Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T22:08:19.479Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Late Quaternary Climates of Australia and New Guinea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

J.M. Bowler ,
G.S. Hope ,
J.N. Jennings ,
G. Singh  and
D. Walker
J.M. Bowler
Affiliation:
Department of Biogeography and Geomorphology, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, Canberra 2600, Australia
G.S. Hope
Affiliation:
Department of Biogeography and Geomorphology, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, Canberra 2600, Australia
J.N. Jennings
Affiliation:
Department of Biogeography and Geomorphology, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, Canberra 2600, Australia
G. Singh
Affiliation:
Department of Biogeography and Geomorphology, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, Canberra 2600, Australia
D. Walker
Affiliation:
Department of Biogeography and Geomorphology, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, Canberra 2600, Australia
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Between 60,000 and 40,000 B.P., northeastern Queensland, south New South Wales, and southeastern South Australia were drier than at present. From 40,000–30,000 B.P. a colder climate than at present is indicated from one New Guinea area. Dryness became even more accentuated in northeastern Queensland, whereas many lakes filled up in the southern mainland, probably because of increasing precipitation effectiveness there. Before the end of this period colder conditions than now were already giving rise to slope instability in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales.

The period of 25,000–15,000 B.P. saw the greatest lowering of the New Guinea treeline, reaching an extreme at 17,000 B.P. when glaciers also achieved their maximum extent. This was the time of extensive glaciation in Tasmania and small glaciers formed in the Snowy Mountains. Estimates of the lowering of mean annual temperature range from 6°–10°C. Northeastern Queensland experienced its driest Late Quaternary climate; lakes were contracting throughout the southern mainland and the final phase of substantial desert dune building took place before the period ended.

In the Snowy Mountains ice retreat began before 20,000 B.P., as did the construction of clay dunes in the southern semi-arid belt, a process demanding higher temperatures. However, in New Guinea and Tasmania ice retreat and treeline rise did not begin till after 15,000 B.P. Temperatures rose rapidly and everywhere most of the ice had gone by 10,000 B.P., when some lakes filled up in southern Australia, implying an increase in absolute precipitation.

In the last 10,000 years climate has been relatively stable although there are some indications that temperature and rainfall were marginally higher than now between 8000 and 5000 B.P. Since then, lake levels have oscillated; a brief, limited resumption of periglacial activity took place in the Snowy Mountains and there were small glacier advances in New Guinea.

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 6 , Issue 3 , September 1976 , pp. 359 - 394
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barendsen, G.W., Deevey, E.S., Gralenski, L.J., 1957. Yale natural radiocarbon measurements III Science 126 908–919.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bloom, A.L., Broecker, W.S., Chappell, J.M.A., Matthews, R.K., Mesolella, K.J., 1974. Quaternary sea level fluctuations on a tectonic coast: New 230Th/234U dates from the Huon peninsula, New Guinea Quaternary Research 4 185–205.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowler, J.M., 1967. Quaternary chronology of Goulburn Valley sediments and their correlation in south-eastern Australia Journal of the Geological Society of Australia 14 287–292.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowler, J.M., 1970a. Late Quaternary environments: A study of lakes and associated sediments in south-eastern Australia Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis Australian National University Canberra.Google Scholar
Bowler, J.M., 1970b. Alluvial terraces in the Maribyrnong Valley near Keilor, Victoria Memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria 30 15–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowler, J.M., 1971. Pleistocene salinities and climatic change: Evidence from lakes and lunettes in south-eastern Australia Mulvaney, D.J., Golson, J. Aboriginal Man and Environment in Australia Australian National University Canberra 47–65.Google Scholar
Bowler, J.M., 1973. Clay dunes: Their occurrence, formation and environmental significance Earth-Science Reviews 9 315–338.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowler, J.M., 1975. Deglacial events in southern Australia: Their age, nature and palaeoclimatic significance Bulletin of the Royal Society of New Zealand 13 75–82.Google Scholar
