Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 251 (2007) 119 136

www.elsevier.com/locate/palaeo

Fluvial response to late Quaternary climate change in

NE Queensland, Australia
Michael F. Thomas a,, Jonathan Nott b , Andrew S. Murray c , David M. Price d
a
School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA, UK
b
School of Tropical Environment Studies and geography, James Cook University of North Queensland, Cairns, Qld 4870, Australia
c
Nordic Laboratory for Luminescence Dating, Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark
d
School of Geosciences, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
Accepted 27 February 2007

Abstract

Samples of alluvial and colluvial deposits from the coastal plain and coastal valleys north and south of Cairns (17S) have been
dated using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) protocols, with additional thermoluminescence (TL) and Radiocarbon assays.
Coarse fanglomerates from elevated coastal terraces date back to 81 ka, but most are clustered in oxygen isotope stage three (OIS3,
6428 ka), indicating high-energy conditions during this period. Extensive fans and terraces of finer calibre sediments are widely
represented grading from coarse gravels and cobbles in proximal zones fine sand and silt in distal areas. Dates show that vertical
accumulation of 1015 m of sediment occurred between 28 and 14 ka (OIS2), after which the fans were dissected and Holocene
deposits become fragmentary. A number of deposits indicating hillslope instability were successfully dated and these fall mainly
into OIS3 and post 12 ka. These results are interpreted as catchment responses to Late Pleistocene climate and vegetation changes,
documented elsewhere from local pollen and ocean drilling sites. Correlation with these records and with evidence for regional
climate change from the Austral-Asian region is good and indicates that these changes were sufficient to transform fluvial activity
and slope processes.
2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Late Quaternary environments; Humid tropics; Debris flows; Alluvial fans; Queensland geomorphology

1. Introduction
The study area extends along 100150 km of coastal
plain North and South of Cairns in northeast Queensland
and includes the catchments draining the Eastern
Highlands (Great Dividing Range) towards the Coral
Sea (Figs. 1 and 2). The region belongs to the seasonally
humid tropics and rainfall is 3000 mmy 1 at lower
Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 1786467840; fax: +44
1786467843.
E-mail address: m.f.thomas@stir.ac.uk (M.F. Thomas).
0031-0182/$ - see front matter 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2007.02.021
elevations but rises to over 8000 mmy 1 near the sum-
mit of Bellenden Ker. The rainfall is sufficient to support
tropical rainforest, which still clothes the landscape in
steep, remote or protected areas, which include the The
Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. The area exhibits
steep environmental gradients today, with areas of trop-
ical rainforest giving way inland to (eucalypt) scler-
ophyll woodland over short distances.
A programme of TL and OSL dating based on sedi-
ments deposited from the east-flowing rivers was carried
out to establish the behaviour of stream catchments
during the Last Glacial Cycle (LGC). Previous reports
120 M.F. Thomas et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 251 (2007) 119136

Fig. 1. Location map showing the sites between Daintree and Miriwinni. The shaded area denotes the coastal plain deposition. Most of this area is
comprised of alluvial fans and terraces, but it also includes Holocene marine deposits near the coast.

