Kangaroo Island climate variation over the past 7000 years reconstructed using lake sediment

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2022

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Kamleh, C.

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In the face of devasting bushfires, droughts and floods in recent years in Australia, geologically recent Australian climate reconstructions provide useful context in understanding the long-term patterns of such events before instrumental records existed. There is a lack of such climate reconstructions in southern Australia. Kangaroo Island’s (KI) recent devastation by bushfires, as well as the presence of semi-permanent lakes on the island, make it a location suited for climate reconstructions using lake sediment to complement the understanding of bushfire occurrence. Existing research has focussed on Lashmars Lagoon in the east of KI, and this thesis adds to Lashmars Lagoon research, while also adding research from Little Grassdale Lagoon in the west of KI. Multiple techniques are used: 210Pb dating, radiocarbon dating, age-depth modelling, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and mass-spectrometry. It is found that over the past 7000 years, Kangaroo Island entered a drier period after ~3000 years BP. This dry period coincides with the onset of more intense bushfires on Kangaroo Island, as recognised by existing research, suggesting a climatic control on bushfire patterns. The last 2000 years on Kangaroo Island are characterised by more variable climatic conditions, and there are fluctuations between wet and dry climates, within the larger context of a dry period.

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School of Physical Sciences

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Thesis (B.Sc.(Hons)) -- University of Adelaide, School of Physical Sciences, YEAR

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