Bowler, J. M. (in press). Recent developments in reconstructing late Quaternary environments in Australia In “The Biological Origin of the Australians” (Kirk, R. L., and Thorne, A. G.Eds.). Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, Canberra. Google Scholar
Bowler, J.M., Hamada, T.T., 1971. Late Quaternary stratigraphy and radiocarbon chronology of water level fluctuations in Lake Keilambete, Victoria Nature (London) 232 330–332.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bowler, J.M., Polach, H.A., 1970. Radiocarbon analyses of soil carbonates from paleosols in south-eastern Australia Yaalon, D.H. Paleopedology: Origin, Nature and Dating of Paleosols International Society Soil Science and Israel Universitites Press Jerusalem 97–108.Google Scholar
Brookfield, H.C., Hart, D., 1966. Rainfall in the tropical Southwest Pacific Research School of Pacific Studies, Department of Geography Publication G/3 Australian National University Canberra.Google Scholar
Butler, B.E., 1958. Depositional systems of the Riverine Plain of south-eastern Australia in relation to soils Soil Publication 10 C.S.I.R.O Melbourne.Google Scholar
Butler, B.E., Blackburn, G., Bowler, J.M., Lawrence, C.R., Newell, J.W., Pels, S., 1973 Geomorphic Map of the Riverine Plain of South-eastern Australia Australian National University Press Canberra.Google Scholar
Caine, N., 1967. The blockfields and associated phenomena of north-western Tasmania Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis Australian National University Canberra.Google Scholar
Caine, N., Jennings, J.N., 1968. Some blockstreams of the Toolong Range, Kosciusko State Park, New South Wales Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 101 93–103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calaby, J.H., 1971. Man, fauna and climate in aboriginal Australia Mulvaney, D.J., Golson, J. Aboriginal Man and Environment in Australia Australian National University Press Canberra 80–93.Google Scholar
Chappell, J., 1973. Astronomical theory of climatic change: Status and problem Quaternary Research 3 221–236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chappell, J., 1974. Relationships between sealevels, 18O variations and orbital perturbations, during the past 250,000 years Nature (London) 252 199–202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chick, N.K., 1971. Tasmania 1971–1972 Research on Quaternary Shorelines in Australia and New Zealand—A summary report of the ANZAAS Quaternary Shorelines Committee Search 3 412–414p. 413.Google Scholar
Churchill, D.M., 1968. The distribution and prehistory of Eucalyptus diversicolor F. Muell., E. marginata Donn ex Sm., and E. calophylla R.Br. in relation to rainfall Australian Journal of Botany 16 125–151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Churchward, H.M., 1963. Soil studies at Swan Hill, Victoria, Australia, IV. Ground surface history and its expression in the array of soils Australian Journal of Soil Research 1 242–255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Colhoun, E., 1975. The glaciation of the lower Forth Valley and its significance for the glacial history of northern Tasmania Paper presented at the 13th Annual Conference of the Institute of Australian Geographers Wollongong, New South Wales, August 1975.Google Scholar
Costin, A.B., 1972. Carbon-14 dates from the Snowy Mountains area, southeastern Australia and their interpretation Quaternary Research 2 579–590.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Costin, A.B., Polach, H.A., 1971. Slope deposits in the Snowy Mountains, southeastern Australia Quaternary Research 1 228–235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Costin, A.B., Polach, H.A., 1973. Age and significance of slope deposits, Black Mountain, Canberra Australian Journal of Soil Research 11 13–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Costin, A.B., Thom, B.G., Wimbush, D.W., Stuiver, M., 1967. Nonsorted steps in the Mt. Kosciusko area, Australia Geological Society of America Bulletin 78 979–992.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crocker, R.L., 1946. Post-Miocene climatic and geologic history and its significance in relation to the genesis of the major soil types of South Australia Commonwealth of Australia, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Bulletin No. 193 .Google Scholar
Coventry, R.J., 1973. Abandoned shorelines and the late Quaternary history of Lake George, New South Wales Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis Australian National University Canberra.Google Scholar
Currey, D.T., 1964. The former extent of Lake Corangamite Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 77 377–386.Google Scholar
Currey, D.T., 1970. Lake systems, Western Victoria Australian Society of Limnology Bulletin 3 1–13.Google Scholar
Davies, J.L., 1967. Tasmanian Landforms and Quaternary Climates Jennings, J.N., Mabbutt, J.A. Landform Studies from Australia and New Guinea Australian National University Press Canberra 1–25.Google Scholar
