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Abstract Over the last four decades of palaeoclimate research, significant emphasis has been placed on the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) spanning 26.5–19 thousand years ago (ka), a period that saw significant (∼125 m) sea-level reductions and major ice caps adorning large parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Here, we present evidence for another major glacial period spanning 71–59 ka (Marine Isotope Stage 4: MIS4) from a well-dated marine sequence offshore South Australia. The astronomically-tuned chronology of this deep-sea core is confirmed using single-grain optically stimulated luminescence dating (OSL), providing confidence in our high-resolution age model. Our approach to the study of our MD03-2607 core has been to employ many different proxies. These are: δ18O of both planktic and benthic foraminifera for stratigraphic purposes, faunal counts of planktonic foraminifera to reconstruct the position of oceanic fronts and currents, alkenone palaeothermometry, XRF core scanning to determine the presence of aeolian dust, and εNd isotope to identify fluvial discharge over the core site. We compare our new proxy findings with other archives for mainland Australia and Tasmania. Our multi-proxy palaeoclimate reconstructions are consistent with other marine, terrestrial and cryosphere archives across the Southern Hemisphere and suggest, for the first time, that MIS 4 was almost as dramatic as the LGM. During MIS4, global sea-level was reduced by ∼100 m, glaciers across Australasia were more significant compared to the LGM, and sea-surface temperatures were much reduced. These glacial conditions uniformly peaked around 65 ka. Global comparisons show major glacial conditions and vegetation shifts elsewhere during MIS4, but many are poorly dated. The significant environmental changes taking place during this glacial period were paralleled by waves of human dispersal across Eurasia and the earliest evidence of human occupation in northern Australia at 65 ka. Highlights • MIS4 was a major glacial period between 71 and 59 ka in the Southern Hemisphere. • Glacial conditions peaked at 65 ka, sea level dropped ∼100 m and SST dropped ∼5 °C. • Glaciers In New Zealand, Australia and Papua New Guinea were more pronounced at MIS4. • Multiproxy data confirm significant oceanic frontal changes offshore South Australia. • The deuterium excess change implies higher moisture reaching Antarctica during MIS4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-resolution clay mineral assemblages and siliciclastic grain-size records were collected from the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) high sedimentation Site U1483 off the Scott Plateau of the northwest Australian margin and studied to identify the clay mineral sources, transport processes, and ocean current behavior, as well as to evaluate the Australian summer monsoon over the last 410 kyr. Clay minerals are primarily composed of smectite (41–70%), followed by kaolinite (10–28%), illite (13.5–25%), and trace chlorite (3–14%). The provenance study revealed that the primary sources of clay minerals at Site U1483 are the Victoria and Ord rivers in northwest Australia. Smectite is mainly derived from the mafic volcanic and smectite-rich Bonaparte Gulf, whereas kaolinite and illite are primarily derived from felsic igneous and metamorphic rocks, respectively, found in the drainage areas of these rivers. Chlorite is primarily contributed by the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF), with a minor contribution from the northwest Australian rivers. Variations in the clay mineral assemblages and grain-size records indicate strong glacial–interglacial cyclicity, with small grain sizes, high smectite content, and low kaolinite and illite content during glacial periods. During interglacial periods, grain size, kaolinite, and illite percentages increase. Smectite is the dominant clay mineral during both the glacial and interglacial periods. (Kaolinite + illite + chlorite)/smectite and kaolinite/smectite ratios are adopted as proxies for the Leeuwin Current strength and the Australian summer monsoon, respectively. During glacial periods, low kaolinite/smectite and (kaolinite + illite + chlorite)/smectite ratios indicate a weak summer monsoon, resulting in low river discharge and a weak Leeuwin Current, which can transport small smectite-sized sediments to the core location. High kaolinite/smectite and (kaolinite + illite + chlorite)/smectite ratios during interglacial periods correspond to intense Australian monsoons and a strong ITF and Leeuwin Current, which contributed relatively more kaolinite and illite than during glacial periods. The proxy records' spectral analysis indicates a strong eccentricity period of 100-kyr, an obliquity period of 41-kyr, and a precession period of 23-kyr, implying that the clay mineral input along the northwest Australian margin is influenced by both high-latitude ice sheet forcing and low-latitude tropical processes. • Victoria