[Aqualist] Maar lake session at INQUA 2007

[Paul Augustinus]

Dear colleagues

Apologies for any cross posting:

You are invited to attend the following session at the XVII INQUA 
Congress (Cairns, Australia, 28 July - 3 August 2007):

New Directions in Maar Lake Research

Session convenors: Paul Augustinus, Phil Shane (New Zealand), Bernd 
Zolitschka (Germany)

Session Summary:
Reconstruction of Quaternary paleoclimates and their forcing mechanisms 
requires well-dated and continuous high resolution records to which a 
range of independent proxies can be applied. Lake sediments provide 
unique continental counterparts to marine sediments and ice cores which 
all contain unparalleled records of past climate change. Compared to 
the latter, lacustrine records typically feature higher sedimentation 
rates whereby short-term processes are amplified. In addition, lake 
sediments record local and regional responses to a variety of forcing 
factors that are complementary to the global records provided by 
deep-sea sediments and ice cores.

Unlike the majority of (glacial) lakes, maar lakes can be much older 
than 15,000 years and hence are capable of recording not only climatic 
signals with relatively short recurrence intervals such as ENSO or sun 
spot cycles, but also low frequency signals like Dansgaard-Oeschger 
Events or even much longer Milankovich cycles. Moreover, maar lakes are 
mostly deep with anoxic bottom waters which allow the accumulation and 
preservation of organic matter. They are often finely laminated 
(occasionally even annually laminated or varved) and contain tephra 
layers, both supporting precise and accurate dating of the sequences. 
In addition to quantitative climate reconstructions, human impact on 
the environment is archived in these records making them valuable for 
archeological and pollution studies. Quantitative reconstruction of 
environmental and climatic parameters based on maar lake sediments are 
based on a wide range of sedimentological, geophysical, geochemical and 
biological proxies. In this context the application of isotopic and 
scanning methods plays an increasingly important role for an improved 
understanding of climate system dynamics. Moreover, such records 
provide a better comprehension of the dynamics of lacustrine systems 
and the way they react to local, regional and global environmental and 
climatic changes.

Contributions are invited from any part of the globe with a focus on 
sedimentary records from maar and other volcanic crater lakes. High 
resolution multi-proxy studies that provide an insight into the driving 
forces behind the identified changes would be particularly welcome.
______________________________________________________________________________
Dr Paul Augustinus
School of Geography, Geology and Environmental Science
University of Auckland
Private Bag 92019
Auckland
New Zealand
Ph: +64-9-3737599 x87603
Fax: +64-9-3737435

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