(Nott et al., 2001; Thomas et al., 2001), based on a pollen record at nearby Lynch's Crater (1737S,
limited number of sections, indicated the major impact 14570E) by Kershaw (1978, 1986, 1992). The major
of late glacial aridity, previously documented from the finding was the formation of numerous alluvial fans
 M.F. Thomas et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 251 (2007) 119136
Fig. 2. Location map showing sites on Liverpool Creek, Burdekin and
Clark Rivers.
fronting the east-facing escarpment, in some cases
truncated by the present shoreline of the Coral Sea.
Dates (using TL, and 14C protocols) indicated the fans
started to form after 2930 ka and continued until 15
14 ka, when incision of the present stream corridors took
place.
Subsequent fieldwork has examined many more
catchments and a variety of deposits, mainly using the
OSL technique (Tables 1 and 2). Recent published
research has also provided new information on other
pollen sites and on offshore sedimentation, and it is now
possible to discuss our findings in relation to a number
of other reviews and conclusions regarding the late
Quaternary environments of the Austral-Asian region.
2. Palaeoecological background
The area around Cairns is fortunate in having pollen
evidence from the core covering the last ca 200,000 years
at Lynch's Crater, where Kershaw (1978, 1986, this
volume) has demonstrated the long-term deterioration in
the forest cover and climate of northeast Queensland,
during the Last Glacial Cycle, intensifying after 45 ka
and with rainfall possibly 64% below the present-day
average during Oxygen Isotope Stage (OIS) 2, and open
sclerophyll woodland replacing former forest ecosys-
tems. An ocean drilling site (ODP 820) in the Coral Sea
(1638S, 14618E ) (Moss and Kershaw, 2000),
although recording less abrupt changes, has largely
121
confirmed these findings, and a more recent pollen
record from nearby Lake Euramoo (Haberle, 2005) has
provided added detail for the last 23,000 years.
Glacial periods have generally seen an expansion of
the sclerophyll woodland (Casuarina, Eucalyptus) over
much of the area covered by rainforest during inter-
glacials. There is evidence for a decline in Araucaria
and the appearance of abundant charcoal after 45 ka in
both NE Queensland and New Caledonia (Stevenson
and Hope et al., 2005), marking a transition towards dry
sclerophyll woodland. Hope (2004) has pointed out that
rainforest taxa may be over-represented in the ocean
sediment record (ODP 820) during dry periods as a
result of pollen delivery by rivers bordered by gallery
forest, but draining catchments dominated by open
woodland. It is, therefore, difficult to argue whether
rainforest refugia survived more widely in wetter areas
(N2500 mm) during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM).
A long-term trend with the expansion of Eucalyptus at
the expense of Casuarinaceae is evident from the ODP
820 core, and this has been linked to the impact of fire
(abundance of charcoal) which peaked at 135 ka and
45 ka (Moss and Kershaw, 2000). The replacement of
Araucaria forest by Eucalypt woodland on the Atherton
Tableland appears to have been completed in a period of
12,000 years (Kershaw, 1986). Using evidence from soil
charcoal, Hopkins et al. (1993) indicated the substantial
area of Eucalypt woodland in the humid rainforest
massifs from 27,000 onwards.
A wider survey of the Austral-Asian region shows
that higher altitude sites experienced temperature falls of
around 4 C at the LGM and that drying of climate was
also experienced in the Indonesian islands, possibly
partly as a result of the exposure of the SundaSahul
shelf during periods of low sea level (Hope et al., 2004).
In the eastern Indian Ocean, where shelf exposure was
less, the dominance of Eucalyptus and Poacaeae from
the Australian mainland in Core G6-4 from the Lombok
Ridge (Van der Kaars, 1991; Wang et al., 1999) also
suggests an opening of the woodland canopy. The
regional picture also tends to confirm periods of abrupt
change 135125 ka and 4535 ka according to Hope
et al. (2004). There is a debate about the possible impact
of Aboriginal use of fire, commencing post 44 ka
(Turney et al., 2001; Kershaw et al., 2003) but regional
climatic deterioration and/or instability has been docu-
mented for this period (4535 ka), indicating that
human impact was unlikely to be the sole reason for
vegetation change (Hope et al., 2004). These authors
also cite evidence from NW Australia for expansion of
desert grasses by 34 ka at Carpenter's Gap (O'Connor,
1999) and, at the Lemdubu Rock shelter, Aru Islands,
122 M.F. Thomas et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 251 (2007) 119136