and Ord Rivers have contributed clay minerals to the location of Site U1483 off northwest Australian margin. • The ITF, Leeuwin Current, and the Australian monsoon were weak during glacials while relatively strong during interglacials. • Terrigenous input has been controlled by ocean current strength, sea-level oscillation, and the Australian summer monsoon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Australia/New Zealand region of the Southern Ocean is influenced by several of the major global water masses of the oceans and is the prime entry point for cold deep waters into the Pacific basin. During the last glacial there was increased sea-ice extent around Antarctica (as far north as 55°S), as well as increased iceberg presence inferred from ice-rafted debris. Evidence from microfossil assemblages suggests that sea surface temperatures (SST) were up to 7 °C cooler, consistent with recent estimates of cooling for New Zealand derived from glacier modelling and other terrestrial proxies. The Subtropical Front (STF), Subantarctic Front (SAF) and Polar Front (PF) had migrated north, except where the position of the fronts were controlled bathymetrically. Despite the potential for iron fertilisation by increased dust input into the ocean during the glacial, there is limited evidence for higher total biological productivity in the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean. The altered oceanic circulation during the glacial also decreased nutrients in the surface waters and affected the outgassing of CO2. This contributed to an increased storage of CO2 in the deep waters and lowering of the carbonate lysocline. During the deglaciation, sea-ice retreat and SST increased rapidly at ∼18 ka, roughly synchronous with the reinvigoration of deep water circulation in the Southern Ocean and the release of CO2 stored in the deep waters. The gradient in carbon isotopes (δ13Cbenthic) between Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) and lower Circumpolar Deep Water (LCDW) was greatest at the start of the deglaciation, suggesting that the AAIW ventilation preceded LCDW ventilation, or there was a significant change in air-sea fractionation of δ13C. There was a slight enrichment in δ18Oplanktic, decrease in SSTs and a reduction in intermediate and deep water circulation between ∼14 and 12.5 ka BP during the Antarctic Cold Reversal (ACR), coincident with glacier advances in the New Zealand Southern Alps and other terrestrial records of cooling. Following the ACR, there was a second, more minor, release of deep water CO2, most likely related to reinvigoration of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW). From 10 ka onwards the modern intermediate and deep water circulation was established. Air temperatures and SSTs reached a maximum in the early Holocene, with the STF located at its most southerly position, and there was a widespread retreat of Antarctic ice sheets to their modern position. A decline to modern SST and air temperatures in the mid to late Holocene followed. While millennial cycles overprinted on the SST and δ18Oplanktic records, may be the result of subtle changes in the position and strength of the westerly winds during the Holocene. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Recent studies of the Last Glacial period Indo-Australian summer monsoon (IASM) have revealed links to both northern and southern hemisphere high latitude climate as well as to regional ocean conditions. Particular interest has been paid to the monsoon response to Heinrich events, with variability explained by meridional shifts in positioning of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ), but this model has not been adequately tested. In addition, the shorter-lived Dansgaard/Oeschger (D/O) events have not been detected (beyond D/O-1, the Bølling/Allerød) in land-based records from the Indo-Pacific, despite their prominent expression in stalagmites from southern Asia, raising questions about the sensitivity of the IASM to these events. Here we present a Southern Hemisphere stalagmite oxygen isotopic time series from Ball Gown Cave (BGC), tropical northern Australia, located on the margins of the modern austral summer ITCZ, that spans 40–31 and 27–8 ka. Elevated IASM rainfall coincides with Heinrich stadials and the Younger Dryas, while decreased rainfall characterizes D/O interstadials, a response that is anti-phased with sites spanning the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool and with Chinese records of the East Asian summer monsoon. The BGC time series thus reveals a precipitation dipole consistent with a southward (northward) migration of the ITCZ during periods of high northern latitude cooling (warming) as the primary driver of millennial-scale IASM variability during the Last Glacial period. Our record indicates a strengthening of the IASM after the Younger Dryas period, likely as a result of rising sea level and sea surface temperatures, breaking the link with the high latitudes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A total of 20 morphological