Late quaternary environments of the Carpentaria Basin, Australia

• Published in: Palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology Vol. 67; no. 3; pp. 245 - 261
• Main Authors: Torgersen, T., Luly, J., De Deckker, P., Jones, M.R., Searle, D.E., Chivas, A.R., Ullman, W.J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.10.1988; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; Isotope geochemistry; Isotope geochemistry. Geochronology; Marine and continental quaternary; Surficial geology; Marine sediments; O-18/O-16; West Pacific; Quaternary; C-13/C-12; Absolute age; Paleoenvironment; Arafura Sea; Pollen analysis; C-14; North Australian Seas; Brackish-water environment; Upper Pleistocene; Stable isotopes; Changes of level; Pacific Ocean; Holocene; Carpentaria Basin
• ISSN: 0031-0182; 1872-616X
• DOI: 10.1016/0031-0182(88)90155-1

Quaternary variations in the level of the sea have exposed the shallow (<70 m) Gulf of Carpentaria (Australia) a number of times during the last glacial. Sedimentary, chemical and palynological analyses of cores from the Gulf are presented and interpreted to describe the palaeoenvironmental sequence of the Carpentaria Basin over the last <40 kyr. The results show an early desiccation followed by the continuous presence of a large (>29,000 km 2) but shallow (maximum depth <10 m) fresh-to-brackish Lake Carpentaria from {35 kyr to 12 kyr. Runoff/evaporation ratios were held at about half the present ratio. The environments of the Basin are shown to have been influenced by the level of the sea, Quaternary climatic/monsoonal variations and the tectonic diversion of the Fly River. Palynological analyses indicate a continued savannah-like environment in the Basin with few floristic introductions during the last s 4 ̌ 0 kyr. The pollen assemblages closely resemble the black soil plains presently found along the southern Gulf. Thus, the biogeographic and climatic barrier across the Australia Papua New Guinea land bridge has remained largely intact in spite of the range of environmental conditions that have occured during the last <40 kyr.