Hydroclimate of the Last Glacial Maximum and deglaciation in southern Australia's arid margin interpreted from speleothem records (23-15 ka)

PC Treble; A Baker; LK Ayliffe; TJ Cohen; JC Hellstrom; MK Gagan; S Frisia; RN Drysdale; AD Griffiths; A Borsato

Journal article

Hydroclimate of the Last Glacial Maximum and deglaciation in southern Australia's arid margin interpreted from speleothem records (23-15 ka)

PC Treble, A Baker, LK Ayliffe, TJ Cohen, JC Hellstrom, MK Gagan, S Frisia, RN Drysdale, AD Griffiths, A Borsato

Climate of the Past | COPERNICUS GESELLSCHAFT MBH | Published : 2017

DOI: 10.5194/cp-13-667-2017

Abstract

Terrestrial data spanning the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and deglaciation from the southern Australian region are sparse and limited to discontinuous sedimentological and geomorphological records with relatively large chronological uncertainties. This dearth of records has hindered a critical assessment of the role of the Southern Hemisphere mid-latitude westerly winds on the region's climate during this time period. In this study, two precisely dated speleothem records for Mairs Cave, Flinders Ranges, are presented, providing for the first time a detailed terrestrial hydroclimatic record for the southern Australian drylands during 23-15 ka. Recharge to Mairs Cave is interpreted from the spe..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

John Hellstrom Author

Russell Drysdale Author

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Funding Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Rod Wells for the use of stalagmite MC-S2 and discussions about Mairs Cave; James Shulmeister, Pandora Hope, John Chappell, Ed Rhodes, Martin Williams, Ian Houshold, and David Haberlah for discussions on the region's climate (both today and in the past) and geomorphology; and Monika Markowska for discussions on semi-arid speleothem records. We thank also Janece McDonald, Islay Laird, Krista Simon, and Joan Cowley for assistance with milling and isotope analysis; Stuart Hankin for drafting Fig. 1a, b; Patrick De Deckker, Matthias Moros, and Rhawn Denniston for supplying published data; and Dan Sinclair for discussions on quantifying PCP. We also thank the four anonymous reviewers, who provided valuable feedback that improved this manuscript. The stable isotope measurements on MC-S1 and MC-S2 were supported by Australian Research Council LIEF grants LE0989624 and LE0668400, and U-Th age measurements by Australian Research Council LIEF grant LE0989067. The majority of the data were collected whilst Pauline C. Treble was a research fellow at the Australian National University. This paper is a contribution to the SHAPE IFG.