The Climate Change Chronology (C3) lab is a collaborative effort between scientists at eight Australian research organisations and was established in recognition of the fact that global climate change represents arguably the greatest challenge facing humanity today. Whatever the ultimate causes of current climate variability, our success in the prediction of the future relies heavily on a thorough understanding of how the planet and its ecosystems have responded in the past.
While we have for many years been actively involved in producing chronological constraints for palaeoclimate proxy records, the C3 lab infrastructure provides additional resources for this important work. Our aim is to continue to provide very high resolution palaeoclimate records for a wide range of research projects but also to use our expertise and analytical infrastructure to produce innovative new approaches to palaeoclimate studies. Recent scientific contributions include:
Paul, B., Paton, C., Norris, A., Woodhead, J., Hergt, J., Greig, A (2012) CellSpace: a module for creating spatially registered laser ablation images within the Iolite freeware environment. Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry 27, 700-706.
Woodhead, J., Hellstrom, J., Pickering, R., Drysdale, R., Paul, B., Bajo, P. (2012) U and Pb variability in older speleothems and strategies for their chronology. Quaternary Geochronology, in press. Grun, R., Aubert, M., Hellstrom, J., & Duval, M (2009) The challenge of direct dating old human fossils. Quaternary International, in press.
Quétel, C.R., Ponzevera, E., Rodushkin, I., Gerdes, A., Williams, R & Woodhead, J. (2009) Measuring 0.01 to 0.1permil isotopic variations by MC-ICPMS - testing limits for the first time with Pb d-iCRMs. Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry 24, 407-412.
Hellstrom, J., Paton, C., Woodhead, J and Hergt, J (2008) Iolite: software for spatially resolved LA-(quad and MC) ICPMS analysis. Mineralogical Association of Canada short course series 40 , 343-348.
Woodhead, J., Hellstrom, J., Paton, C., Hergt, J., Greig, A., and Maas, R (2008) A guide to depth profiling and imaging applications of ICPMS. Mineralogical Association of Canada short course series 40, 135-145.Hellstrom, J. (2003) Rapid and accurate U/Th dating using parallel ion-counting multi-collector ICP-MS, Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry 18, 1346-1351.
Woodhead, J., Hellstrom, J., Hergt, J., Greig, A. & Maas, R (2007) Isotopic and elemental imaging of geological materials by laser ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma mass spectrometry. Journal of Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research, 31, 331-343.
Desmarchelier, J.M., Hellstrom, J.C. & McCulloch, M.T. (2006) Rapid trace element analysis of speleothems by ELA-ICPMS. Chem. Geol. 231, 102-117.
Hellstrom, J. (2006). Uranium-thorium dating of speleothems with high initial thorium using stratigraphical constraint. Quaternary Geochronology 1, 289-295.
Woodhead, J.D., Hellstrom, J., Maas, R., Drysdale, R., Zanchetta, G., Devine, P and Taylor, E (2006) U-Pb geochronology of speloethems by MC-ICPMS. Quaternary Geochronology 1, 208-221.
2012
Zhou, H., Greig, A., Tang, J., You, C-F., Yuan, D., Tong, X., Huang, Y (2012) Rare earth patterns in a Chinese stalagmite controlled by sources and scavenging from karst groundwater. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 83, 1-18.
2011
Alonso-Zarza, A., Martin-Pérez, A., Martín-García, R., Gil-Peña, I., Meléndez, A., Martínez-Flores, E., Hellstrom, J.C., and Muñoz-Barco, P. (2011) Structural and host rock controls on the distribution, morphology and mineralogy of speleothems in the Castañar Cave (Spain). Geological Magazine, in press
Cohen, T.J., Nanson, G.C., Jansen, J.D., Jones, B.G., Jacobs, Z., Treble, P., Price, D.M., May, J-H., Smith, A.M., Ayliffe, L.K. & Hellstrom, J.C. (2011) Continental aridification and the vanishing of Australia’s megalakes. Geology 39, 167-170.
McGregor, H., Hellstrom, J.C., Fink, D., Hua, Q., and Woodroffe, C.D. (2011) Rapid U-series dating of young fossil corals by laser ablation MC-ICPMS. Quaternary Geochronology, in press.
