Age determination and sedimentology on profile Lz1020 from Lake Hoare, Antarctica

Sedimentological, biogeochemical, and mineralogical analyses revealed a high spatial variability of these parameters in Lake Hoare. Five distinct lithological units were recognized.

Radiocarbon dating of bulk organic carbon samples from the sediment sequences yielded apparently too old ages and significant age reversals, which prevented the establishment of reliable age-depth models. However, cross correlation of the sedimentary characteristics with those of sediment records from neighbouring Lake Fryxell indicates that the lowermost two units of the Lake Hoare sediment sequences were probably deposited during the final phase of proglacial Lake Washburn, which occupied Taylor Valley during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene.