EVIDENCE OF YOUNGER DRYAS AND NEOGLACIAL COOLING IN A LATE QUATERNARYPALEOTEMPERATURE RECORD FROM A SPELEOTHEM IN EASTERN VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA

A calcitic stalagmite collected from a limestone cave in the Buchan ar ea of eastern Victoria has been dated by three mass-spectrometric uran ium series analyses. Two growth phases are represented: the older from 13.4 to 10.6 ka and the younger from 3.2 to 2.1 ka. Oxygen isotope an alysis reveals that temperatures were below present-day values at all times, but particularly cool conditions are indicated between 12.3 and 11.4 ka, and Neoglacial conditions occurred at about 3 ka. The older cold climate event is clearly synchronous with the Younger Dryas in Eu rope and this is the first time that strong evidence for this event ha s been found in Australia. Carbon isotope variations are interpreted a s indicating changes in plant productivity on the surface and are most likely controlled by variations in summer rainfall. They indicate par ticularly high levels of plant productivity from 11.5 to 11.0 ka.