Derbyshire, E., 1968a. Glacial map of N.W.-Central Tasmania Tasmania Department Mines Geological Survey Record No. 6 .Google Scholar
Derbyshire, E., 1968b. Two gelifluctates near Great Lake, central Tasmania Australian Journal of Science 31 154–156.Google Scholar
Derbyshire, E., 1971. A synoptic approach to the atmospheric circulation of the last glacial maximum in southeastern Australia Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology and Palaeoecology 10 103–124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Derbyshire, E., 1972. Pleistocene glaciation of Tasmania; review and speculations Australian Geographical Studies 10 79–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Derbyshire, E., Banks, M.R., Davies, J.L., Jennings, J.N., 1965. A Glacial Map of Tasmania Royal Society of Tasmania Special Publication No. 2 .Google Scholar
Derbyshire, E., Peterson, J.A., 1971. On the status and correlation of Pleistocene glacial episodes in south-eastern Australia Search 2 285–288.Google Scholar
Dodson, J.R., 1974a. Vegetation history and water fluctuations at Lake Leake, southeastern South Australia. I. 10,000 B.P. to Present Australian Journal of Botany 22 719–741.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dodson, J.R., 1974b. Vegetation and climatic history near Lake Keilambete, western Victoria Australian Journal of Botany 22 709–717.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dodson, J.R., 1975a. The Quaternary history of vegetation and climate in south-eastern South Australia Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis Australian National University Canberra.Google Scholar
Dodson, J.R., 1975b. Vegetation history and water fluctuations at Lake Leake, southeastern South Australia. II. 50,000 to 10,000 B.P. Australian Journal of Botany 23 815–831.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dury, G.H., 1963. Prior stream deposition Australian Journal of Science 25 315–317.Google Scholar
Dury, G.H., 1966. Incised valley meanders on the lower Colo River, New South Wales Australian Geographer 10 17–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dury, G.H., 1973. Paleohydrologic implications of some pluvial lakes in north western New South Wales, Australia Geological Society of America Bulletin 84 3663–3676.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fairbridge, R.W., 1965. African Ice-Age Aridity Nairn, A.E.M. Problems in Palaeoclimatology Interscience London 356–363.Google Scholar
Flenley, J.R., 1967. The present and former vegetation of the Wabag region of New Guinea Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis Australian National University Canberra.Google Scholar
Galloway, R.W., 1963. Glaciation in the Snowy Mountains: A reappraisal Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 88 180–198.Google Scholar
Galloway, R.W., 1965a. A note on world precipitation during the last glaciation Eiszeitalter und Gegenwart 16 77.Google Scholar
Galloway, R.W., 1965b. Late Quaternary climates in Australia Journal of Geology 73 603–618.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Galloway, R.W., 1971. Evidence for late Quaternary climates Mulvaney, D.J., Golson, J. Aboriginal Man and Environment in Australia Australian National University Press Canberra 14–25.Google Scholar
Galloway, R.W., Hope, G.S., Löffler, E., Peterson, J.A., 1973. Late Quaternary glaciation and periglacial phenomena in Ausstralia and New Guinea Palaeoecology of Africa and of the Surrounding Islands and Antarctica 8 125–138.Google Scholar
Gentilli, J., 1961. Quaternary climates of the Australian Region Annals of the New York Academy of Science 95 465–501.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gill, E.D., 1955. The Australian “Arid Period” Australian Journal of Science 17 204–206.Google Scholar
Gill, E.D., 1956. Radiocarbon dating for glacial varves in Tasmania Australian Journal of Science 19 80.Google Scholar
Gill, E.D., 1971. Applications of radiocarbon dating in Victoria, Australia Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 84 71–85.Google Scholar
Gill, E.D., 1973a. Second list of radiocarbon dates on samples from Victoria, Australia Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 86 133–136.Google Scholar
Gill, E.D., 1973b. Geology and geomorphology of the Murray River region between Mildura and Renmark, Australia Memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria 34 1–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goede, A., 1973. Flood plain stratigraphy of the Tea Tree Rivulet, Buckland, eastern Tasmania Australian Geographical Studies 11 28–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hills, E.S., 1940. The lunette, a new land-form of aeolian origin Australian Geographer 3 15–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hills, E.S., 1955. Die Landoberfläche Australiens Die Erde 1955 195–205.Google Scholar