Table 1
List of all dated samples arranged by age for the Cairns project area
OSL/TL/14C age ka Site name (see Fig. 1) Coarse fanglomerate Other fan sediments Slope deposits River terrace Fine Colluvium
0.19 Daintree terrace x
0.33 Daintree terrace x
4.5 14C Miriwinni x
5 Redcliff gully x
5.1 Reynolds Rd x
5.5 Kewarra fan x
7.8 Redlynch x
9.4 Mulgrave R x
9.4 Redlynch Estate x
11.4 Anderson Rd x
13.9 Redlynch Estate x
14.1 Wangetti x
14.4 Kewarra fan x
15.2 Freshwater Creek x
16.4 Redlynch x
16.5 MtPeter Rd x
16.9 TL Burdekin R x
17 14C Miriwinni x
17.4 Behana Ck x
17.6 14C Miriwinni x
17.9 Mulgrave R x
18 Reynolds Rd x
18.5 Freshwater Creek x
18.8 Daintree River x
19.7 Wangetti x
20 14C Miriwinni x
21.3 14C Liverpool Creek x
23.1 Mowbray R x
23.9 MtPeter Rd x
25.7 Kewarra fan x
25.9 Mulgrave R x
27 Mossman R x
29 Wangetti x
29 Redcliff x
29.7 Freshwater Creek x
29.8 TL Liverpool Creek x
30 Mt Peter Rd x
30 Redlynch N x
30.4 Jungarra x
30.5 TL Clarke R x
30.6 Daintree R x
34 Jungarra x
34.3 TL Clarke R x
37 Yule Pt x
37.9 TL Liverpool Creek x
43 Redlynch x
45 Redcliff x
46.1 Clarke R x
47 Jungarra x
49 Redcliff x
51 Yule Pt x
57.2 Burdekin R x
69 Redcliff tce x
81 Redcliff tce x
Anomalous OSL Dates From Liverpool Ck
54 Liverpool Creek x
58.3 Liverpool Creek x
88 Liverpool Creek x
 M.F. Thomas et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 251 (2007) 119136
Indonesia (6S). O'Connor et al. (2002) recorded
sclerophyll woodland 3014 ka on the Arafura Plain,
now surrounded by rainforest.
Post-glacial warming may have begun before 18 ka,
and widespread evidence indicates significant global
change by 17 ka, but effective climate change towards
warmer and wetter conditions in the humid tropics can
be demonstrated from a variety of sites ca. 15 ka.
Around this time the rate of sedimentation increased at
Lynch's Crater, glacier retreat is recorded in Papua New
Guinea (Hope et al., 2004), and it has been suggested
(Turney et al., 2004, 2006) that the West Pacific Warm
Pool was established around 14.2 ka, stimulating ENSO
activity, which would have driven weather systems
progressively towards Holocene-recent patterns.
The PleistoceneHolocene transition (1511 ka) has
been shown to be critical for stream sedimentation in the
tropics (Thomas and Thorp, 1995, 2003), and this is
equally true for many pollen sites (Hope et al., 2004;
Turney et al., 2006). But these authors note that the
record is fragmentary with many hiatuses, and this
echoes studies of stream sedimentation in Kalimantan
Barat, Indonesia (Thorp et al., 1990; Thorp and Thomas,
1993). However, the site at Lake Euramoo, on the
Atherton Plateau (N 700 m), indicates the re-appearance
of wet sclerophyll forest after 16,800 BP, persisting until
8600 BP, when warm temperate rainforest was re-
established. After 5000 BP, dry subtropical forests ap-
pear at this site, becoming degraded after 70 BP with the
arrival of European settlers (Haberle, 2005). Hopkins
et al. (1993), however, found Eucalyptus charcoal wide-
spread until 3500 BP.
3. The study area
3.1. Geology
The geology of the region is dominated by Middle
Palaeozoic metasediments, which form an undulating
plateau at 7001200 m (a.s.l.). These rocks have a NS
trend and are intruded by CarboniferousLower Per-
mean, Mareeba granites that outcrop irregularly through-
out the ranges and form most of the higher summits
(ranging from 1337 m at Black Mountain in the north, to
1622 m at Bartle Frere in the south). Devonian
Carboniferous tectonism was responsible for the com-
pression of sediments leading to the present arrangement
Notes to Table 1:
Age determinations by OSL protocol unless otherwise stated.
*OSL ages from this site are not in sequence and conflict with the single AMS date and with nearby TL dated samples. The sediments are granitic
sands and the K feldspar content may be the cause.
123
of rocks, which range from argillite and slate to
greywacke, phyllite and schist. Early Triassic upheaval
affected the coastal ranges, forming the Russell
Mulgrave Shear Zone (248235 MA), within which
the meteasediments have been deformed and shattered
(Willmott et al., 1988; Willmott and Stephenson, 1989).
North of Cairns, towards Port Douglas frequent out-
crops of foliated and sheared granite and coarse meta-
sediment maintain the steep escarpment of the Macalister
Range, which rises abruptly from the coastline. South of
Cairns the shear zone is marked by the Mulgrave corridor
that separates the granites of the MalbonThompson
coastal range from the Tinaroo and Bellenden Ker
Granites of the Great Dividing Range.
Inland, the Atherton Volcanic Province exhibits
widespread late Cenozoic (mostly Quaternary) volca-
nism, and some of the basaltic lavas extend into the east-
draining valleys. In the Johnstone River gorge near
Innisfail these lavas are dated at 2 Ma. In addition, an
isotopic date of just under 1 Ma was obtained for
volcanic rocks at Green Hill in the Mulgrave River
corridor, indicating the early or pre-Quaternary origins
of the major valleys, while their deep penetration into
the mountain escarpment provides circumstantial sup-
port for this interpretation. Quaternary alluvium in the
vicinity of Cairns is widespread and has previously been
mapped, in some detail, but without dates (Willmott
et al., 1988; Willmott and Stephenson, 1989).
3.2. Geomorphic setting
Several regionally important rivers drain the Great
Dividing Range towards the Coral Sea. The Daintree
River marks the northern limit of our investigations,
which also encompass the Mossman, Barron, and
Mulgrave catchments to the south (Fig. 1). A few addi-
tional samples were taken from large terraces of the
Burdekin and Clark rivers and from Liverpool Creek,
south of Innisfail (Fig. 2). Significant spreads of alluvium
and colluvium also extend from all the smaller catchments
draining the east-facing escarpment and many of these
were sampled.
Sedimentation has produced a series of major fans
where streams exit from the escarpment on to the coastal
plain, and thick alluvial accumulations occur within the
larger valleys of the Daintree and Russell rivers (Nott
et al., 2001; Thomas et al., 2001). The Mulgrave Fan is
124 M.F. Thomas et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 251 (2007) 119136