types of microbially induced sedimentary structures (MISS) are recognized from the late Neoproterozoic tillite-bearing successions of the Kimberley, northwestern Australia which include alpha-petees, triradiate cracks, multidirectional linear ridges, millimeter ripples, erosional remnants and pockets and so on. Of these, triradiate cracks, multidirectional linear ridges, and millimeter ripples are reported for the first time from the Neoproterozoic worldwide. Most Kimberley MISS are morphologically comparable with their ancient and present-day counterparts whose biogenicity have been well demonstrated. In the Kimberley, during the interglacial period MISS have colonization preference to relatively coarse sandy substrates (Ranford Formation) and their abundance decreased towards the younger strata (Throssell Shale). In contrast, MISS abundance increased from the older strata (Yurabi Formation) towards the younger strata (Flat Rock Formation) during the postglacial period. However, overall, both MISS abundance and bedding plane coverage percentage increased from the Marinoan-younger Marinoan/Gaskiers interglacial successions to younger Marinoan/Gaskiers postglacial successions, indicating a proliferation of microbial mats after the younger Marinoan/Gaskiers glaciation. The increase of microbial mats could have ameliorated marine biogeochemical conditions and ecosystems, and thus laid the foundation for the rise of Ediacaran biota in Australian basins. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: New geochemical data from two continental-scale soil surveys in Europe and Australia are compared. Internal project standards were exchanged to assess comparability of analytical results. The total concentration of 26 oxides/elements (Al2O3, As, Ba, CaO, Ce, Co, Cr, Fe2O3, Ga, K2O, MgO, MnO, Na2O, Nb, Ni, P2O5, Pb, Rb, SiO2, Sr, Th, TiO2, V, Y, Zn, and Zr), Loss On Ignition (LOI) and pH are demonstrated to be comparable. Additionally, directly comparable data for 14 elements in an aqua regia extraction (Ag, As, Bi, Cd, Ce, Co, Cs, Cu, Fe, La, Li, Mn, Mo, and Pb) are provided for both continents. Median soil compositions are close, though generally Australian soils are depleted in all elements with the exception of SiO2 and Zr. This is interpreted to reflect the generally longer and, in places, more intense weathering in Australia. Calculation of the Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA) gives a median value of 72% for Australia compared to 60% for Europe. Element concentrations vary over 3 (and up to 5) orders of magnitude. Several elements (total As and Ni; aqua regia As, Co, Bi, Li, Pb) have a lower element concentration by a factor of 2–3 in the soils of northern Europe compared to southern Europe. The break in concentration coincides with the maximum extent of the last glaciation. The younger soils of northern Europe are more similar to the Australian soils than the older soils from southern Europe. In Australia, the central region with especially high SiO2 concentrations is commonly depleted in many elements. The new data define the natural background variation for two continents on both hemispheres based on real data. Judging from the experience of these two continental surveys, it can be concluded that analytical quality is the key requirement for the success of global geochemical mapping. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: New specimens of the enigmatic Ediacara-type fossil Palaeopascichnus have been identified from the upper part of the Neoproterozoic Ranford Formation in the Kimberley region, northwest Australia. New material is morphologically similar to Palaeopascichnus and represents the largest species of this genus. They resemble the present-day xenophyophore protists in chamber morphology and growth patterns, supporting the interpretation that Palaeopascichnus is possibly a xenophyophore body fossil rather than a trace fossil. Stratigraphic correlation reveals that the new Palaeopascichnus specimens are preserved in the interglacial successions between the Landrigan/Marinoan and Egan/Ediacaran glaciations. If correlation with the early Ediacaran formations of South Australia is accepted, this represents the earliest known identifiable member of the Ediacara biota. New fossil record fills the evolutionary gap between the Cryogenian and Ediacaran animal assemblages and well-known Ediacaran biota. The new Palaeopascichnus specimens represent the first record of Ediacara-type fossils in Kimberley, and suggest the probability that additional Ediacaran fossils may be found in northwestern Australia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Facies, provenance and palaeocurrent analysis of the predominantly siliciclastic Neoproterozoic succession of the east Kimberley district of northwestern Australia indicates southwesterly-directed regional palaeoice-flow directions associated with continental glaciation. Facies relationships at three key study sites in the east Kimberley record glacial advance, retreat and marine transgression and the likely effects