Hope, G.S., 1974. The vegetation history from 6000 B.P. to present of Wilson's Promontory, Victoria, Australia New Phytologist 73 1035–1053.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hope, G.S., 1976. The vegetational history of Mt Wilhelm, Papua New Guinea Journal of Ecology 64 627–664.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hope, G.S., Peterson, J.A., 1975. Glaciation and vegetation in the high New Guinea Mountains Bulletin of the Royal Society of New Zealand 13 155–162.Google Scholar
Hopley, D., 1973. Geomorphic evidence for climatic change in the Late Quaternary of northeast Queensland, Australia Journal of Tropical Geography 36 20–30.Google Scholar
Jennings, J. N. (in press). Desert dunes and estuarine fill in the Fitzroy estuary, north-western Australia Catena.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jennings, J.N., Banks, M.R., 1958. The Pleistocene glacial history of Tasmania Journal of Glaciology 3 298–303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jessup, R.W., 1960. The stony tableland soils of the south-eastern portion of the Australian arid zone and their evolutionary history Journal of Soil Science 11 187–196.Google Scholar
Jessup, R.W., 1961a. Evolution of the two youngest (Quaternary) soil layers in the south-eastern portion of the Australian arid zone. I. The Parakylia layer Journal of Soil Science 12 52–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jessup, R.W., 1961b. Evolution of the two youngest (Quaternary) soil layers in the south-eastern portion of the Australian arid zone. II. The Bookaloo layer Journal of Soil Science 12 64–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jessup, R.W., 1968a. The late-Quaternary eustatic and geological history of the northern Yorke Peninsula, South Australia Morrison, R.B., Wright, H.B. Means of Correlation of Quaternary Successions Vol. 8 395–406Proceedings International Association Quaternary Research, 7th Conference, Boulder, Colorado 1965.Google Scholar
Jessup, R.W., 1968b. Soil development in coastal South Australia in relation to glacioeustatic changes of sea-level Transactions of the 9th International Congress of Soil Science, Adelaide, Australia, 1968 4 641–649.Google Scholar
Johns, R.K., Ludbrook, N.J., 1963. Investigation of Lake Eyre South Australian Department of Mines, Geological Survey, Report of Investigations, No. 24 .Google Scholar
Kershaw, A.P., 1970. A pollen diagram from Lake Euramoo, north-east Queensland, Australia New Phytologist 69 785–805.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kershaw, A.P., 1971. A pollen diagram from Quincan Crater, north-east Queensland, Australia New Phytologist 70 669–681.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kershaw, A.P., 1974. A long continuous pollen sequence from north-eastern Australia Nature (London) 251 222–223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kershaw, A.P., 1975. Late Quaternary vegetation and climate in north-eastern Australia Bulletin of the Royal Society of New Zealand 13 181–188.Google Scholar
Langford-Smith, T., 1960. The dead river systems of the Murrumbidgee Geographical Review 50 368–389.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Löffler, E., 1972. Pleistocene glaciation in Papua and New Guinea Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie Supplement Band 13 32–58.Google Scholar
Litchfield, W.H., 1969. Soil surfaces and sedimentary history near the Macdonnell Ranges, N.T. Soil Publication No. 25 CSIRO Melbourne.Google Scholar
Lowry, D.C., Jennings, J.N., 1974. The Nullarbor karst Australia Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie 18 35–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mabbutt, J.A., 1967. Denudation chronology in Central Australia: Structure, climate and landform inheritance in the Alice Springs area Jennings, J.N., Mabbutt, J.A. Landform Studies from Australia and New Guinea Australian National University Press Canberra 144–181.Google Scholar
Macphail, M., 1975. Late Pleistocene environments in Tasmania Search 6 295–300.Google Scholar
Macphail, M.K., Peterson, J.A., 1975. New deglaciation dates from Tasmania Search 6 127–130.Google Scholar
Martin, H.A., 1973. Palynology and historical ecology of some cave excavations in the Australian Nullarbor Australian Journal of Botany 21 283–316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nix, H.A., Kalma, J.D., 1972. Climate as a dominant control in the biogeography of northern Australia and New Guinea Walker, D. Bridge and Barrier: The Natural and Cultural History of Torres Strait Department of Biogeography and Geomorphology Publication BG/3 Australian National University Canberra 61–92.Google Scholar
