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Environmental and Climate Change Research Group

Current Research Interests

Group Members

Current Research Interests:

Eastern Australia palaeoclimate

At Wombeyan Caves we are working with the Sydney Catchment Authority (SCA) via an ARC Linkage Project grant to reconstruct the drought history of the Sydney Basin over the last 1000 years. This involves the collection and analysis of several small, actively growing stalagmites and the monitoring of cave and aboveground microclimate, hydrology and geochemistry. We are using trace elements and stable isotopes in the stalagmites as proxies for dry and wet phases, and uranium-thorium (by MC-ICPMS at The University of Melbourne) and radiocarbon dating methods (at the Australia Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation [ANSTO]) to fix the chronology of these climatic phases. The results of this research will extend the current instrumental record of drought, providing the SCA with a more robust data set for its forecasting and hydrological modelling. The results will also provide new information on the long-term influence of ENSO and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation on eastern Australian rainfall. A related aspect of this project examines Sydney Basin flood history, and is being conducted via an ARC Linkage Industry PhD scholarship to Anna Sim. At Wombeyan and Cliefden Caves we are also investigating the longer-term regional palaeoclimatology of eastern Australia, particularly through the Last Interglacial and the Holocene. These intervals represent the last time that Earth's temperatures and sea level exceeded current values, and may provide useful insights into what we might expect under conditions of global warming.

Christmas Island palaeoclimate

We are currently investigating the rainfall history of Christmas Island over the last 850 years using a stalagmite collected in 2004. This research is being conducted by PhD student Dale Redwood and is being generously supported by Parks Australia North, The University of Newcastle and ANSTO. The research will combine high-resolution stable isotope, trace element and fluorescence geochemistry, radiometric dating, cave monitoring data and the climatology of historical rainfall patterns. An extensive monitoring program is being conducted by Mr Mick Jeffery from Parks Australia North. Lamina counting, as well as uranium-thorium and radiocarbon dating, will be used to establish the chronology of events.

Flores, Indonesia

Liang Luar Following the recent discovery of 'Hobbit' remains in Liang Bua in western Flores, a group of us led by Dr Mike Gagan (ANU) were successful with an ARC Discovery Grant application to explore the climatic history of the region during the time of human occupation and the apparent demise of Homo floresiensis. During a successful visit to the caves of western Flores in July 2006, we were able to extend an existing cave system, Liang Luar, by 1.5 km, and locate a number of excellent specimens for palaeoenvironmental investigation. PhD student Mike Griffiths will work on several of these stalagmites and explore in great detail the region's palaeoclimatology over the last 50,000 years.

Alpi Apuane, Italy

Antro del Corchia, Italy's largest cave system, is turning out to be one of the world's premier sites for speleothem-based palaeoclimate research. The research also involves Giovanni Zanchetta (University of Pisa), Dr John Hellstrom (University of Melbourne) and. The slow-growing speleothems from Corchia cave only lend themselves to long-term palaeoclimate study, but their high uranium content and great climatic sensitivity make them ideal archives for looking at past North Atlantic and Mediterranean circulation, including the timing of glacial terminations, sapropel events and Dansgaard-Oeschger events. Recent advances in uranium-lead dating have paved the way for exploring climatic change over the last million years from this site. We are also working on speleothems from other Apuane caves, which have already provided valuable data on the so-called “4.2 ka event”, which is thought to have been responsible for the collapse of the ancient Akkadian civilization in Mesopotamia.

Research student possibilities

Research opportunities for prospective PhD students are available in each of the projects listed above. Please contact Russell Drysdale for further details.

Group Members:

Name	Position	Building & Room No	Telephone	Email
Academic Staff
Dr Russell Drysdale	Lecturer in Earth Sciences	Geology GG22	4921 5749	email
Dr Phil Geary	Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science	Geology GG09	4921 6726	email
Dr Ian Goodwin	Senior Lecturer in Earth Sciences	Geology GG15	4921 8870	email
Dr Greg Hancock	Lecturer in Earth Sciences	Geology G113	4921 5090	email
Dr Janece McDonald	Conjoint Academic in Earth Sciences	Geology GG17	4921 5509	email
PhD Researchers
Mike Griffiths
Cristina Martinez
Dale Redwood
Anna Sim