate fluctuations recorded in southern mid latitudes relate primarily to northern or southern polar records we present multiproxy results from new zealand that show strong evidence for a minor cooling or slowdown in the rate of warming at the time of the north atlantic late glacial interstadial the younger dryas chronozone in new zealand was a period of resumed warming and increased westerly airflow differences between the hemispheres at this time were probably due to a reorganization of the thermohaline circulation system and associated changes in the meridional temperature gradient

a 2400 yr record of natural events and anthropogenic impacts in intercorrelated terrestrial and marine sediment cores waipaoa sedimentary system new zealand the waipaoa sedimentary system spans 100 km from terrestrial upland to continental rise alluvial buffering has little effect on sediment flux at the outlet of this mesoscale dispersal system and hinterland to margin transport is accomplished rapidly because of this synergy the floodplain and shelf depocenters are sensitive to changes in sediment production in the hinterland and natural and anthropogenically forced changes in sediment source dynamics that occur at several temporal and spatial scales leave distinctive signals in the stratigraphic record manifested as variations in sediment properties these signals appear in intercorrelated sediment cores from a headwater riparian storage area and the major terrestrial and marine repositories for sediment discharged during the past 2 4 k y the signals represent the landscape response to vegetation and land use change short term fluctuations in climate that affect surface properties and processes and extreme storms and subduction thrust earthquakes extreme storms are the minimum geomorphologically effective event preserved in the sediment records lower magnitude storms that are integral components of the prevailing hydrometeorological regime create high frequency fluctuations in sediment properties and collectively contribute to event sequences of 100 yr duration events and event sequences comprise a hierarchy of temporally sensitive phenomena the impacts of which are conditioned by frequency and magnitude by contrast vegetation disturbance is a spatially sensitive phenomenon that directly impacts sediment source areas and lowers the threshold of landscape sensitivity to erosion for this reason the taupo eruption of 1 718 ka and the piecemeal vegetation changes that occurred after the arrival of polynesian settlers also generated strong depositional signals after european colonization deforestation of the hinterland altered landscape sensitivity and precipitated the transition to an erosional regime that impacted sediment production and dispersal across the entire magnitude frequency spectrum of events regulating sediment delivery to and transport in stream channels no other perturbation had such a profound impact on the late holocene depositional record

landslide impact on organic carbon cycling in a temperate montane forest in humid forested mountain belts bedrock landslides can harvest organic carbon from above ground biomass and soil ocmodern while acting to refresh the landscape surface and turnover forest ecosystems here the impact of landslides on organic carbon cycling in 13 river catchments spanning the length of the western southern alps new zealand is assessed over four decades spatial and temporal landslide maps are combined with the observed distribution and measured variability of hillslope ocmodern stocks on average it is estimated that landslides mobilized 7 6 2 9 tc km 2 yr 1 of ocmodern 30 of which was delivered to river channels comparison with published estimates of ocmodern export in river suspended load suggests additional erosion of ocmodern by small shallow landslides or overland flow in catchments the exported ocmodern may contribute to geological carbon sequestration if buried in sedimentary deposits landslides may have also contributed to carbon sequestration over shorter timescales 100 years 5 4 3 0 tc km 2 yr 1 of the eroded ocmodern was retained on hillslopes representing a net carbon sink following re vegetation of scar surfaces in addition it was found that landslides caused rapid turnover of the landscape with rates of 0 3 of the surface area per decade high rates of net ecosystem productivity were measured in this forest of 94 11 tc km 2 yr 1 which is consistent with rapid landscape turnover suppressing ecosystem retrogression landslide ocmodern yields and rates of turnover vary between river catchments and appear to be controlled by gradients in climate precipitation and geomorphology rock exhumation rate topographic slope copyright 2011 john wiley sons ltd

geoarchaeological evidence from peru for a 5000 years b p onset of el nino for the tropical west coast of south america where el nino southern oscillation enso is most pronounced archaeological and associated paleontological deposits in northern peru revealed a major climate change at about 5000 years before the present yr b p the data implied the presence of stable warm tropical water as far south as 10 s during the early mid holocene about 8000 to 5000 yr b p these data suggest that enso did not occur for some millennia preceding 5000 yr b p when global and regional climate was warmer than today

