Layers within layers: quantifying seasonal versus event processes in Arctic clastic varved sediments

Clastic annually laminated (varved) lake sediments are important paleo-records from Arctic regions. They offer high temporal resolution where other natural archives are localized (ice cores) or unavailable (tree rings), and substantially contribute to regional paleoclimate syntheses (Kaufman et al. 2009). Clastic varves are composed of mineral material introduced to the lake by streams and rivers. The climate signal is conveyed through the generation of runoff and downstream sediment transport into the lake. Since the pioneering work of Hardy et al. (1996), who conducted field process studies in Arctic Canada to determine a quantitative relationship between climate, hydrology, sediment transport and varve deposition, a number of sedimentary studies have refined our understanding of the control mechanisms over sediment delivery to lakes and the type of paleoenvironmental information contained within clastic varves.