U–Pb dating of calcite–aragonite layers in speleothems from hominin sites in South Africa by MC-ICP-MS     

Robyn Pickering  Jan D. Kramers  Tim Partridge  Janos Kodolanyi  Thomas Pettke 《Quaternary Geochronology》2010,5(5):544-558

Speleothems are found in association with hominin fossil-bearing cave deposits in South Africa and can be used to provide valuable chronological constraints. Such material is generally too old for U–Th dating and, although U–Pb geochronology presents a suitable alternative, bulk U concentrations are typically too low (<0.05 μg/g) to provide useful ages. For this reason, we used a simple non-invasive beta-scanner imaging screening step to identify U-rich (≥1 μg/g) domains that could be analyzed with MC-ICP-MS techniques to provide U–Pb ages. We demonstrate the technique using samples from Sterkfontein cave that exhibit infrequent <1 cm-thick layers with U concentrations ≥1 μg/g. Relict aragonite needles are found exclusively in these U-rich layers. We analyzed material from the same flowstone suite as Walker et al. (2006) and obtained a U–Pb age of ～2.3 Ma that agrees well with their estimate of 2.24 ± 0.09 Ma. We also obtained similar U–Pb (0.164 ± 0.026 to 0.200 ± 0.052 Ma) and U–Th (0.148 ± 0.003 Ma) ages for another sample exhibiting U-rich layers. We recognize that open-system behaviour during the partial transformation of aragonite to calcite is a potential problem and argue, on the basis of geochemistry and age consistencies, that recrystallization took place rapidly after speleothem formation and did not significantly affect the U–Pb ages.  相似文献   

Assessment of drought over the past two millennia using near-shore sediment cores from a Canadian boreal lake     

Heather A. Haig  Melanie V. Kingsbury  Kathleen R. Laird  Peter R. Leavitt  Robyn Laing  Brian F. Cumming 《Journal of Paleolimnology》2013,50(2):175-190

Lack of long-term studies on drought in the boreal region of northwest Ontario limits our ability to assess the vulnerability of this region to climate change. We investigated changes in diatoms, scaled chrysophytes, and sedimentary pigments in two near-shore cores from Gall Lake to infer limnological and water-level changes over the last two millennia. The two coring locations, at modern water depths of 7.5 and 11.5 m, were selected to contrast inferences for past lake level based on distance from the modern water-depth boundary between predominantly benthic and planktonic diatom assemblages in surface sediments (6.0 m). Diatom-inferred depth inferences were more variable in the core from 7.5-m water depth, consistent with the hypothesis that the greatest changes occurred at water depths closest to the benthic:planktonic boundary. Both sites revealed a pronounced drought from ~AD 950 to 1300, synchronous with the medieval climate anomaly (MCA). This finding suggests a northeast expansion of the arid MCA into northwest Ontario, extending the known spatial extent of this megadrought. Scaled chrysophytes and sedimentary pigments suggest a recent increase in thermal stratification. Our findings indicate this region is more susceptible to changes in moisture than was previously suspected based on the instrumental record for the past century.  相似文献   

Re‐analysis of key evidence in the case for a hemispherically synchronous response to the Younger Dryas climatic event     

Helen Green  Jon Woodhead  John Hellstrom  Robyn Pickering  Russell Drysdale 《第四纪科学杂志》2013,28(2):216-216

  相似文献   

Ecometrics and the paleoecological implications of Pleistocene faunas from the western coastal plains of the Cape Floristic Region,South Africa     

J. Tyler Faith  David R. Braun  Benjamin Davies  Larisa R. G. DeSantis  Matthew J. Douglass  Irene Esteban  Vincent Hare  Naomi E. Levin  Julie Luyt  Robyn Pickering  Mitchell J. Power  Judith Sealy  Deano Stynder 《第四纪科学杂志》2020,35(8):1007-1020

The Pleistocene ungulate communities from the western coastal plains of South Africa's Cape Floristic Region (CFR) are diverse and dominated by grazers, in contrast to the region's Holocene and historical faunas, which are relatively species-poor and dominated by small-bodied browsers and mixed feeders. An expansion of grassy habitats is clearly implied by the Pleistocene faunas, but the presence of ruminant grazers that cannot survive the summer dry season typical of the region today suggests other important paleoecological changes. Here we use dental ecometrics to explore the paleoecological implications of the region's Pleistocene faunas. We show that the dental traits (hypsodonty and occlusal topography) of the ungulates that occurred historically in the CFR track annual and summer aridity, and we use these relationships to reconstruct past aridity. Our results indicate that the Pleistocene faunas signal paleoenvironments that were on average less arid than today, including during the summer, consistent with other lines of evidence that suggest a higher water table and expansion of well-watered habitats. Greater water availability can be explained by lower temperature and reduced evapotranspiration during cooler phases of the Pleistocene, probably coupled with enhanced groundwater recharge due to increased winter precipitation.  相似文献   

Microbial remains in some earliest Earth rocks: Comparison with a potential modern analogue   总被引：1，自引：1，他引：0  