palaeoclimatic implications of a storm erosion record from late holocene lake sediments north island new zealand abstract a ca 2250 year storm history has been identified from a high resolution lake sediment record from the east coast of the north island new zealand this event based chronology identifies 340 storms in the pre european record the record is largely one of natural variability without human impacts layers of minerogenic sediment representing the products of individual storm events are clearly visible in lake cores these storm sediment pulses derived mainly from landslides record the frequency and magnitude of storms clusters of pulses identify six periods of high sedimentation and associated erosion before european settlement a d 1878 at least five of these are interpreted as periods of higher rainfall and probably warmer temperatures since historic records show that most large storms are derived from the subtropics tropics most of the storm periods correspond to warm climate intervals previously identified from new zealand and from southern hemisphere palaeoclimatic evidence the mapara 2 period ca 2090 1855 cal yr b p was the stormiest other periods were of shorter duration the mapara 2 period occurred at times of sustained warmth in the tasmanian and chilean tree ring records which might suggest hemispheric warming at this time one storm period burrell which occurred during the historical enso record was at a time of moderately high enso activity three earlier periods also appear to show responses to enso two storm periods correspond to previously proposed new zealand wide periods of increased erosion and sedimentation estimates of palaeo storm rainfalls from relationships between storm rainfall and sediment thickness of historical events suggest that storm pulses ca 12 mm thick represent palaeo storms of ca 450 mm rainfall

postglacial after 18 ka deep sea sedimentation along the hikurangi subduction margin new zealand characterisation timing and origin of turbidites recent sedimentation along the hikurangi subduction margin off northeastern new zealand is investigated using a series of piston cores collected between 2003 and 2008 the active hikurangi margin lies along the pacific australia subduction plate boundary and contains a diverse range of geomorphologic settings slope basin stratigraphy is thick and complex resulting from sustained high rates of sedimentation from adjacent muddy rivers throughout the quaternary turbidites deposited since c 18 ka in the poverty ruatoria and matakaoa re entrants are central to this study in that they provide a detailed record of the past climatic conditions and tectonic activity here alternating hemipelagite turbidite debrite and tephra layers reflect distinctive depositional modes of marine sedimentation turbidity current debris flow and volcanic eruption respectively turbidites dominate the record ranging in lithofacies from muddy to sandy turbidites and include some basal reverse graded turbidites inferred to be derived from hyperpycnal flows stacked turbidites are common and indicate multiple gravity flows over short time periods the chronology of turbidites is determined by collating an extremely dense set of radiocarbon ages and dated tephra which facilitate sedimentation rate calculation and identification of the origin of turbidites sedimentation rates range from 285 cm ka during late glacial time 18 5 17 ka to 15 to 109 cm ka during postglacial time 17 0 ka turbidite deposition is controlled by 1 the emplacement of slope avalanches reorganising sediment pathways 2 the postglacial marine transgression leading to a five fold reduction in sediment supply to the slope due to disconnection of river mouths from the shelf edge and 3 the holocene pleistocene boundary climate warming resulting in a drastic decrease in the average turbidite grain size flood induced turbidites are scarce nine hyperpycnites are recognised since 18 ka and the youngest is correlated to the largest enso related storm event recorded onland lake tutira other turbidites contain a benthic foraminiferal assemblage which is strictly reworked from the upper slope and which relates to large earthquakes over the last c 7 ka they yield a shorter return time 270 430 years than the published coastal records for large earthquakes c 670 years but the offshore record is likely to be more complete the deep sea sedimentation along the new zealand active margin illustrates the complex interaction of tectonic and climate in turbidite generation climate warming and glacio eustatic fluctuations are well recorded at a millennial timescale 18 ka while tectonic deformation and earthquakes appear predominant in fostering turbidite production at a centennial timescale 270 430 years

riverine particulate organic carbon from an active mountain belt importance of landslides 1 we investigate the routing and transfer of particulate organic carbon poc from the western southern alps new zealand using organic carbon corg and nitrogen norg concentrations and stable carbon isotopes 13corg in this active mountain belt sediment discharge is dominated by landslide derived material landsliding acts to homogenize the geochemically diverse hillslope poc mixing poc from the standing biomass and soil with the fossil poc from bedrock as a result the poc in river sediment at the mountain front is a binary mixture of fossil and nonfossil carbon sourced from many landslide deposits we calculate that nonfossil biogenic poc makes up 63 7 of the total poc in the suspended load of rivers draining the western southern alps the erosional flux of biogenic poc from these catchments represents a transfer of 39 tc km 2 a 1 of atmospheric co2 averaged over the west flank of the mountain belt if more than 10 of this poc is preserved in sediments on geological timescales then this process is the most significant way in which the southern alps and similar tectonically active mountain belts with restricted alluvial aprons consume atmospheric co2

