Testing the fidelity of sediment chronology: comparison of varve and paleomagnetic results from Holocene lake sediments from central Finland

A careful construction of independent varve and paleomagnetic chronologies from three varved lake sediment records from central Finland resulted in detailed and continuous age-depth profiles. Cumulative varve calculation errors were estimated to be +/-3% for Lake Alimmainen Savijarvi (10,295 +/- 340 varve years), and +/- 1% for lakes Nautajarvi (9898 +/- 97 varve years) and Korttajarvi (9590 +/- 103 varve years). Paleomagnetic secular variation (PSV) curves demonstrate good consistency between these sites and within a margin of varve chronology error. They show similar declination and inclination features commonly described in the UK and Sweden. The timing of PSV patterns from Finnish varved sites agree well with UK curves between the present and 2000 BC (and in pre-6000 BC deposits) and with Swedish data between the present and 5000 BC. Combined inclination records from three independently dated Finnish varved sites possess an opportunity for accurate paleomagnetic comparisons within the margin of varve chronology errors and throughout the last 10,000 years. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.