2010
Blyth, A.J., Watson, J.S., Woodhead, J., & Hellstrom, J (2010) Organic compounds preserved in a 2.9 million year old stalagmite from the Nullarbor Plain, Australia. Chemical Geology, in press.
Dirks, P.H.G.M., Kibii, J.M., Kuhn, B.F., Steininger, C., Churchill, S.E., Kramers, J.D., Pickering, R., Farber, D.L., Meriaux, A-S., Herries, A.I.R., King, G.C.P. & Berger, L.R. (2010) Geological setting and age of Australopithecus sediba from Southern Africa. Science 328, 205-208.
Griffiths, M.L., Drysdale, R.N., Gagan, M.K., Frisia, S., Zhao, J.-x., Ayliffe, L.K., Hantoro, W.S., Hellstrom, J.C., Fischer, M.J., Feng, Y.-x., and Suwargadi, B.W. (2010) Evidence for Holocene changes in Australian-Indonesian monsoon rainfall from stalagmite trace element and stable isotope ratios. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 292, 27-38.
Griffiths, M.L., Drysdale, R.N., Vonhof, H.B., Gagan, M.K., Zhao, J.-x., Ayliffe, L.K., Hantoro, W.S., Hellstrom, J.C., Cartwright, I., Frisia, S., and Suwargadi, B.W. (2010) Younger Dryas-Holocene temperature and rainfall history of southern Indonesia from delta 18O in speleothem calcite and fluid inclusions. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 295, 30-36.
Grun, R., Aubert, M., Hellstrom, J., & Duval, M (2010) The challenge of direct dating old human fossils. Quaternary International, in press.
Pickering, R., Kramers, J.D., Partridge, T., Kodolanyi, J., Pettke, T. (2010) U–Pb dating of calcite–aragonite layers in speleothems from hominin sites in South Africa by MC-ICP-MS, Quaternary Geochronology, 5, 544-558.
Pickering, R. and Kramers (2010) Re-appraisal of the stratigraphy and determination of new U-Pb dates for the Sterkfontein hominin site, South Africa, Journal of Human Evolution xxx, 1-17.
Prideaux, G.J., Gully, G.A., Couzens, A.M., Ayliffe, L.K., Jankowski, N.R., Jacobs, Z., Roberts, R.G., Hellstrom, J.C., Gagan, M.K., and Hatcher, L.M. (2010) Timing and dynamics of Late-Pleistocene mammal extinctions in southwestern Australia: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 107, 22157-22162.
Quigley, M., Horton, T., Hellstrom, J.C., Cupper, M., and Sandiford, M. (2010) Holocene climate change in arid Australia from speleothem and alluvial records. Holocene, 20, 1093–1104.
Rossi, C., Lozano, R.P., Isanta, N., and Hellstrom, J.C. (2010) Manganese stromatolites in caves: El Soplao (Cantabria, Spain). Geology 38, 1119—1122.
Sancho, C., Arenas, C., Pardo, G., Vasquez, M., Hellstrom, J., Ortiz, J., Torres, T., Rhodes, E, Osacar, M., Auque, y Luis (2010) Preliminary chronology of the Quaternary tufas from the Piedra River (Iberian Range) Geogaceta 48, 31-34.
Woodhead, J., Reisz, R., Fox, D., Drysdale, R., Hellstrom, J., Maas, R., Cheng, H & Edwards, R.L. (2010) Speleothem climate records from deep time? Exploring the potential with an example from the Permian. Geology, 38, 455-458. Free download: http://geology.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/full/38/5/455?ijkey=8pB/327zNyXIk&keytype=ref&siteid=gsgeology
Zhornyak, L.V., Zanchetta, G., Drysdale, R.N., Hellsrtom, J.C., Isola, I., Regattieri, E., Piccini, L., Beneschi, I., & Couchoud, I (2010) Stratigraphic evidence for a “pluvial phase” between ca. 8200-7100 ka from Renella cave (Central Italy) Quaternary Science Reviews, in press.
