John Hardcastle looks at the Timaru loess: Climatic signals are observed, and fragipans

As the site of important loess investigation, and possessing impressive stratigraphy, the Timaru loess could be proposed as an international loess section for New Zealand. Hardcastle's stratigraphic observations were probably among the first relatively sophisticated palaeoclimatological observations made. The INQUA Loess Focus Group could recognize the Timaru Loess (the Dashing Rocks section) as the representative loess section for New Zealand- a reference section for studies of loess stratigraphy and chronology (hopefully preserved and curated by the local government authorities and other interested parties).