formal subdivision of the holocene series epoch a discussion paper by a working group of intimate integration of ice core marine and terrestrial records and the subcommission on quaternary stratigraphy international commission on stratigraphy this discussion paper by a working group of intimate integration of ice core marine and terrestrial records and the subcommision on quaternary stratigraphy sqs of the international commission on stratigraphy ics considers the prospects for a formal subdivision of the holocene series epoch although previous attempts to subdivide the holocene have proved inconclusive recent developments in quaternary stratigraphy notably the definition of the pleistocene holocene boundary and the emergence of formal subdivisions of the pleistocene series epoch mean that it may be timely to revisit this matter the quaternary literature reveals a widespread but variable informal usage of a tripartite division of the holocene early middle or mid and late and we argue that this de facto subdivision should now be formalized to ensure consistency in stratigraphic terminology we propose an early middle holocene boundary at 8200 a bp and a middle late holocene boundary at 4200 a bp each of which is linked to a global stratotype section and point gssp should the proposal find a broad measure of support from the quaternary community a submission will be made to the international union of geological sciences iugs via the sqs and the ics for formal ratification of this subdivision of the holocene series epoch copyright 2012 john wiley sons ltd

post last glacial maximum fluvial incision and sediment generation in the unglaciated waipaoa catchment north island new zealand abstract small river systems contribute a significant component of sediment delivered to oceans but the temporal evolution of fluvially eroded landscapes is needed a sequence of postglacial terraces in the unglaciated waipaoa river catchment provides the opportunity to document fluvial incision and sediment flux on an 2000 year timescale since the last glacial maximum lgm which has previously only been undertaken for the entire post lgm period this study also calculates sediment mass where previously sediment volume was calculated using a 15 m dem field mapping and surveying and tephrochronology we calculate rates of fluvial incision and sediment volumes excavated during successive age constrained postglacial incision events and correlate these with a framework of inferred climatic events established for new zealand we identify seven periods of terrace formation each succeeded by a period of fluvial incision six in total although the magnitude of the response during each incision event and thus the sediment volumes generated varied through time and across subcatchments draining two contrasting lithological terrains we conclude that incision events were essentially synchronous at least within the timeframe constrained by the ca 2000 year interval between successive eruptive airfall events slope relaxation processes were simultaneous with incision thereby indicating that both processes were likely climate driven we identify a period of accelerated fluvial incision 7 mm y 1 commencing before ca 14 0 cal ka bp during the early postglacial period and ceasing ca 7 9 cal ka bp toward the end of the early holocene warming period the magnitude of this incision response was significantly higher in subcatchments draining highly erodible lithologies in the higher uplifting parts of the catchment when river bedload was at over capacity in contrast within the remainder of subcatchments draining the more resistant lithologies and in areas of lower uplift and in parts subsiding incision and sediment generation was moderated by the presence of knickpoints overall since abandonment of the lgm to present day fluvial incision in the waipaoa and the adjacent waimata catchments generated 16 7 km3 of sediment of which 10 km3 90 of the estimated 35 mt of glacial postglacial slope and shelf sediment mass was potentially available for transport offshore of this 14 08 km3 7 4 km3 derived from upper and 6 7 km3 from remainder of subcatchments was excavated from waipaoa catchment at an average of 0 6 km3 ka 1 of which 80 was generated by ca 7 9 cal ka bp this potentially validates previous accounts of high rates of offshore sediment flux before 8000 14c ybp ca 8877 cal ybp thereafter for the period mid holocene cooling and variability mhcv ca 6 5 cal ka bp until the present day the rate of incision across all subcatchments slowed to 2 mm y 1 and generated just 20 of the total sediment volume in part this reflected a depletion of available sediment as rivers in the upper subcatchments returned to a steady state and coincidental with an increase in accommodation space in the rapidly growing coastal floodplain sediment flux to the marine depocentres was thereby limited

a detailed 31 000 year record of climate and vegetation change from the isotope geochemistry of two new zealand speleothems abstract uranium series dating and stable isotope analyses of two speleothems from northwest nelson new zealand record changes in regional climate and local forest extent over the past 31 000 years oxygen isotope variation in these speleothems primarily represents changes in the meteoric waters falling above the caves possibly responding to latitudinal changes in the position of the subtropical front in the tasman sea seven positive excursions can be identified in the oxygen isotope record which coincide with periods of glacier advance known to be sensitive to northward movement of the subtropical front four glacier advances occurred during oxygen isotope stage 2 with the most extreme glacial conditions centered on 19 000 cal yr b p 2 an excursion in the oxygen isotope record from 13 800 to 11 700 cal yr b p provides support for a previously identified new zealand glacier advance at the time of the younger dryas stade but suggests it began slightly before the younger dryas as recorded in greenland ice cores carbon isotope variations in the speleothems record changes in forest productivity closely matching existing paleovegetation records on the basis of vegetation changes stage 2 glacial climate conditions terminated abruptly in central new zealand from 15 700 to 14 200 cal yr b p evidence of continuous speleothem growth at one site suggests that depression of the local treeline was limited to 600 700 m below its present altitude throughout the last 31 000 years

