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A continuous record of the last 200kyr of palaeoclimates in Onepoto Basin.

Cross section of infill of Onepoto Crater.

“Figure 4 Cross-section of the crater and its infill”

What lies beneath the surface of Auckland’s maar craters?

Maar craters (like Onepoto Domain on Auckland’s North Shore) are a volcanic feature we commonly find in the Auckland Volcanic Field, and they have lots of uses! Most of us enjoy them recreationally or for their scenic values, but our team of DEVORA researchers value them for different reasons.

DEVORA PhD candidate Benjamin Läuchli has published a project report in which he coordinates a team of DEVORA researchers who are studying a core we took in Onepoto Domain in 2018. The core is approximately 73 m long and contains layers of material that have been deposited in Onepoto over the last 245,000 or so years since Onepoto formed. The team is using the layers in the core to refine estimates related to the Auckland Volcanic Field’s eruption frequency and other New Zealand volcanoes, date previous eruptions based on the materials in the layers, and provide insights into Auckland’s climate in the past.

Cores like this one are really important because they shed light on the Earth’s previous climate. Lake cores are especially important because they provided data for deeper history than other data types such as tree rings. The Onepoto core is an amazing opportunity because most cores of this type are taken from the Northern Hemisphere. We are looking forward to hearing more from this team in the future.

Their progress report is free for anyone to read, so use the link below if you want to learn more!

Attachments

Composite development and stratigraphy of the Onepoto maar lake sediment sequence (Auckland Volcanic Field, New Zealand) Cover
Composite development and stratigraphy of the Onepoto maar lake sediment sequence (Auckland Volcanic Field, New Zealand)

Publication Date: 2021