Abstract
We present a new well dated Holocene record of environmental change from Little Llangothlin Lagoon in eastern Australia derived from aquatic plant macrofossils, macroscopic charcoal flux, and sediment stratigraphy from multiple cores. Little Llangothlin was an ephemeral freshwater wetland exhibiting frequent dry phases between 9800 and 9300 calendar years before present (cal. yr BP). There was a switch to a more positive water balance after 9300 cal. yr BP, and by 8000 cal. yr BP, there was a lake that persisted until 6100 cal. yr BP. The period between 6100 and 1000 cal. yr BP was much drier, and there is no evidence for a permanent lake during this period. The Little Llangothlin record provides evidence for a wet phase during the Early to Middle Holocene (9000–6000 cal. yr BP) from the boundary region between temperate and tropical influences in eastern Australia. We propose that generally enhanced circulation after 9000 cal. yr BP explains the pattern of increasing moisture at the site at this time. The later Holocene climate at the site is consistent with other sites in south east Australia with a switch to generally drier conditions after 6000 cal. yr BP.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