modern sediment dispersal and accumulation on the outer poverty continental margin abstract the poverty margin was sampled in 2005 and 2006 as part of an international initiative to examine the terrestrial and marine sedimentary response to natural and human impacts on dispersal systems at mud dominated coasts the nsf margins source to sink initiative 210pb accumulation rates generally decrease from 1 g cm2 y in the mid shelf depocenter on the outer shelf to 0 1 g cm2 y on the mid slope plateau range 0 04 2 53 g cm2 y higher accumulation rates are observed all along the outer poverty shelf extending over the shelf break onto the upper poverty slope in canyons and gullies rates are fast in gullies that incise into the shelf edge 0 75 1 g cm2 y particularly in the area between waipaoa canyon and poverty canyon and in the axis of poverty canyon 1 29 1 89 g cm2 y below 1200 m water depth rates in the axis of poverty canyon are no more rapid than those found at open slope cores in similar water depths 0 12 0 15 g cm2 y excess 210pb profiles generally exhibit steady state characteristics except in the axis of poverty canyon where non steady state 210pb profiles are observed 137cs was not found above minimum detection limits or above statistical background levels in any cores from the poverty margin 7be was found distributed widely along and across the margin during both summer and winter periods observed to depths of up to 4 cm widespread presence of 7be on the margin in both winter and summer suggests that terrestrially derived sediment is reaching the outer shelf and upper slope throughout the year a sediment budget based on 210pb accumulation rate data shows that approximately 13 18 of the waipaoa annual discharge is accumulating on the outer poverty margin as a whole and approximately 11 15 of the annual discharge is accumulating on the continental slope alone notably approximately 28 of the sediment annually accumulating in the outer margin is being sequestered in slope gullies and canyons although they represent only 6 of the area of the outer margin

the south pacific convergence zone spcz a review abstract the circulation features associated with the south pacific convergence zone spcz and its accompanying cloud band are reviewed and discussed the paper focuses on the following topics location structure and characteristics of the spcz theories and observations concerning its existence the significance and scope of the spcz in global scale circulation patterns quasi periodic changes in its location and strength and synoptic scale features within its regional influence e g cyclones subtropical jets it concludes with some challenging problems for the future

a step decrease in sediment concentration in a highly modified tidal river delta following the 1983 el nino floods abstract anthropogenic activities in watersheds can have profound effects on sediment transport through river systems to estuaries disturbance in a watershed combined with alterations to the hydro climatologic regime may result in changes to the sediment flux and exacerbate the impacts of extreme events such as large magnitude floods on sediment transport in the san francisco estuary suspended sediment has been declining over the past 30 years as a result of declining sediment supply contributing to dramatic changes in the ecology and geomorphology of the estuary however the decline has not been gradual recent observations of an abrupt decrease in suspended sediments in the san francisco bay have been explained by a model that suggests that the step change has occurred due to exceedance of a sediment regulation threshold that triggered the change from a sediment transport regime to a supply limited system we investigated structural changes in the historical record of total suspended solids tss concentration measured in the upper estuary to verify the model predictions tss in the upper estuary exhibited an abrupt step decrease in 1983 corresponding to the record high winter and summer flows from the 1982 to 1983 el nino event after this step change tss concentrations had a significant declining trend despite subsequent near record high flows the abrupt change in tss followed by the declining trend provides evidence for the hypothesis of sediment supply limitation in the san francisco estuary

late quaternary hydroclimatology of a hyper arid andean watershed climate change floods and hydrologic responses to the el nino southern oscillation in the atacama desert abstract although certain characteristics of the el nino southern oscillation enso are well known on contemporary timescales less is known about the magnitude frequency relationships of this atmospheric phenomenon on longer timescales or its relationship to widespread flooding especially in its core zone along the sub tropical andes where la nina or el nino episodes control regional hydroclimatology using a combination of stratigraphic evidence geochronologic dating 14c and osl stable isotope analyses and water geochemistry along the rio moquegua in the northern fringes of the atacama desert we assemble a paleoflood chronology for mainstem and tributary sections for the past ca 20 ka and ascertain the variation in enso frequency and magnitude because of the inherent watershed structure and regional hydroclimatology mid valley tributaries of the rio moquegua only flood during el nino episodes and thus provide an important proxy of extreme el ninos while mainstem stratigraphy records both la nina and el nino episodes el nino floods appear to have been pronounced during the late pleistocene and up to at least the younger dryas 12 000 cal yr bp while stratigraphic evidence of large el nino floods is lacking in tributary systems during the mid holocene flood stratigraphy in a 2 ka 7 m high terrace along the mainstem indicates an increased frequency and magnitude of large floods between ca 700 and 1610 ad as compared to the period from ca 160 bce to 700 ad with mega ninos occurring ca 1330 ad and ca 1650 ad water geochemistry and radiocarbon dating indicate that at least two major aquifers exist with wells and springs in the mid valley dating to 710 and 3100 14c yr bp respectively while water from a spring in the headwaters dates to 10 320 14c yr bp this range in dates suggests that groundwater flow in the mid valley is neither fossil water nor exclusively recharged from local precipitation while the older date for headwater sections suggests a more fossil groundwater source and lack of contemporary recharge the 18o similarity between groundwater in the mid valley and the regional meteoric water line mwl suggests a pacific moisture source and the role of el nino precipitation in recharging local aquifers thus el ninos and pacific sourced moisture are an important component of the regional hydroclimatology and the variation in enso frequency and intensity has significant social and hydrologic repercussions in these hyper arid settings

