“…Wallis, 2000Wallis, , 2001Whitau et al, 2017Whitau et al, , 2018. Palynological records from marine-core sediments (Kershaw and Van der Kaars, 2012;Van der Kaars and DeDeckker, 2002;Wang et al, 1999) framed discussion on patterns of environmental change; however, their data were very widespread in nature, and while highlighting marked vegetation responses to glacial-interglacial cyclicity, the records are too coarse, are condensed, and their dating too uncertain to provide post-LGM and Holocene specifics. Such is the importance of Carpenter's Gap 1.…”
Section: Carpenter's Gap 1 Pollen Results In a Wider Kimberley Contextmentioning
Carpenter’s Gap 1 is a large rockshelter located within the Kimberley region of northwestern Australia. The site provides valuable archives of late Quaternary palaeoecological information within an area known for a lack of deposits preserving long-term continuous botanical records. Previous studies of the macrobotanic, phytolith and wood charcoal records from Carpenter’s Gap 1 are in general agreement about changes in broad vegetation patterns over time but differ in the time scales used, in the representation of some species, and in the interpretation of changes – particularly on the degree to which the variations in the record represent cultural activities. An examination of palynology (the transport, deposition and preservation of pollen within the rockshelter environment) provides more detail to the vegetation patterns identified in these previous studies. In addition, because the pollen most likely reflects the vegetation of the site’s surrounds over time rather than plants introduced into the shelter by people, interpretation can be more confidently linked to environmental change, and by inference climatic conditions. The pollen data reveal pre-glacial mixed wooded vegetation. From the beginning of the Holocene, tree loss occurred in a transition from monsoonal forest to thicket and eucalypt forest to woodland. Vegetation transition around the mid Holocene suggests a shift in climate, becoming drier and more variable towards and into the late Holocene. The role of fire in the establishment of vegetation communities remains under investigation.
“…Wallis, 2000Wallis, , 2001Whitau et al, 2017Whitau et al, , 2018. Palynological records from marine-core sediments (Kershaw and Van der Kaars, 2012;Van der Kaars and DeDeckker, 2002;Wang et al, 1999) framed discussion on patterns of environmental change; however, their data were very widespread in nature, and while highlighting marked vegetation responses to glacial-interglacial cyclicity, the records are too coarse, are condensed, and their dating too uncertain to provide post-LGM and Holocene specifics. Such is the importance of Carpenter's Gap 1.…”
Section: Carpenter's Gap 1 Pollen Results In a Wider Kimberley Contextmentioning
Carpenter’s Gap 1 is a large rockshelter located within the Kimberley region of northwestern Australia. The site provides valuable archives of late Quaternary palaeoecological information within an area known for a lack of deposits preserving long-term continuous botanical records. Previous studies of the macrobotanic, phytolith and wood charcoal records from Carpenter’s Gap 1 are in general agreement about changes in broad vegetation patterns over time but differ in the time scales used, in the representation of some species, and in the interpretation of changes – particularly on the degree to which the variations in the record represent cultural activities. An examination of palynology (the transport, deposition and preservation of pollen within the rockshelter environment) provides more detail to the vegetation patterns identified in these previous studies. In addition, because the pollen most likely reflects the vegetation of the site’s surrounds over time rather than plants introduced into the shelter by people, interpretation can be more confidently linked to environmental change, and by inference climatic conditions. The pollen data reveal pre-glacial mixed wooded vegetation. From the beginning of the Holocene, tree loss occurred in a transition from monsoonal forest to thicket and eucalypt forest to woodland. Vegetation transition around the mid Holocene suggests a shift in climate, becoming drier and more variable towards and into the late Holocene. The role of fire in the establishment of vegetation communities remains under investigation.
