CALIBRATING RECENT SEDIMENTARY SEQUENCES FROM THE PROXIMAL BASIN OF A LARGE GLACIALLY FED LAKE WITH HYDROCLIMATE DATA, SKILAK LAKE, KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA

Varve thickness from Skilak Lake, Alaska was compared to hydroclimate data from local instrument records to understand the major contributing factors to varve formation. The short term climate record will be used to extrapolate longer records from longer cores to be taken in 2008. The dynamic nature of the proximal environment is such that an acute understanding of the sedimentary environment is needed before longer cores and records can be pursued. Visual inspection and grain size analysis identified annual layers at several locations, which were then calibrated to instrument records of precipitation and temperature from Kenai Peninsula weather stations. Preliminary results indicate that different climate variables correlate to varve thickness at several locations, with precipitation being the most strongly correlated.