of ice dynamics on local basin depositional history. Ice-scour linked with provenance data indicate ice advance from the northeast. Additional ice-flow data from the west Kimberley and the Daly River area of Northern Territory are consistent and record a regional palaeoice-flow direction towards the southwest. Palaeocurrent data and facies relationships in the east Kimberley, however, suggest that sediment transport directions within the east Kimberley basin were influenced by a combination of ice-induced lithospheric flexure, pre-existing topography and modification of basin topography and sediment dispersal paths by ice-induced redistribution of debris. A basin evolution model incorporating these concepts within the framework of ice advance, retreat and marine inundation is proposed. Identification of regional ice-flow trends of this scale should ultimately prove a useful tool in testing possible palaeogeographic reconstructions of continent configurations in a post-Rodinian world. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Up to the 1950s, the Precambrian was regarded as unrewardingly unfossiliferous, records of fossils being isolated, few in number and dubious. The change came with the discovery by Reg Sprigg of body fossils in latest Proterozoic sediments in South Australia. Although there had been descriptions of isolated fossils (now recognised as Ediacaran) from rocks of this age in the nineteenth century and at the start of the twentieth century, in Newfoundland and Namibia, respectively, the Ediacara finds stimulated researches and now, at the start of the twenty-first century, diversified fossil assemblages are known, all over the world, from the period 600–543 Ma, known formerly as the Vendian and now officially as the Ediacaran. In this account, a brief description of the history of these finds is given, followed by descriptions of the most important provinces [South Australia, Leicestershire, Namibia, Russia (Podolia, the White Sea Coast, Urals and Siberia), Newfoundland (Avalon Peninsula) and Northwest Canada]: then of 27 other known occurrences of this dominantly soft-bodied and perplexing fauna(?)–it seems certain that some, at least of the fossils, are animal fossils, although some, even the greater part, could be a unique form of life, not animals or plants (“Vendobionta”). These descriptions, derived in the course of a literature search lasting over a year, are followed by discussions of important special aspects: trace fossils; geochronology and correlation; geotectonics; glaciation (the “Snowball Earth” concept applied to the Varangian/Laplandian/Marinoan glaciation, which ushered in this last subdivision of the Proterozoic); the evidence for Ediacaran and other life forms existing in the Proterozoic prior to its last, Ediacaran, chronological subdivison; the Vendozoa concept. The last section consists of short summary of conclusions. This text essentially constitutes an objective record of what has been published to 2005 on the Ediacaran System. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The bathyal Ocean Drilling Program Site 765 at 5725 m water depth, offshore northwest Australia at 16°S is directly under the influence of the Australian monsoon during the Austral summer and is the recipient of continental dust during the Austral winter. It is downstream of the Indonesian Throughflow, which is a major arm of the global thermohaline circulation. As such it is ideally situated to record the climate and oceanic consequences of Quaternary climate variability. Despite being over 400 km from northwest Australia, palynomorphs (pollen and spores) are relatively common in this section, sourced via aeolian (during the dry winter) and benthic transportation processes and sediment plumes (during the summer monsoon). Detailed palynological analyses of this flora in the upper part of this core reveals intermittent snap shots of environmental and climate change over the last 300 kyrs. Interglacial stages are interpreted to be characterised by palynomorph-rich turbidite and calcareous ooze deposition whereas palynomorph-poor slowly accumulating siliceous oozes (deposited below the Calcium Carbonate Compensation Depth) are present during glacials. The dominance of Poaceae sourced from the Australian mainland in interglacial periods suggests that vegetation during these periods was similar to today. Interglacial palynofloral assemblages suggest a more intense wet season (Australian monsoon) with higher rainfall that allowed more active erosion and deposition onto the shelf. The presence of Indonesian sourced pollen and fern spore taxa, as well as warm water dinoflagellate species suggest enhanced Leeuwin Current and monsoonal intensity during interglacials times. The youngest part of the core is dominated by siliceous ooze, likely deposited during the Last Glacial Maximum and the early Holocene. The lack of calcareous ooze near the top of the core is likely caused by Holocene to Recent erosive processes or core disturbance. The presence of common charcoal in all samples over the last 