an early onset of enso influence in the extra tropics of the southwest pacific inferred from a 14 600 year high resolution multi proxy record from paddy s lake northwest tasmania abstract tropical el nino southern oscillation enso is an important influence on natural systems and cultural change across the pacific ocean basin el nino events result in negative moisture anomalies in the southwest pacific and are implicated in droughts and catastrophic wildfires across eastern australia an amplification of tropical el nino activity is reported in the east pacific after ca 6 7 ka however proxy data for enso driven environmental change in australia suggest an initial influence only after ca 5 ka here we reconstruct changes in vegetation fire activity and catchment dynamics e g erosion over the last 14 6 ka from part of the southwest pacific in which enso is the main control of interannual hydroclimatic variability paddy s lake in northwest tasmania 1065 masl australia our multi proxy approach includes analyses of charcoal pollen geochemistry and radioactive isotopes our results reveal a high sensitivity of the local and regional vegetation to climatic change with an increase of non arboreal pollen between ca 14 6 13 3 ka synchronous with the antarctic cold reversal and a sensitivity of the local vegetation and fire activity to enso variability recorded in the tropical east pacific through the holocene we detect local scale shifts in vegetation fire and sediment geochemistry at ca 6 3 4 8 and 3 4 ka simultaneous with increases in el nino activity in the tropical pacific finally we observe a fire driven shift in vegetation from a pyrophobic association dominated by rainforest elements to a pyrogenic association dominated by sclerophyllous taxa following a prolonged 1 ka phase of tropical enso amplification and a major local fire event at ca 3 4 ka our results reveal the following key insights 1 that enso has been a persistent modulator of southwest pacific climate and fire activity through the holocene 2 that the climate of northwest tasmania is sensitive to long term shifts in tropical enso variability and 3 that there has been possible stationarity in the spatial influence of enso over this region through the holocene

glacial interglacial control of terrigenous and biogenic fluxes in the deep ocean off a high input collisional margin a 139 kyr record from new zealand abstract sediment input to the deep ocean off the new zealand collisional plate boundary is large and variable as revealed by a 139 kyr old record from the 34 92 m long core md97 2121 mass accumulation rates mars were derived for terrigenous and biogenic carbonate and silica sedimentary components with temporal control from a stable isotope age model verified by tephra and radiocarbon ages terrigenous mars changed in phase with glacio eustatic fluctuations of sea level highest rates 30 g cm 2 kyr coincided with the late regressive lowstand early transgressive phase of marine isotope stage mis 2 when rivers discharged at or near the shelf edge lesser but still high terrigenous rates 20 30 g cm 2 kyr characterized peak warm phases of early mis 5 and 1 when a strengthened subtropical inflow probably introduced sediment from fluvial and seabed sources to the north of md97 2121 however during prolonged highstands the flux declined as more sediment was retained on a tectonically subsiding shelf with a shore parallel current paradoxically the lowest mars 10 5 g cm 2 kyr occurred in mis 4 either sea level was too high to allow much sediment to escape off shelf or the fluvial input was modest or both these factors despite the terrigenous dominance biogenic mars are high and are 2 4 times larger than sw pacific ocean rates mars were lowest during mis 4 and 3 possibly due to reduced marine production under a lowered input of fluvial micronutrients in contrast mars increased irregularly though glacial maxima to peak at 5 6 g cm 2 kyr carbonate and 2 2 5 g cm 2 kyr silica in early mid mis 5 and 1 such rates reflected the interaction of macronutrient rich subantarctic waters sourced from the south with local micronutrient rich subtropical waters production also responded to warmer temperatures elevated nutrient runoff and a more stratified surface ocean later in mis 5 and 1 fluxes reduced as less productive subtropical waters prevailed that biogenic and aeolian mar profiles are out of phase suggests fe fertilization by aerosolic dust was not a major influence

