A new late Quaternary palaeohydrological record from the humid tropics of northeastern Australia

摘要

High resolution X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is presented as a robust palaeoclimatic proxy, suitable for use on Late Pleistocene to Holocene sediments located in a volcanic crater on the Atherton Tableland in northeastern Queensland, Australia. The proxy allows identification of wet and dry shifts in a complex sedimentary sequence comprised of peat, gyttja, laminated organic rich muds and fine clastic silt-rich sediments. Significant correlation is found between the XRF record and other proxies including magnetic susceptibility, humification, grain size, macrocharcoal, delta C-13 and C/N and pollen.