Wetting and drying of Australia over the past 300 ka

Research Article| September 01, 1992 Wetting and drying of Australia over the past 300 ka Gerald C. Nanson; Gerald C. Nanson 1Quaternary Research Group, Department of Geography, University of Wollongong, P.O. Box 1144, Wollongong, New South Wales 2500, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar David M. Price; David M. Price 1Quaternary Research Group, Department of Geography, University of Wollongong, P.O. Box 1144, Wollongong, New South Wales 2500, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Stephen A. Short Stephen A. Short 2Environmental Radiochemistry Laboratory, Australian Nuclear Sciences and Technology Organisation, Private Mail Bag 1, Menai, New South Wales 2230, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Gerald C. Nanson 1Quaternary Research Group, Department of Geography, University of Wollongong, P.O. Box 1144, Wollongong, New South Wales 2500, Australia David M. Price 1Quaternary Research Group, Department of Geography, University of Wollongong, P.O. Box 1144, Wollongong, New South Wales 2500, Australia Stephen A. Short 2Environmental Radiochemistry Laboratory, Australian Nuclear Sciences and Technology Organisation, Private Mail Bag 1, Menai, New South Wales 2230, Australia Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (1992) 20 (9): 791–794. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1992)020<0791:WADOAO>2.3.CO;2 Article history First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Gerald C. Nanson, David M. Price, Stephen A. Short; Wetting and drying of Australia over the past 300 ka. Geology 1992;; 20 (9): 791–794. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1992)020<0791:WADOAO>2.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Alternately dry and wet climatic episodes across central and eastern Australia during the past 300 ka have greatly affected Australia's rivers, lakes, and dune fields. Evidence of widespread climate and flow-regime changes has been provided by 75 thermoluminescence (TL) dates and 18 U/Th dates from alluvial and eolian sediments. Fluvial conditions dominated part of the last two interglacials (stage 5 and 7), resulting in large sand loads in rivers in the present Simpson Desert and southeastern Australia. During the last interglacial, fluvial activity in central Australia peaked at ∼110 ka (stage 5 pluvial), probably ∼5-10 ka behind world temperature and sea-level maxima. Following the last late interglacial wet phase, aridity associated with dune building spread from central Australia toward its margins, achieving greatest intensity during the last glacial maximum. A less widespread wet phase, identified at about 55-35 ka (stage 3 subpluvial), is associated with high lake levels and paleochannel activity in southeastern Australia. This TL record of variable continental aridity in Australia correlates well with global changes, including the variable eolian dust flux into central China, the northern Pacific Ocean, and Antarctica. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.