“…The Atherton Tableland is situated in the wet tropics of northeastern Queensland, where precipitation is dependent on the austral summer monsoon system of the western Pacific Ocean (Muller et al, 2008), or Quasi-Monsoon (Gentilli, 1971; Kershaw and Van der Kaars, 2012), and the seasonal migration southward of the Intertropical Convergence Zone or ITCZ (Muller et al, 2008). Northward movement of the ITCZ and a northeast movement of the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ) signal the dominance of the ENSO phenomenon (Haberle et al, 2010).…”
The identification of wetter and drier phases from the last deglaciation to the Late Holocene has been a valuable outcome of palaeoenvironmental (chiefly palynological) studies of northeastern Australia conducted over the past 40 years. Few studies have, however, focussed on the identification of wetter and drier phases in the wet tropics, and none have set their focus on the last 4000 years, a period when northeastern Australia is generally accepted to have experienced increased El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) activity. The present study provides this palaeoclimatic information using the degree of peat humification as the main palaeoclimatic proxy. To identify regional climatic signals in the peat record and differentiate these from local signals induced by particular basin hydrology or ecology, sedimentary sequences from two geographically separated swamps on the Atherton Tableland in north Queensland are examined. Wet and dry shifts are detected in the humification records for Bromfield Swamp (core BSAT03) and Mount Quincan crater swamp (Q2). Seventeen wet shifts are detected in both records with 12 shifts showing good cross-correlation at the following dates (with 2σ range): 3990/3960 (4090–3850), 3480/3550 (3640–3420), 2950/2990 (3080–2790), 2860/2880 (2980–2700), 2560/2610 (2730–2450), 1880/1820 (2100–1740), 1430/1410 (1660–1320), 1170/1080 (1390–1020), 990/1010 (1100–790), 610/640 (710–490), 290/300 (330–180) and 120/150 (190–40) cal. yr BP. A particular dry phase, initiated by dry shifts at 4090 cal. yr BP (Bromfield Swamp) and 4330 cal. yr BP (Mount Quincan), reaches its greatest strength at 4050 cal. yr BP.
“…2, Table 1). This situation differs from the wet tropics of eastern Australia, and particularly the Atherton Tablelands, where numerous studies have revealed the climatic and environmental conditions that prevailed during the last 50 ka (Haberle, 2005; Turney et al, 2006; Muller et al, 2008; Kershaw and van der Kaars, 2012; Burrows et al, 2016). Figure 1.( A ) Location of Sanamere Lagoon in Cape York Peninsula and main drivers of climate in the region; yellow area = tropical savannas in Australia, green area = wet tropics; ITCZ = Intertropical Convergence Zone; IPWP = Indo-Pacific Warm Pool; MJO = Madden-Julian Oscillation.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 96%
“…2, Table 1). This situation differs from the wet tropics of eastern Australia, and particularly the Atherton Tablelands, where numerous studies have revealed the climatic and environmental conditions that prevailed during the last 50 ka (Haberle, 2005;Turney et al, 2006;Muller et al, 2008;Kershaw and van der Kaars, 2012;Burrows et al, 2016).…”
There are very few records of past terrestrial environmental change of any time period for the Australian tropical savannas. Here we document the hydrological development of Sanamere Lagoon, north Queensland, from a 1.72 m sediment sequence with a basal age of ca. 33 ka. We measure a variety of proxies reflecting environmental change within and around the lagoon, including grain size, elemental and diatom abundance, and carbon and nitrogen isotope composition. By integrating the interpretation of multiple proxies, we show that regional climatic events, such as the reactivation of the monsoon at 15 ka and sea-level rise ending at 7 ka, are reflected in local ecosystem change and a diversity of biogeochemical responses in Sanamere Lagoon. This record makes a significant contribution to the development of records of environmental change from an under-studied region in tropical Australia through the Holocene to the LGM and beyond—a step towards enabling a more detailed understanding of regional monsoon (paleo)dynamics. In particular, this study highlights nuances in the effect of Indonesian-Australian Summer monsoon dynamics in a region less affected by sea level and continental shelf drowning complexities.
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