Late Quaternary history, climate, and oceanography of the Timor sea, northwestern Australia

Abstract

The history of late Quaternary climate in low latitudes is still a controversial issue. Studies of the morphology and sedimentary facies of the Timor sea, supplemented by new radiocarbon dates, indicate that the region was considerably more arid than the adjacent land is today. The area was largely above sealevel during the last glaciation and was covered by a savanna vegetation, while a relatively cool marine current flowed through the narrow Timor seaway. The following transgression was rapid and isolated numerous small, temporary islands which may have trapped populations of large vertebrates. The evidence supports Rhodes Fairbridge's contention, based on observations from Africa and the Mediterranean, that during glacial periods the westwind belts with associated rainfall were displaced five to ten degrees northward and the equatorial pluvial zone was compressed rather than extended.