Geochemical and stratigraphic evidence of environmental change at Lynchʹs Crater, Queensland, Australia

This is one of the first applications of geochemical proxies to define changes in vegetation, hydrology and atmospheric dust influence on a peat deposit in the southern hemisphere. A 6.6 m deep peat record from Lynchʹs Crater in NE-Queensland, Australia, provides a sensitive 5000 to 30,000 cal years BP archive of environmental change. The deposit consists of 1.5 m of ombrotrophic peat underlain by a minerotrophic peat. Within the minerotrophic section, sponge spicules and diatom fragments offer evidence of prolonged flooding of the peat environment resulting in several layers containing (up to 50%) high inorganic material. The Ca and Mg data display episodes of enhanced dust influx and nutrient recycling and support previous palynological studies that show a Pleistocene to Holocene switch from sclerophyll woodlands to rainforest vegetation.