Miryam Glikson  Lawrence J. Duck  Suzanne D. Golding  Axel Hofmann  Robert Bolhar  Robyn Webb  Justice C.F. Baiano  Lindsay I. Sly 《Precambrian Research》2008,164(3-4):187-200

Carbonaceous matter (CM) from ca. 3.5 Ga hydrothermal black cherts of the Pilbara Craton of Western Australia and the Barberton Greenstone Belt of South Africa yielded transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images that are suggestive of microbial remains and possible remnants of microbial cell walls. These are compared to a potential modern analogue, the hyperthermophilic Methanocaldococcus jannaschii, derived from an active seafloor hydrothermal environment and cultured under similar conditions. A striking resemblance to the early Archaean forms was evident in wall structure and thermal degradation mode. Cell disintegration of the cultures occurred at 100 °C marking the limits of life. Complete disintegration, deformation and shrinkage occurred at 132 °C. A multidisciplinary approach to the characterisation of the CM was undertaken using organic petrology, TEM coupled with electron dispersive spectral analysis (EDS), high resolution TEM (HRTEM) to determine molecular ordering, and elemental and carbon isotope geochemistry. Reflectance measurements of the CM to determine thermal stress yielded a range of values corresponding to several populations, and pointing to different sources and processes. The δ¹³C values of Dresser Formation CM (−36.5 to −32.1‰) are negatively correlated with TOC (0.13–0.75%) and positively correlated with C/N ratio (134–569), which is interpreted to reflect the relative abundance of high R_o/oxidised/recycled CM and preferential loss of ¹²C and N during thermal maturation. TEM observations, inferred carbon isotopic heterogeneity and isotope fractionations of −27 to −32‰ are consistent with the activity of chemosynthetic microbes in a seafloor hydrothermal system where rapid silicification at relatively low temperature preserved the CM.  相似文献   

Farmer’s intended and actual adoption of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies     

Meredith T. Niles  Margaret Brown  Robyn Dynes 《Climatic change》2016,135(2):277-295

  相似文献   

Re‐analysis of key evidence in the case for a hemispherically synchronous response to the Younger Dryas climatic event     

Helen Green  Jon Woodhead  John Hellstrom  Robyn Pickering  Russell Drysdale 《第四纪科学杂志》2013,28(1):8-12

A south‐east Australian speleothem stable isotope record displaying an apparent cooling synchronous with the northern hemisphere Younger Dryas climate event (12.9–11.7 ka) has significantly influenced scientific thinking on the climatic response of the southern hemisphere following the Last Glacial Maximum. This is one of very few records displaying such a response, and yet the cooling was inferred from substantial extrapolation between just three uranium‐series ages. Technological advances since then have produced major improvements in both the spatial resolution and the accuracy of uranium‐series geochronologies. Re‐analysis of this sample has yielded ages of 7.96 ± 0.36 to 7.69 ± 0.33 ka for the interval previously inferred to span the Younger Dryas, and reveals a substantial hiatus in deposition from 6.93 ± 0.64 to 1.83 ± 0.16 ka. These data not only refute the original evidence for an inter‐hemispheric synchroneity of the Younger Dryas but also reject any evidence for neoglacial conditions at 3 ka. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

By-roads and hidden treasures: mapping cultural assets in regional Australia     

Robyn Creagh 《The Australian geographer》2017,48(3):422-424

  相似文献   

Exploring Human Geography: An Introductory Reader     

Robyn Longhurst 《New Zealand geographer》1998,54(1):62-63

  相似文献   

The use of regional and alluvial groundwater by riparian trees in the wet-dry tropics of northern Australia     

Caroline A. Canham  Clément Duvert  Leah S. Beesley  Michael M. Douglas  Samantha A. Setterfield  Fiona L. Freestone  Steven Clohessy  Robyn C. Loomes 《水文研究》2021,35(5):e14180

Riparian trees play a critical role in the ecological function of rivers, yet are threatened by anthropogenic change to the hydrological cycle. Identifying the sources of water used by riparian trees can inform sustainable water policy. We used isotopic analysis complemented by measurements of plant water relations to assess water sources for riparian trees at two sites with contrasting hydrogeological processes; one with an alluvial aquifer overlaying an aquitard, and one where fault-induced preferential pathways in the aquitard allowed the flow of deeper, older groundwater from a regional aquifer to the alluvium. At both sites, plant water potential, stomatal conductance, and plant water isotope composition in the xylem sap of riparian trees were collected from two landscape positions, the riverbank and floodplain. We used a Bayesian mixing model (MixSIAR) to assess differences in the proportion of water sources for sites and landscape positions. We found that xylem water isotope values differed between the two sites in line with their hydrogeological characteristics, with trees at the regional aquifer site using water sourced from the regional groundwater and trees at the site with only an alluvial aquifer present using a mixture of water sources, with no dominant source identified. Higher plant predawn water potential values at the regional site indicated greater water availability and support the inference that plants were using more groundwater at the regional site compared to the alluvial site. Trees closer to the river had higher isotope values, indicative of surficial water sources i.e. shallow soil water and river water. Our findings show that the water sources used by riparian trees reflect local hydrogeology and resource availability. Water managers should identify and protect plant water sources to ensure maintenance of riparian trees.  相似文献