flow banding in obsidian a record of evolving textural heterogeneity during magma deformation we perform a quantitative textural analysis of banding in obsidian from big glass mountain bgm medicine lake volcano california and from mayor island mi new zealand the samples are compositionally homogeneous with banding defined by variable microlite content bgm or vesicularity mi the spatial distribution of alternating light and dark bands has a 1 wavenumber power spectral density as well as multifractal characteristics through the use of simple mathematical models we demonstrate that formation of the observed banding structure is consistent with a continuous deformational reworking of magma our results indicate that changes in crystallinity vesicularity were concurrent with magma deformation and are random multiples of the total amount of crystallinity vesicularity that was already present at any given time banded obsidian from bgm and mi can be found in close spatial proximity to brittle deformational textures we therefore propose that a key element of banding formation in our samples may be magma brecciation or fragmentation fragmentation can result in variable rates of degassing of fragments which in turn can lead to nonuniform crystal vesicle nucleation and growth rates repeated fragmentation welding and subsequent viscous deformation can thus lead to banding formation

terrestrial palynology from marine cores as an indicator of environmental change for the waipaoa sedimentary system and north eastern new zealand diverse terrestrial palynomorph assemblages of pleistocene to recent age have been recovered from mainly marine sediment cores along the eastern new zealand margin these assemblages record a range of environmental changes including climate deforestation reforestation rates of erosion sediment provenance and age volcanic activity polynesian and european settlement strength and direction of ocean currents astronomical cyclicity and other major events many of which can be correlated with shorter onshore terrestrial sequences as such pollen yields valuable information on the dynamic new zealand landscape which is of particular relevance to a source to sink approach this paper provides an integrated summary of published and unpublished late pleistocene palynological studies off eastern north island new zealand that gives context for an analysis of cores within and marginal to the waipaoa sedimentary system pollen assemblages faithfully reflect the last glacial vegetation dominated by grass and shrub land species together with elevated tertiary pollen from enhanced erosion of the regolith the glacial termination and holocene were marked by establishment of podocarp forest a mid holocene disappearance of sediment trapping mangroves and introduction of distal pollen with establishment of coastal current systems under rising sea level these natural signals are overprinted by abrupt changes in pollen species caused by volcanic eruptions finally endemic forest and shrub pollen were markedly reduced with human colonisation associated land use changes and introduction of exotic species

chronology of the palmer deep site antarctic peninsula a holocene palaeoenvironmental reference for the circum antarctic palmer deep sediment cores are used to produce the first high resolution continuous late pleistocene to holocene time series from the antarctic marine system the sedimentary record is dated using accelerator mass spectrometer radiocarbon methods on acid insoluble organic matter and foraminiferal calcite fifty four radiocarbon analyses are utilized in the dating which provides a calibrated timescale back to 13 ka bp reliability of resultant ages on organic matter is assured because duplicates produce a standard deviation from the surface age of less than laboratory error i e 50 years in addition surface organic matter ages at the site are in excellent agreement with living calcite ages at the accepted reservoir age of 1260 years for the antarctic peninsula spectral analyses of the magnetic susceptibility record against the age model reveal unusually strong periodicity in the 400 200 and 50 70 year frequency bands similar to other high resolution records from the holocene but so far unique f

influence of anthropogenic land use change on hillslope erosion in the waipaoa river basin new zealand european settlement of the poverty bay region resulted in deforestation and conversion of 90 of the landscape to pastureland the resulting loss of vegetation triggered a rapid increase in hillslope erosion as widespread landslide complexes and gully systems developed on weak lithologic units in the waipaoa basin to quantify the rate and volume of historic hillslope degradation we used a 1956 2010 sequence of aerial photographs for a 16 km2 catchment to map temporal changes in the spatial extent of active landslides then we created a turf index based on the extent and style of pastoral ground disruption which correlates with downslope velocity based on the movement of trees and other features we assigned average velocities to the turf classes as follows 1 minimal disrupted ground 0 6 m yr 2 a mix of disrupted ground and intact blocks 3 4 m yr and 3 no intact blocks or vegetation 6 m yr we then calculated the average annual sediment flux using these turf derived velocities the width of the landslide channel intersection and an average toe depth of 4 4 1 3 m mean standard deviation sd from 37 field measurements the resulting catchment averaged erosion rates are mean sd 29 9 12 9 mm yr 1956 28 8 13 7 mm yr 1969 13 4 4 9 mm yr 1979 17 0 6 2 mm yr 1988 and 9 9 3 6 mm yr 2010 compared with long term post 18 ka erosion rates 1 6 mm yr and the long term uplift rate 1 mm yr for this site the 50 year anthropogenically driven rate is an order of magnitude larger 20 mm yr previously we measured an increase in erosion over the past 3 4 kyr 2 2 mm yr and here we demonstrate this increase could be primarily due to human land use change showing that a century of rapid erosion superimposed on the background geologic rate can profoundly skew the interpretation of erosion rates copyright 2016 john wiley sons ltd

