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Date of Award
Winter 2024
Document Type
Masters Thesis
Department or Program Affiliation
Geology
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Geology
First Advisor
Clark, Douglas H., 1961-
Second Advisor
Foreman, Brady
Third Advisor
Saenger, Casey Pearce
Abstract
The sediment record from Lake Albina, the Snowy Mountains, southeastern Australia suggests significant environmental change mostly reflecting shifts in climate from the LGM through the Holocene. Immediately following deglaciation, approximately 19.4 thousand cal ky BP, Lake Albina experienced cold and/or dry conditions with minimal vegetation in the catchment. Cooler conditions persisted with a slight increase in moisture throughout the Antarctic Cold Reversal (ACR; 14.7-13 cal ky BP) aligning closest with a strengthening of the Atlantic Meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and a northward shift of the South Westerly Winds (SWW). Between 12.9-9.7 cal ky BP, Lake Albina recorded a climate reversal to warm/wet conditions supportive of vegetation growth in the catchment partially coincident with the Younger Dryas (YD; 12.9-11.5 cal ky BP) and possibly support a weakening in the AMOC and a southward shift of the SWW. During the early Holocene (9.7-7.9 cal ky BP), the Lake Albina record suggests a return to cool and/or dry conditions with minimal vegetation in the catchment. Cool and/or dry conditions were sustained at Lake Albina between 8.2-6.9 cal ky BP. The mid-Holocene (6.9-4.7 cal ky BP) shifts into a warm/wet climate with variable precipitation before a shift into a seemingly stable warm/wet climate around 4.7 cal ky BP, similar to modern day Australia. Overall, the Lake Albina record and other sediment records from the Snowy Mountains reflect similar timing of environmental change coinciding with the ACR, YD, and the onset of the Holocene and are more sensitive to an Antarctic like deglacial response.
Type
Text
Keywords
Lake Albina, Sediment Core, Multiproxy, Environmental Change, Holocene, Antarctic Cold Reversal, Younger Dryas
Publisher
Western Washington University
OCLC Number
1427204797
Subject – LCSH
Climatic changes--Australia--Snowy Mountains (N.S.W.); Lake sediments--Australia--Snowy Mountains (N.S.W.); Geology, Stratigraphic--Holocene.
Geographic Coverage
Snowy Mountains (N.S.W.)
Format
application/pdf
Genre/Form
masters theses
Language
English
Rights
Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.
Recommended Citation
Mickelson, Emma J., "Deglacial and Holocene environmental change recorded in lake sediments from the Snowy Mountains, Kosciuszko National Park, southeastern Australia" (2024). WWU Graduate School Collection. 1265.
https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet/1265