Browsing by Author "Rosendahl, D"

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    Environmental context for late holocene human occupation of the South Wellesley Archipelago, Gulf of Carpentaria, northern Australia
    (Elsevier, 2015-10-22) Moss, PT; Mackenzie, LL; Ulm, S; Sloss, CR; Rosendahl, D; Petherick, LM; Steinberger, L; Wallis, LA; Heijnis, H; Petchey, F; Jacobsen, GE
    A 2400 year record of environmental change is reported from a wetland on Bentinck Island in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria, northern Australia. Three phases of wetland development are identified, with a protected coastal setting from ca. 2400 to 500 years ago, transitioning into an estuarine mangrove forest from ca. 500 years ago to the 1940s, and finally to a freshwater swamp over the past +60 years. This sequence reflects the influence of falling sea-levels, development of a coastal dune barrier system, prograding shorelines, and an extreme storm (cyclone) event. In addition, there is clear evidence of the impacts that human abandonment and resettlement have on the island's fire regimes and vegetation. A dramatic increase in burning and vegetation thickening was observed after the cessation of traditional Indigenous Kaiadilt fire management practices in the 1940s, and was then reversed when people returned to the island in the 1980s. In terms of the longer context for human occupation of the South Wellesley Archipelago, it is apparent that the mangrove phase provided a stable and productive environment that was conducive for human settlement of this region over the past 1000 years. © 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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    Extended residence times for foraminifera in a marine-influenced terrestrial archaeological deposit and implications for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction
    (Elsevier, 2016-02-01) Nagel, T; Rosendahl, D; Hua, Q; Moss, PT; Sloss, CR; Petchey, F; Ulm, S
    Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating and taphonomic grading was undertaken on foraminifera preserved in the archaeological shell matrix site of Thundiy, Bentinck Island, southern Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia. Foraminifera were assigned to one of six taphonomic grades ranging from pristine to severely abraded. AMS dating demonstrates a weak relationship between preservation status and age. Foraminifera ages are inconsistent with multiple ages on marine shell from the same deposit implying significant sediment transport system residence ages (the time between death of the organism and final deposition) for foraminifera in the deposit. Results demonstrate that foraminifera cannot be assumed to be contemporary with other components of the sedimentary context in which they occur, indicating that caution is required in interpreting chronologies and palaeoenvironmental records based on foraminifera recovered from highly dynamic depositional settings. Findings point to the potential of foraminifera AMS dating of coastal archaeological deposits to contribute to evaluations of site integrity and chrono-stratigraphic analyses. © 2015, Elsevier Ltd.
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    Holocene sea-level change and coastal landscape evolution in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia
    (SAGE, 2018-09-01) Sloss, CR; Nothdurft, L; Hua, Q; O'Connor, SG; Moss, PT; Rosendahl, D; Petherick, LM; Nanson, RA; Mackenzie, LL; Sternes, A; Jacobsen, GE; Ulm, S
    A revised Holocene sea-level history for the southern Gulf of Carpentaria is presented based on new data from the South Wellesley Archipelago and age recalibration of previous research. Results confirm that rising sea levels during the most recent post-glacial marine transgression breached the Arafura Sill ca. 11,700 cal. yr BP. Sea levels continued to rise to ca. –30 m by 10,000 cal. yr BP, leading to full marine conditions. By 7700 cal. yr BP, sea-level reached present mean sea-level (PMSL) and continued to rise to an elevation of between 1.5 m and 2 m above PMSL. Sea level remained ca. + 1.5 between 7000 and 4000 cal. yr BP, followed by rapid regression to within ± 0.5 m of PMSL by ca. 3500 cal. yr BP. When placed into a wider regional context results from this study show that coastal landscape evolution in the tropical north of Australia was not only dependent on sea-level change but also show a direct correlation with Holocene climate variability. Specifically, the formation and preservation of beach-rock deposits, intertidal successions, beach and chenier ridge systems hold valuable sea-level and Holocene climate proxies that can contribute to the growing research into lower latitude Holocene sea-level and climate histories. © The Author(s) 2018
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    Holocene sea-level change and coastal landscape evolution in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia
    (International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA), 2019-07-30) Sloss, CR; Northdurft, L; Hua, Q; O'Connor, SG; Moss, PT; Rosendahl, D; Petherick, LM; Nanson, RA; Mackenzie, LL; Sternes, A; Jacobsen, GE; Ulm, S
    A Holocene sea-level history for the southern Gulf of Carpentaria has been constructed based on a review of previously published data, combined with data collected for this study from a variety of sea-level proxies. These sea-level proxies include beach ridges, claypans, mangrove swamps, fossilized in situcoral reefs, beachrock and aeolinite deposits. Results confirm that rising sea-levels during the last Post-Glacial Marine transgression beached the Arafura Sill ca. 11,700 years ago (-53 m), resulting in a change from lacustrine to a marine environment. Sea levels continued to rise to ca. -30 m by 10,000 years ago. By 7,700 cal. yr BP sea-level reached PMSL and continued to rise an elevation of between 1.5 and 2 m above present mean sea-level by 7,000 years ago. Elevated sea levels resulted in the development of raised coral reefs, beach-rock and aeolinite deposits, and the initiation of chenier plains and beach ridges. Sea-level remained ca. +1.5 m above PMSL during the Holocene highstand, accompanied by distinct phases of beach-ridge and chenier plain development. The highstand was followed by arapid regression to within ±0.5 m of PMSL by ca. 3,500 cal. yr BP. When placed into a wider regional context results from this study show thatcoastal landscape evolution in the tropical north of Australia was not only dependenton sea-level change but also show a direct correlation with Holocene climatevariability. Specifically, the formation and preservation of beach-rock deposits,intertidal successions, beach and chenier ridge systems hold valuable sea-level and Holoceneclimate proxies that can contribute to the growing research into lowerlatitude Holocene sea-level and climate histories. ©2019 The Authors.