300 kyrs shows that fire was a constant feature of the landscape in northwest Australia prior to human occupation of the region 65,000 years ago. • Palynomorphs in bathyal ODP Site 765 record 300kys of Quaternary climate variability. • Fossil palynomorphs are sourced via dry season aeolian or monsoonal sediment plumes. • Interglacials are turbidites/calcareous oozes whereas glacials are siliceous oozes. • Poaceae from Australia dominated interglacials due to an enhanced Australian Monsoon. • Common charcoal shows fire was a constant landscape feature prior to human occupation 65,000kyrs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lake sediment archives covering several glacial cycles are scarce in the Southern Hemisphere and they are challenging to date. Here we present the chronostratigraphy of the oldest continuous lake sediment archive in Tasmania, Australia; a 5.5 m and 270 ka (Marine Isotope Stage 8) sediment core from Lake Selina. We employ radiometric dating (radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence) and relative dating (geomagnetic and climate comparisons). Bayesian modeling of the radiometric ages reaches back to 80 ka (1.7 m) and relative dating using a dynamic programing algorithm allows dating of the full sequence. Elemental data, magnetic properties and beryllium isotopes from Lake Selina reveal a close fit to Antarctic ice core climate proxies. Weaker correlation during the Last Glacial Period (MIS 2–4) is attributed to additional local factors impacting Lake Selina proxies at a time of climate changes and human arrival into Tasmania. Over that period, full vector paleomagnetic records and authigenic 10Be/9Be ratios are combined to identify the Laschamp geomagnetic excursion for the first time in Australia and constrain the chronology. The multi-method approach provides two preferred age models, indiscernible within their uncertainties, which allows the use of a geomagnetic dipole-independent (full archive) or a climate-independent (111 ka to present) age model. • Chronostratigraphy of a 266 ± 8 ka continuous lake sediment archive from Australia. • We combine radiometric (14C, OSL) and relative dating (geomagnetic and climatic). • Bayesian modeling and dynamic programing integrate dating constraints. • First identification of the Laschamp geomagnetic excursion in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Quaternary is well known for being a period of the geological record that saw significant and alternating climatic fluctuations. Here, we concentrate on the last 94 millennia that saw Australia and its surrounding seas undergo significant environmental changes. Importantly also it is during that this period of time includes the arrival and settlement of humans in Australia. Following on from Marine Isotopic Stage 4 (MIS4) that saw, over the period of 71-59 ka BP, a significant eustatic sea level drop (∼100 m), low sea-surface temperatures as well as glacial conditions on land, Australia experienced wet conditions again, but eventually progressively entered into a glacial phase. By then, humans had arrived on this large continent and later the megafauna progressively became extinct. This paper describes in detail the climate over this period, based principally on the high-resolution record of two marine sediment cores located offshore of the southern Australian margin, and that are then compared with known events on land as well as other deep-sea cores. Particular emphasis is placed on the period that spans the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the extent of which thus far had been poorly defined in the Australian region. Emphasis is placed on the period from 34 to 14 ka to demonstrate that (1) the LGM, defined here as the period 24 to 18 ka, was not always extremely dry and cold, and (2) that people were able to live in inland Australia as water existed in places, despite generally cold conditions. We also show using a series of ten maps - at 2 ka intervals over the 34-14 ka period - the waxing and waning of oceanic fronts such as the Subtropical and Subantarctic Fronts, link sea-surface temperatures (SST) with periods of glacial expansion in the Australian Alps and Tasmania, as well as the South Island of New Zealand, and the extent of the Leeuwin Current down to south of Australia. Aeolian dust was transported at sea over the main core site from ∼26 to 18 ka period, pointing to arid conditions in Australia, but this period was punctuated by two significant reductions in dust transport to both core sites, coinciding with a retreat of the Subantarctic Front away from the Australian southern coastline, and slight SST shifts for a few centuries at ∼24 and 22-21 ka BP. At the peak of the cold phase, from 23 to 18.4 ka, summer SST were of the order of 9 °C below that experienced during the middle of the Holocene at about 6 ka BP. A similar temperature drop was also experienced offshore the northwestern corner of Western Australia. Periglacial activity dates for the Australian mainland and Tasmania pool around ∼22 ka. On either side of the 24 ka