Paterson, S.J., 1965. Pleistocene drift in the Mersey and Forth valleys—probability of two glacial stages Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 99 115–124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paterson, S.J., 1966. Pleistocene deposits at Parangana damsite in the Mersey valley Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 100 147–151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paterson, S.J., Duigan, S.L., Joplin, G.A., 1967. Notes on the Pleistocene deposits at Lemonthyme Creek in the Forth valley Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 101 221–225.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pels, S., 1964. The present and ancestral Murray River system Australian Geographical Studies 2 111–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pels, S., 1969. Radio-carbon datings of ancestral river sediments on the Riverine Plain of south-eastern Australia and their interpretation Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 102 189–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peterson, J.A., 1968. Crique morphology and Pleistocene ice formation conditions in southeastern Australia Australian Geographical Studies 6 67–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peterson, J.A., 1971. The equivocal extent of glaciation in the south-eastern uplands of Australia Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 84 207–212.Google Scholar
Peterson, J.A., Hope, G.S., Mitton, R., 1973. Recession of snow and ice fields of Irian Jaya, Republic of Indonesia Zeitschrift für Gletscherkunde und Glazialgeologie 9 73–87.Google Scholar
Peterson, J.A., Robinson, G., 1969. Trend surface mapping of cirque floor levels Nature (London) 222 75–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phipps, C.V.G., 1969. Dating of eustatic events from cores taken in the Gulf of Carpentaria and samples from the New South Wales continental shelf Australian Journal of Science 32 329–330.Google Scholar
Powell, J.M., 1970. The impact of man on the vegetation of the Mt. Hagen region, New Guinea Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis Australian National University Canberra.Google Scholar
Price, W.A., 1963. Physico-chemical and environmental factors in clay dune genesis Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 33 766–778.Google Scholar
Raine, J.I., 1974. Pollen sedimentation in relation to the Quaternary vegetation history of the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis Australian National University Canberra.Google Scholar
Schumm, S.A., 1968a. Speculation concerning paleohydrologic controls of terrestrial sedimentation Geological Society of America Bulletin 79 1573–1588.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schumm, S.A., 1968b. River adjustment to altered hydrologic regimen-Murrumbidgee River and paleochannels, Australia United States Geological Survey Professional Paper No. 598 .Google Scholar
Stocker, G.C., 1971. The age of charcoal from old jungle fowl nests and vegetation change on Melville Island Search 2 28–30.Google Scholar
Thom, B.G., Chappell, J., 1975. Holocene sea levels relative to Australia Search 6 90–93.Google Scholar
Twidale, C.R., 1972. Evolution of sand dunes in the Simpson Desert, Central Australia Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 56 77–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Andel, T.H., Heath, G.R., Moore, T.C., McGeary, D.F.R., 1967. Late Quaternary history, climate and oceanography of the Timor Sea, northwestern Australia American Journal of Science 265 737–758.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Andel, T.H., Veevers, J.J., 1967. Morphology and sediments of the Timor Sea Commonwealth Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics, Bulletin No. 83 .Google Scholar
Walker, P.H., 1962. Terrace chronology and soil formation on the south coast of New South Wales Journal of Soil Science 13 178–186.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Warner, R.F., 1972. River terrace types in the coastal valleys of New South Wales Australian Geographer 12 1–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webster, P.J., Streten, N.A., 1972. Aspects of late Quaternary climate in tropical Australasia Walker, D. Bridge and Barrier: The Natural and Cultural History of Torres Strait Department of Biogeography and Geomorphology Publication BG/3 Australian National University Canberra 39–60.Google Scholar
Williams, G.E., 1973. Late Quaternary piedmont sedimentation, soil formation and paleoclimates in arid South Australia Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie 17 102–125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, M.A.J., 1975. Late Pleistocene tropical aridity synchronous in both hemispheres? Nature (London) 253 617–618.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, P.W., McDougall, I., Powell, J.M., 1972. Aspects of the Quaternary geology of the Tari-Koroba area, Papua Journal of the Geological Society of Australia 18 333–347.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, R.L., 1964. Geomorphology of the West Kimberley area General Report on Lands of the West Kimberley Area Land Research Series CSIRO No. 9 103–118Melbourne.Google Scholar
Young, R.W., 1970. The patterns of some meandering valleys in New South Wales Australian Geographer 11 269–277.CrossRefGoogle Scholar