65,000 Years of Vegetation Change in Central Australia and the Australian Summer Monsoon

Carbon isotopes in fossil emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) eggshell from Lake Eyre, South Australia, demonstrate that the relative abundance of C$_4$ grasses varied substantially during the past 65,000 years. Currently, C$_4$ grasses are more abundant in regions that are increasingly affected by warm-...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1999-05, Vol.284 (5417), p.1150-1152
Main Authors: Johnson, B. J., Miller, G. H., Fogel, M. L., Magee, J. W., Gagan, M. K., Chivas, A. R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Australia
Climate models
Diet
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Eggshells
Emus
Exact sciences and technology
Fossils
Grasses
Isotopes
Marine and continental quaternary
Monsoons
Precipitation
Prehistoric era
Rainy seasons
Summer
Surficial geology
Vegetation
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Carbon isotopes in fossil emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) eggshell from Lake Eyre, South Australia, demonstrate that the relative abundance of C$_4$ grasses varied substantially during the past 65,000 years. Currently, C$_4$ grasses are more abundant in regions that are increasingly affected by warm-season precipitation. Thus, an expansion of C$_4$ grasses likely reflects an increase in the relative effectiveness of the Australian summer monsoon, which controls summer precipitation over Lake Eyre. The data imply that the Australian monsoon was most effective between 45,000 and 65,000 years ago, least effective during the Last Glacial Maximum, and moderately effective during the Holocene.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.284.5417.1150