event, the chain of lakes in the Willandra Lakes retained water and human activity was registered in the area. Elsewhere in Australia, water was present to sustain human populations during the cold and dry times. It is postulated here that northern Australia was at times quite wet, especially during MIS4. The cessation of the LGM is set on 18.4 ka from offshore southern Australia as confirmed for the deep-sea cores by several proxies, and more likely at 18 ka inland. Finally, we document that it took two millennia for "glacial" conditions to end in the Australian region as registered in our deep-sea core records, well after the lowest global sea level ∼20.6 and 20 ka, respectively, started to rise. There is also evidence of another very cold period determined on the Australian mainland, Tasmania and the South Island of New Zealand centred around 27 ka, after which time warmer conditions occurred before the start of the LGM. This is matched with our deep-sea records with very cold conditions and changes in oceanographic conditions. • 2 deep-sea cores provide information on the waxing and waning of oceanic fronts south of Australia. • The Last Glacial Maximum for the Australian region spans 24-18 ka. • 10 maps detail conditions in the Australian region spaning the period 34–14 ka. • Environmental conditions for MIS2 & MIS4 are compared in great detail in the cores. • Australia was arid and cold during the LGM but there was water to support human occupation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple stable isotope investigations from upper Eocene to lower Oligocene deep-water marine sequences record the transition from global greenhouse to the icehouse conditions (Oi-1 glacial). While Southern Ocean high latitude deep sea records of this transition are well known, their shallow marine equivalents are rare and have the potential to record the eustatic and oceanic consequences of Paleogene glacial variability. The well-known high paleolatitude (~55°S) neritic carbonate sequence at Browns Creek and Castle Cove in the Otway Basin in southeast Australia spans the Eocene-Oligocene boundary. During this time the area lay on the northeastern margin of the Australo-Antarctic Gulf facing the evolving Southern Ocean. The importance of this record has been hampered by a lack of a consistent stratigraphy and contradictory microfossil interpretations. To reconcile these issues we combine new bio-, chemo- and lithostratigraphic analyses of the outcrops and a new core (Colac-2) with pre-existing data to revise the stratigraphy. This confirms the middle/upper Eocene boundary is near the base of the section. The overlying upper Eocene siliciclastic strata are truncated by an unconformity (of ~0.8 Ma in duration) and overlain by glauconitic sand (the Notrostrea greensand) deposited after ~35.9 Ma. Subsequently deepening to middle to outer neritic depths deposited cyclic carbonates. Shallowing after ~35 Ma deposited laterally variable calcareous siliciclastic facies. These strata were tilted and eroded prior to 34 Ma leading to shallow water facies that may have been subaerially exposed during uplift. Brachiopod strontium isotope dates and an 0.5‰ carbon isotope excursion above this unconformity suggests the top of the Browns Creek and the base of the Castle Cove section correlate to Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT-1) at ~34 Ma. The subsequent persistence of positive C/O isotope values above this level records the transition to the Oi-1 glaciation at ~33.7 Ma. Strong cyclicity in the inner shelf Castle Cove limestone is interpreted to record the commencement of obliquity dominated glacio-eustacy during the Oi-1 glacial phase. The shallowing from outer to inner shelf palaeodepths from the late Eocene to the early Oligocene is likely related to the onset of cryosphere expansion, however, palaeodepth estimates are complicated by the onset of regional compressional tectonism at the Eocene/Oligocene boundary that caused localized tilting and an unconformity with possible antisiphoning effects in this near-field site. • High paleolatitude records of Oi-1are rare and usually identified in deep sea sediments. • We describe a shelfal record of the Eocene-Oligocene Transition in south Australia. • The sequence records strong evidence for 41kyr obliquity during the Oi-1 glaciation. • A 41kyr obliquity driver for Oi-1 has previous been demonstrated only in isotope data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new fossil paracypridine ostracod, Tasmanocypris lochardi sp.nov. is described from late Miocene shallow marine strata of southeastern Australia. It has morphological features similar to a number of modern southern Australian and southwest African Tasmanocypris species, here termed the dartnalli -group. This species group was likely present in early Cenozoic temperate, shallow seas around Antarctica. The first appearance of Tasmanocypris lochardi in late Miocene marine strata of the Bass Strait hinterland of SE Australia, equates to a late Miocene (9–7 Ma) intensification and northward latitudinal