Abstract
Sediments from Lakes Taupo and Waikaremoana, New Zealand, have been analysed to give background concentrations of trace elements in lakes relatively uninfluenced by anthropogenic contributions. Lake Waikaremoana sediments have higher contents of illite, chlorite, smectite, plagioclase, and quartz as well as higher contents of Al, Fe, Na, K, Mg, Ti, P, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Zn, Rb, Sr, Ba, Sc, U, Th, and Rare Earth Elements (REE), than Lake Taupo sediments. Diagenetic enrichment of Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, P, As, and Fe was observed in surface sediments of certain cores from Lake Taupo where the surface sediment layer was preserved during coring.