The major objective of this study is to determine the nature and resolution of the Mid-Late Holocene marine stratigraphic record found in the shelf basin off the Waipaoa with respect to land use and oceanographic/climate changes. The proponents suggest that the shelf basin mud deposit will prove useful in recording well-documented changes in the adjacent terrestrial environment, including a remarkable 2250-year record of major flood events from lake records, as well as Mid-Holocene and Historical perturbations in sediment input, driven by ENSO, volcanism, tectonics and European deforestation. To extract this information, the PIs will conduct high-resolution (Chirp) reflection and sidescan surveys of the Waipaoa shelf mud deposit, along with targeted vibra-coring efforts to determine the Holocene stratigraphic record of the deposit. Surface sediment will be collected with box and kasten cores to compare historical sediment dispersal patterns with those that dominate over longer (Holocene) timescales.
