Late Holocene climate variability and fire history from Deepwater Lake sediments, Fraser Island, South Queensland.

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dc.contributor.authorRaven, M. A.
dc.contributor.schoolSchool of Physical Sciencesen
dc.coverage.spatialFraser Island, Queensland
dc.date.issued2017
dc.descriptionThis item is only available electronically.en
dc.description.abstractLake sediments are an important resource that can be used to reconstruct past climate and environmental conditions from all over the world. Understanding past climate changes is extremely important to help understand what’s happening to climate in Australia today and potentially into the future. The perched lake systems on Fraser Island in subtropical Queensland, Australia, act as natural rainfall gauges, allowing them to be highly sensitive to environmental changes which, through a variety of indicators, are recorded in the sediments. Deepwater Lake, a small perched lake on Fraser Island, was investigated using a range of environmental proxies. A detailed chronology was created using a range of accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dates and 210Pb dates on cores taken to a depth of 4.7 m. The chronology indicates an age range of 4800 cal BP to present. The lake sediments were analysed for carbon isotope ratios, carbon/nitrogen ratio variation, macro-charcoal changes, sediment organic content, magnetic susceptibility, XRF based element geochemistry, 210Pb, and radiocarbon dating. These proxies are used to reflect the changes of catchment processes within the lake environment over the mid to late-Holocene. The proxies reflect a transition from a dry, fire-prone environment, with very low organic content from 4800-3800 cal BP, to a more rainfall-erosional based environment from 3800-300 cal BP. During the period from 3800-3000 cal BP, it was determined there was a high influx of detrital sediments, organic content, and a transition from an algal based source to a more terrestrial based organic source. Environmental conditions have remained consistent from 3000 cal BP to present day with very little variation observed in the proxies indicating a stabilisation of climate into the late Holocene.en
dc.description.dissertationThesis (B.Sc.(Hons)) -- University of Adelaide, School of Physical Sciences, 2017
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2440/128278
dc.language.isoenen
dc.provenanceThis electronic version is made publicly available by the University of Adelaide in accordance with its open access policy for student theses. Copyright in this thesis remains with the author. This thesis may incorporate third party material which has been used by the author pursuant to Fair Dealing exceptions. If you are the author of this thesis and do not wish it to be made publicly available, or you are the owner of any included third party copyright material you wish to be removed from this electronic version, please complete the take down form located at: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/legalsen
dc.subjectHonours; Geology; Late Holocene; Deepwater Lake; charcoal; palaeolimnology; climate variability; climate reconstruction; fire historyen
dc.titleLate Holocene climate variability and fire history from Deepwater Lake sediments, Fraser Island, South Queensland.en
dc.typeThesisen

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