2009
Drysdale, R.N., Hellstrom, J.C., Zanchetta, G., Fallick, A.E., Sanchez Goni, M.F., Couchoud, I., McDonald, J., Maas, R., Lohman, G and Isola, I. (2009) Evidence for obliquity forcing of Glacial Termination II. Science (in press).
see the ABC coverage here: http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/08/14/2655852.htm
Griffiths, M., Drysdale, R.N., Gagan, M.K., Zhao, J-X, Ayliffe, L.K,Hellstrom, J.C., Hantroro, W.S., Frisia, S., Feng, Y-x., Cartwright, I., St. Pierre, E., Fischer, M.J., & Suwargadi (2009) Increasing Australian-Indonesian monsoon rainfall linked to early Holocene sea-level rise. Nature Geoscience 2, 636-639.
2008
Piccini L., Zanchetta G., Drysdale R.N., Hellstrom J., Isola I., Fallick A.E., Leone G., Doveri M., Mussi M., Mantelli F., Molli G., Lotti L., Roncioni A., Regattieri E., Meccheri M. and Vaselli L. (2008). The environmental features of the Monte Corchia cave system (Apuan Alps, central Italy) and their effects on speleothems growth. International Journal of Speleology. 37, 153-172.
van Breukelen, M. R., Vonhof, H. B., Hellstrom, J. C., Wester, W. C. G. and Kroon, D. (2008). Fossil dripwater in stalagmites reveals Holocene temperature and rainfall variation in Amazonia. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 275, 54–60.
Zhou, H., Chi, B., Lawrence, M., Zhao, J., Yan, J., Greig, A., and Feng, Y (2008) High-resolution and precisely dated record of weathering and hydrological dynamics recorded by manganese and rare-earth elements in a stalagmite from Central China. Quaternary Research 69, 438-446.
2007 and previous
Drysdale, R. N., Zanchetta, G., Hellstrom, J. C., Fallick, A. E., McDonald, J. and Cartwright, I. (2007). Stalagmite evidence for the precise timing of North Atlantic cold events during the early Last Glacial. Geology 35, 77–80.
Goodwin, I. D. and Hellstrom, J. C. (2007). Pro-glacial Aragonite Deposition, Meltwater Evolution and Glacial History During Isotope Stage 3 At Radok Lake, Amery Oasis, Northern Prince Charles Mountains, East Antarctica. Antarctic Science, in press.
Prideaux, G.J., Long, J.A., Ayliffe, L.K., Hellstrom, J.C., Pillans, B., Boles, W.E., Hutchinson, M.N., Roberts, R.G., Cupper, M.L., Arnold, L.J., Devine, P.D. & Warburton, N.M. (2007) An arid-adapted middle Pleistocene vertebrate fauna from south-central Australia. Nature 445, 422-425.
Prideaux , G. J., Roberts, R. G., Megirian, D., Westaway, K. E., Hellstrom, J. C. and Olley, J. M. (2007). Mammalian responses to Pleistocene climate change in southeastern Australia. Geology 35, 33–36.
Zanchetta G., Drysdale R. N., Hellstrom J. C., Fallick A. E., Isola I., Gagan, M. and Pareschi M. T.(2007) Enhanced rainfall in the Western Mediterranean during deposition of Sapropel S1: stalagmite evidence from Corchia Cave (Central Italy). Quaternary Science Reviews, 26, 279-286.
Drysdale, R.N. (2006) High-resolution Holocene paleoclimate record shows drought events responsible for collapse of old-world civilizations. Geology 32, 101-104
Drysdale, R., Zanchetta, G., Hellstrom, J., Fallick, A., and Zhao, J-x. (2005) Stalagmite evidence for the onset of the Last Interglacial in southern Europe at 129 ± 1 ka: Geophysical Research Letters 32, L24708, doi:10.1029/2005GL024658.
Drysdale, R.N., Zanchetta, G., Hellstrom, J.C., Fallick, A.E., Zhao, J-x, Isola, I and Bruschi, G (2004) Palaeoclimatic implications of the growth history and stable isotope (d18O and d13C) geochemistry of a Middle to Late Pleistocene stalagmite from central-western Italy. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 227, 215-229.
