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Coastal Aminostratigraphy of the Last Interglaciation in Southern Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Colin V. Murray-Wallace ,
Antonio P. Belperio ,
Kelvin Picker  and
Ronald W.L. Kimber
Colin V. Murray-Wallace
Affiliation:
The NWG Macintosh Centre for Quaternary Dating, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, 2006 Australia
Antonio P. Belperio
Affiliation:
South Australian Department of Mines and Energy, Eastwood, South Australia, 5063 Australia
Kelvin Picker
Affiliation:
Department of Organic Chemistry, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, 2006 Australia
Ronald W.L. Kimber
Affiliation:
CSIRO Division of Soils, Private Bag No. 2, Glen Osmond, South Australia, 5064 Australia
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Abstract

Amino acid racemization data for marine molluscs of the last interglaciation from southern Australia provide the basis for a predictive model for relative dating of late Quaternary sequences. Genera analyzed include Anadara sp., Katelysia sp., Glycymeris sp., and Fulvia sp. that exhibit moderate racemization rates. A genus effect on racemization is not evident in these taxa. Coefficients of variation for intershell D/L ratio variation for each deposit are generally less than 12%. The extent of racemization in molluscan fossils of the last interglaciation from temperate coastal settings in southern Australia represents an exponential function of temperature and is in general accord with data from Northern Hemisphere sites with similar contemporary mean annual temperature values. These data highlight the potential of amino acid racemization for global correlation programs. The amino acid data from southern Australia suggest, however, that a larger margin of variation may have to be accounted for in stratigraphic correlation, as indicated by the greater scatter of data around the oxygen isotope substage 5e isochron. These data have implications regarding the age-resolving power of amino acid racemization.

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 35 , Issue 1 , January 1991 , pp. 63 - 71
Copyright
University of Washington

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