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Climatic Implications of Chenier Dates in Northern Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Brian G Lees  and
Annemarie Clements
Brian G Lees
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, Australian National University Canberra, ACT, Australia
Annemarie Clements
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, Australian National University Canberra, ACT, Australia
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Abstract

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The characterization of late Holocene climates in northern Australia has, in the past, been based on local investigations. This examination of the chenier record of northern Australia indicates that there has been a statistically significant regional change in conditions between 1600–2800 years bp, possibly a period of relative aridity. Support for this conclusion may be found in the vegetation record from the Atherton Tableland where numerical comparisons of dryland fossil and modern pollen spectra suggest that rainfall may have been up to 50% higher during the period 7000 to 3000 bp.

Type
Research Article
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 29 , Issue 3 , 1987 , pp. 311 - 317
Copyright
Copyright © The American Journal of Science 

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