the influence of sea level and tectonics on late pleistocene through holocene sediment storage along the high sediment supply waipaoa continental shelf abstract we present geophysical and core evidence showing how subsidence caused by forearc shortening has accommodated late pleistocene and holocene sediments supplied to the tectonically active waipaoa shelf nz limiting off shelf export during the early sea level highstand the last glacioeustatic fall and subsequent rise exposed and then flooded a shelf segmented into subbasins separated by zones of uplift leaving key stratigraphic markers of shoreline regression and transgression that vary strongly in character across the shelf highstand sediment isopachs tied to piston cores dated using tephra correlation and a radiocarbon age model provide a sediment budget at 2000 yr intervals from the mid holocene 5500 cal yr bp to present sediment load estimates from our shelf budget are in agreement with published model estimates for suspended sediment discharge from the waipaoa river for the past 3000 yr but importantly do not show the 6 fold increase in the waipaoa s sediment output that began with human settlement 700 yr ago and accelerated with deforestation over the last century bypassing of waipaoa sediment to the slope may therefore be a recent phenomenon caused by unnaturally high sediment loads a conclusion supported by data reported elsewhere in this volume our study also reveals evidence for 1 a relatively thick mid shelf transgressive section deposited during the last eustatic rise that may correlate to estuarine sequences reported from numerous sites on the modern coastline of the north island 2 a slight decrease in total basin filling rates during the highstand and 3 variability in the partitioning of highstand sediments between individual subbasins that may reflect differing degrees of tectonic accommodation

suppression of el nino during the mid holocene by changes in the earth s orbit a number of recent reports have interpreted paleoproxy data to describe the state of the tropical pacific especially changes in the behavior of the el nino southern oscillation enso over the holocene these interpretations are often contradictory especially for the eastern tropical pacific and adjacent areas of south america here we suggest a picture of the mid holocene tropical pacific region which reconciles the data enso variability was present throughout the holocene but underwent a steady increase from the mid holocene to the present in the mid holocene extreme warm el nino events were smaller in amplitude and occurred less frequently about a mean climate state with a cold eastern equatorial pacific and largely arid coastal regions as in the present climate this picture emerges from an experiment in which a simple numerical model of the coupled ocean atmosphere system in the tropical pacific was driven by orbital forcing we suggest that the observed behavior of the tropical pacific climate over the mid to late holocene is largely the response to orbitally driven changes in the seasonal cycle of solar radiation in the tropics which dominates extratropical influences

coherent rainfall response to middle and late holocene climate variability across the mid latitude south pacific intercorrelated terrestrial and marine records from new zealand chile and argentina provide the first evidence of a coherent pan pacific response to the growing influence that el nino southern oscillation enso and multicentury variations in the interaction between enso and the southern annular mode sam exerted on rainfall in the southern hemisphere mid latitudes during the middle and late holocene rainfall is also strongly influenced by moisture originating from the prevailing southern westerly winds sww and we find that the variations in rainfall forced by the interaction of enso and the sam are superimposed on an underlying long term trend induced by a temporal strengthening of the westerly circulation we conclude that the evolution of rainfall across the south pacific reflects the influence seasonal insolation exerts on 1 enso sam interactions and 2 the strength of the sww

resistance to shallow landslide failure through root derived cohesion in east coast hill country soils north island new zealand measured shear strength cohesion and friction of airfall derived east coast hill country regolith is insufficient for the maintenance of existing regolith depth slope angle relationships in the catchment of lake waikopiro in northern hawke s bay new zealand if these regoliths are attributed with an additional increment of cohesion derived mechanically from a turf mat membrane existing depth slope angle distributions are explicable sites where failure has occurred have been measured and back analysis used to derive a range of values for additional mechanical cohesion values are in the range 0 2 7 6 kpa consistent with earlier findings this range is narrowed further to 0 7 6 9 kpa with assumptions regarding soil moisture status at failure copyright 1999 john wiley sons ltd

the river it goes right on post glacial landscape evolution in the upper waipaoa river basin eastern north island new zealand abstract post glacial incision created 50 to 120 m of relief in the headwaters of the waipaoa river basin but it is not known how the signal of incision propagated along the trunk streams we addressed this issue by imposing previously determined long term rates of rock uplift that vary between 0 6 and 4 mm year 1 on the preaggradation longitudinal profile acting over the past 27 1 2 cal ka bp these rates are sufficient to passively elevate the waipaoa 1 terrace to its present level but during the last glacial maximum rates of vertical incision failed to match those of the uplifting rocks thus by the time favorable conditions for incision were reestablished after the antarctic cold new zealand late glacial reversal we estimate that the channel would have been elevated 55 m above the datum the river should otherwise have maintained the channel incised rapidly after the transition from glacial to interglacial conditions and reacquired its steady state form in the mid holocene 5 5 2 cal ka bp thereafter we suggest rates of incision matched rates of uplift no knickpoints are found on the upper waipaoa and mangatu rivers because incision commenced simultaneously along the entire length of the trunk streams and the pattern of incision is consistent with the downstream decline in the rate of rock uplift we also used hypsometric analysis to show how post glacial incision affected the surface morphology of low order 0 1 4 3 km 2 drainages in the headwaters of the waipaoa river basin values of the hypsometric integral are higher for proximal basins which the incision signal did not permeate than for low order basins bordering the upper waipaoa river and the lower reaches of tributaries that possessed enough erosive capacity to keep pace with incision along the mainstem hillslope adjustments were focused on the lower and mid sections of these basins so that the most pronounced changes to the hypsometric curve occur in the vicinity of the toe whereas the entire form of the hypsometric curve changes once mass wasting processes encroach onto hillslopes in the middle and upper sections of a basin