shift of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). Late Miocene occurrences of Tasmanocypris lochardi in southeast Australia were likely associated with temperate eastward flows of the ACC north of the Subantarctic Front. During the early Pliocene, the warm Zeehan Current (aka Leeuwin Current) replaced the ACC as the dominant easterly flowing current across Bass Strait, and this 4.4 Ma palaeoceanographical event correlates with the temporary, but widespread disappearance of T. lochardi from southeast Australian marine waters. However, the presence of refugia populations of T. lochardi along the east Australian continental shelf between 4.4 and 3.4 Ma, likely enabled the brief re-establishment of T. lochardi in the east of Bass Strait during the late Pliocene (3.2–3.0 Ma). Tasmanocypris lochardi became permanently extinct in this region during the latest Pliocene to early Pleistocene (< 2.6 Ma), broadly correlating with the onset of the global Quaternary glaciation, and inception of the cold Bass Cascade winter current within Bass Strait. • Miocene influence of Antarctic Circumpolar Current in Bass Strait, SE Australia. • Taxonomic clarification of the ostracod genus Tasmanocypris. • Rafting of shallow marine ostracods via the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. • Ostracods as proxies for mapping changes in surface ocean currents through time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Upper Paleozoic glacial conglomerates in the Lhasa Terrane contain tonalitic clasts. • Isotopic and geochemical data indicate an Australian provenance for these clasts. • The Lhasa Terrane was close to Australia during the Paleozoic. Paleogeographic reconstructions of the Lhasa Terrane of the southern Tibetan Plateau are uncertain in Paleozoic, and investigating the paleogeographic location of the terrane via the current geographical configuration is difficult. However, gravels contained within glacial sediments offer an opportunity to solve this problem. The Lagar Formation in the central Lhasa sub–Terrane contains glacial–marine deposits that incorporate gravel clasts composed of granitoids, sandstone, quartzite, limestone, and rhyolite. These diamictites were derived from continental glaciation and were deposited mainly near a grounding line or ice front in littoral–neritic to neritic environments. We present new zircon U–Pb isotopic and whole-rock geochemical data for the tonalitic conglomerates of the Lagar Formation. The results indicate that the tonalites crystallized during the Paleoproterozoic (~1.76 Ga) and show a geochemical affinity with I-type granite. The tonalites typically have negative Eu anomalies (δEu = 0.31–0.37), high concentrations of rare-earth elements, depletion in high-field-strength elements, enrichment in Th, marked positive zircon ε Hf (t) values (6.46–14.68), ε Nd (t) values of −1.24 to +1.76, and T DM 2 ages of 2.37–2.13 Ga. All of these data indicate that the tonalites were produced by the partial melting of modified mafic crust or underplate in a subduction-related environment. On the basis of a comprehensive analysis of all 1.8–1.7 Ga magmatism in east Gondwana, we propose that the most likely provenance of the tonalitic conglomerates is southern Arunta and Mt. Isa in northern Australia. Therefore, the central Lhasa sub–Terrane may have been located near Australia during the Paleozoic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The luminescence characteristics and age estimates of nine samples of aeolian quartz are reported from the Southwood B section in the Arve Valley of southern Tasmania, Australia. New OSL and TT-OSL ages obtained from the deepest Tasmanian aeolian section found so far, the Southwood B section (>6 m deep), range from 20 ka (MIS 2) to 180 ka (MIS 6). Here we test two previously published TT-OSL protocols on our samples: the protocol of Brown and Forman (2012) and a protocol modified from Stevens et al. (2009). Congruencies between our TT-OSL chronology, OSL chronology and previously published TL ages suggest that the modified Stevens et al. (2009) protocol is the most robust for these samples. Furthermore, detailed comparisons of the laboratory data for TL, OSL, and TT-OSL samples provide information on their signal characteristics, their utility as chronometers, and give insight into the bleaching histories of the deposits. All OSL and TT-OSL ages obtained from the Southwood B section fall below the upper dating limits of these signals, which are reported to be as high as ∼280 ka and ∼570 ka, respectively. The TT-OSL signal saturates at doses that are two to three times those of the OSL signal, and may not only provide a chronology for sediments deposited during MIS 5, but also, according to the saturation limits, for any preserved sediments that accumulated during MIS 6 through to MIS 15. TT-OSL ages from older sediments in this region, combined with further stratigraphic studies have the potential to determine the climatic history of Tasmania over multiple glacial periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]