SEDIMENTARY HISTORY AND THE INTERPRETATION OF LATE QUATERNARY DUNE RECORDS: EXAMPLES FROM THE TIRARI DESERT, AUSTRALIA AND THE KALAHARI, SOUTH ÁFRICA

Stabilized sand deposits from arid regions are often used as palaeoenvironmental proxies for past periods of enhanced aeolian activity. Although widespread use of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating techniques has opened up the possibility of systematic analyses of dune building chronolog...

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Autores principales: Fitzsimmons,Kathryn E, Telfer,Matthew W
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Universidad de Tarapacá. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Jurídicas. Departamento de Antropología 2008
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Acceso en línea:http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0717-73562008000300006
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spelling oai:scielo:S0717-735620080003000062013-11-14SEDIMENTARY HISTORY AND THE INTERPRETATION OF LATE QUATERNARY DUNE RECORDS: EXAMPLES FROM THE TIRARI DESERT, AUSTRALIA AND THE KALAHARI, SOUTH ÁFRICAFitzsimmons,Kathryn ETelfer,Matthew W Interdunes linear dunes luminescence dating lunettes Quaternary Tirari Desert Kalahari Desert Stabilized sand deposits from arid regions are often used as palaeoenvironmental proxies for past periods of enhanced aeolian activity. Although widespread use of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating techniques has opened up the possibility of systematic analyses of dune building chronologies, palaeoenvironmental histories cannot be reconstructed from chronological data alone. The reconstruction of regional palaeoenvironmental histories should consider all available evidence - stratigraphic, sedimentological and micromorphological, and chronological. This paper highlights potential issues with the interpretation of dune records in the context of stratigraphic preservation, using examples from the Tirari Desert in Australia and the Kalahari Desert in southern África. Sedimentological characterisation of linear dunes in the Tirari Desert demonstrates that reworking of underlying dune sediments and buried soils is common, thereby calling into question simplistic interpretations of dune formation involving sequential deposition and pedogenesis. This case study highlights the limitation of the augering technique, although useful information can be gained nonetheless. Three OSL age estimates confirm the presence of at least two Holocene dune building episodes, but cannot constrain the timing of the onset of dune building. Higher frequency sampling and micromorphological analyses may further elucídate the palaeoenvironmental history of individual dunes. In the Southwestern Kalahari, interdune sediments have been described as the least sensitive part of the aeolian landscape, thus offering the potential for longer records of aeolian deposition. This is found not to be the case at Witpan, where interdune sands are extensively mixed and probably younger than the linear dune cores. The lunette at Witpan records numerous short-lived and rapid deflationary events from the nearby pan (playa). These are considered to reflect changes in sediment source rather than pedogenesis. These examples highlight the valué of combining micromorphological, sedimentological and chronological studies for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction.info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessUniversidad de Tarapacá. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Jurídicas. Departamento de AntropologíaChungará (Arica) v.40 n.especial 20082008-01-01text/htmlhttp://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0717-73562008000300006en10.4067/S0717-73562008000300006
institution Scielo Chile
collection Scielo Chile
language English
topic Interdunes
linear dunes
luminescence dating
lunettes
Quaternary
Tirari Desert
Kalahari Desert
spellingShingle Interdunes
linear dunes
luminescence dating
lunettes
Quaternary
Tirari Desert
Kalahari Desert
Fitzsimmons,Kathryn E
Telfer,Matthew W
SEDIMENTARY HISTORY AND THE INTERPRETATION OF LATE QUATERNARY DUNE RECORDS: EXAMPLES FROM THE TIRARI DESERT, AUSTRALIA AND THE KALAHARI, SOUTH ÁFRICA
description Stabilized sand deposits from arid regions are often used as palaeoenvironmental proxies for past periods of enhanced aeolian activity. Although widespread use of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating techniques has opened up the possibility of systematic analyses of dune building chronologies, palaeoenvironmental histories cannot be reconstructed from chronological data alone. The reconstruction of regional palaeoenvironmental histories should consider all available evidence - stratigraphic, sedimentological and micromorphological, and chronological. This paper highlights potential issues with the interpretation of dune records in the context of stratigraphic preservation, using examples from the Tirari Desert in Australia and the Kalahari Desert in southern África. Sedimentological characterisation of linear dunes in the Tirari Desert demonstrates that reworking of underlying dune sediments and buried soils is common, thereby calling into question simplistic interpretations of dune formation involving sequential deposition and pedogenesis. This case study highlights the limitation of the augering technique, although useful information can be gained nonetheless. Three OSL age estimates confirm the presence of at least two Holocene dune building episodes, but cannot constrain the timing of the onset of dune building. Higher frequency sampling and micromorphological analyses may further elucídate the palaeoenvironmental history of individual dunes. In the Southwestern Kalahari, interdune sediments have been described as the least sensitive part of the aeolian landscape, thus offering the potential for longer records of aeolian deposition. This is found not to be the case at Witpan, where interdune sands are extensively mixed and probably younger than the linear dune cores. The lunette at Witpan records numerous short-lived and rapid deflationary events from the nearby pan (playa). These are considered to reflect changes in sediment source rather than pedogenesis. These examples highlight the valué of combining micromorphological, sedimentological and chronological studies for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction.
author Fitzsimmons,Kathryn E
Telfer,Matthew W
author_facet Fitzsimmons,Kathryn E
Telfer,Matthew W
author_sort Fitzsimmons,Kathryn E
title SEDIMENTARY HISTORY AND THE INTERPRETATION OF LATE QUATERNARY DUNE RECORDS: EXAMPLES FROM THE TIRARI DESERT, AUSTRALIA AND THE KALAHARI, SOUTH ÁFRICA
title_short SEDIMENTARY HISTORY AND THE INTERPRETATION OF LATE QUATERNARY DUNE RECORDS: EXAMPLES FROM THE TIRARI DESERT, AUSTRALIA AND THE KALAHARI, SOUTH ÁFRICA
title_full SEDIMENTARY HISTORY AND THE INTERPRETATION OF LATE QUATERNARY DUNE RECORDS: EXAMPLES FROM THE TIRARI DESERT, AUSTRALIA AND THE KALAHARI, SOUTH ÁFRICA
title_fullStr SEDIMENTARY HISTORY AND THE INTERPRETATION OF LATE QUATERNARY DUNE RECORDS: EXAMPLES FROM THE TIRARI DESERT, AUSTRALIA AND THE KALAHARI, SOUTH ÁFRICA
title_full_unstemmed SEDIMENTARY HISTORY AND THE INTERPRETATION OF LATE QUATERNARY DUNE RECORDS: EXAMPLES FROM THE TIRARI DESERT, AUSTRALIA AND THE KALAHARI, SOUTH ÁFRICA
title_sort sedimentary history and the interpretation of late quaternary dune records: examples from the tirari desert, australia and the kalahari, south áfrica
publisher Universidad de Tarapacá. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Jurídicas. Departamento de Antropología
publishDate 2008
url http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0717-73562008000300006
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