mechanisms of mid holocene precipitation change in the south pacific convergence zone abstractthe variability of the south pacific convergence zone spcz during the mid holocene is investigated using models archived in the paleoclimate modelling intercomparison project phase ii pmip2 database relative to preindustrial conditions mid holocene top of atmosphere insolation was relatively lower during austral summer december february djf which is the season when the spcz is at its peak intensity in response to this perturbation the pmip2 models simulate a displacement of the spcz to the southwest this spcz shift is associated with a sea surface temperature sst dipole with increased rainfall collocated with warm sst anomalies decomposing the djf precipitation changes in terms of a diagnostic moisture budget indicates that the spcz shift is balanced to leading order by a change in the mean moisture convergence changes to the broad area of upper level negative zonal stretching deformation where transient eddies can become trapped and subsequently generate deep convection suppo

holocene climate change in arid australia from speleothem and alluvial records new high resolution mc icpms u th ages and c and o isotopic analyses from a holocene speleothem in arid south central australia provide evidence for increased effective precipitation ep relative to present at c 11 5 ka and c 8 5 ka peak moisture at 7 6 ka and onset of an arid climate similar to present by c 5 ka 18o and 13c time series data exhibit marked 1 contemporaneous excursions over base line values of 5 3 and 11 0 respectively suggesting pronounced moisture variability during the early middle holocene climatic optimum optically stimulated luminescence and 14c ages from nearby terraced aggradational alluvial deposits indicate a paucity of large floods in the late pleistocene and at least five large flood events in the last c 6 kyr interpreted to mark an increased frequency of extreme rainfall events in the middle holocene despite overall reduced ep increased ep in south central australia during the early to middle holocene resulted from 1 decreased el nino southern oscil

fingerprints and age models for widespread new zealand tephra marker beds erupted since 30 000 years ago a framework for nz intimate abstract the role of tephras in the nz intimate project is a critical one because most high resolution palaeoclimatic records are linked and dated by one or more tephra layers in this review first we document eruptive distributional and compositional fingerprinting data both mineralogical and geochemical for 22 key marker tephras erupted since 30 000 years ago to facilitate their identification and correlation we include new glass compositional data the selected marker tephras comprise 10 from taupo and nine from okataina volcanoes rhyolitic one from tuhua volcano peralkaline rhyolitic and one each from tongariro and egmont volcanoes andesitic second we use four approaches to develop 2 age models for the tephras youngest to oldest 1 calendar ages for kaharoa and taupo y were obtained by wiggle matching log derived tree ring sequences dated by 14c 2 whakaipo v was dated using an age depth model from peat 3 14 tephras in the montane kaipo peat sequence waimihia s unit k whakatane tuhua mamaku rotoma opepe e poronui c karapiti b okupata konini waiohau rotorua rerewhakaaitu were dated by simultaneously wiggle matching stratigraphic position and 51 independent 14c age points against intcal04 using bayesian probability methods via both oxcal and bpeat and 4 the five oldest tephras erupted before ca 18 000 cal yr bp were dated by calibrating limited numbers of 14c ages using intcal04 okareka or comparison curves of the expanded cariaco basin sequence te rere kawakawa oruanui poihipi okaia kawakawa oruanui tephra the most widely distributed marker tephra was erupted probably ca 27 097 957 cal yr bp potential dating approaches for the older tephras include their identification in antarctic ice cores if present or annually laminated sediments for which robust calendar age models have been constructed high precision ams 14c dating on appropriate material from environmentally stable sites systematic luminescence dating or new radiometric techniques e g u th he if suitable minerals are available and errors markedly reduced further application of bayesian age modelling to stratigraphic sequences of 14c ages possibly augmented with luminescence ages may help refine age models for pre holocene tephras with the largest errors finally we discuss the critical role these marker tephras play in the ongoing construction of an event stratigraphy for the new zealand region which is a key objective of australasian and southern hemisphere intimate projects