Table 2
Details of all sites sampled for TL, OSL and radiocarbon dating in the Cairns project area
Laboratory Method Field site Deposit type Depth (cm) Dose (grays) (n) Dose rate (grays/ka) Moisture (wt.%) Age (ka)
code no
(A) Luminescence dated samples (TL and OSL)
W2418 TL Behana Ck Alluvium 200 80.3 9.3 4.604 65 3.3 17.4 2.0
W2409 TL Mulgrave 2 Alluvium 200 54.0 4.5 3.015 59 0.6 17.9 1.5
W2410 TL Mulgrave 1 Alluvium 750 88.2 10.8 3.407 57 3.1 25.9 3.2
W2422 TL Mulgrave 1B Alluvium 300 39.8 3.0 4.228 66 9.3 9.4 0.7
W2411 TL Freshwater Creek 2 Flow 150 58.2 6.9 3.838 61 8.4 15.2 1.8
W2412 TL Freshwater Creek 1 Flow 600 65.2 10.7 3.522 59 12.2 18.5 3.1
W2419 TL Kewarra Fan 1 Colluvium 100 24.2 1.7 4.380 70 7.0 5.5 0.4
W2420 TL Kewarra Fan 2 Alluvium 250 56.2 5.1 3.899 68 7.5 14.4 1.3
W2421 TL Kewarra Fan 3 Alluvium 150 108.0 18 4.198 72 4.9 25.7 4.2
W3552 TL Liverpool Ck 1 Alluvium 50 146 9 4.885 64 3.7 29.8 1.8
W3553 TL Liverpool Ck 2 Alluvium 330 156 11 4.124 63 3.4 37.9 2.8
W3554 TL Burdekin R. 2 Alluvium 200 68 3.8 4.038 80 3.4 16.9 1.0
W3559 TL Burdekin R. 1 Alluvium 700 232 11 4.062 86 1.8 57.2 2.9
W3560 TL Clarke R. 1 Alluvium 400 129 6 2.799 77 0.5 46.1 2.5
W3561 TL Clarke R. 2 Alluvium 150 166 8 5.428 83 2.9 30.5 1.5
W3562 TL Clarke R. 3 Alluvium 200 182 8 5.296 86 2.9 34.3 1.6
021401 0SL Redcliff gully 1 Fanglomerate 360 174 9 34 3.55 0.34 19 49 5
021402 OSL Redcliff gully 2 Alluvium 160 19.8 5 21 3.96 0.37 19 5 0.5
021403 OSL Reynolds Rd 2 Slope failure 250 57 6 36 3.18 0.29 20 18 3
021404 OSL Ryenolds Rd 1 Colluvium 60 8.4 0.2 24 1.65 0.15 20 5.1 0.53
021405 OSL Freshwater Creek 1 Fanglomerate 600 25.9 2 24 2.56 0.25 13 29.7 3
021406 OSL Redlynch North 1 Fanglomerate 300 35 2 24 1.15 0.09 26 30 3
021407 OSL Redlynch North 2 Fanglomerate 150 22.2 1 24 1.36 0.11 26 16.4 1.6
021408 OSL Redcliff terrace 2 Fanglomerate 650 162 7 26 3.57 0.31 26 45 5
021409 OSL Redcliff terrace 3 Fanglomerate 500 123 7 11 4.24 0.41 16 29 3
021410 OSL Redlynch 1 Slope failure 150 107 4 27 2.50 0.22 22 43 4
021411 OSL Redlynch 2 Colluvium 300 13.6 0.4 27 1.75 0.15 23 7.8 0.7
021412 OSL Redcliff terrace 1 Fanglomerate 500 219 11 24 3.17 0.28 23 69 7
021413 OSL Redcliff South Fanglomerate 780 181 11 24 2.23 0.20 20 81 9
021414 OSL Yule Point 1 Fanglomerate 400 121 4 23 2.39 0.19 36 51 4
021415 OSL Yule point 2 Fanglomerate 60 89 4 27 2.41 0.19 35 37 4
031401 OSL Jungarra 1 Slope failure 350 64 2 32 2.07 0.09 19 30.8 1.7
031402 OSL Jungarra 2 Slope failure 150 84 2 24 1.79 0.08 19 47 3
031403 OSL Jungarra 3 Fanglomerate 300 69.5 1.7 27 2.03 0.08 22 34 2
031404 OSL Daintree 1 Alluvium 60 61.2 1.9 24 3.31 0.13 26 18.5 1.0
031405 OSL Daintree 2 Alluvium 200 102.7 1.8 27 3.37 0.15 25 30.5 1.6
031406 OSL Daintree 3 Alluvium 60 1.02 0.08 21 3.12 0.12 32 0.33 0.03
031407 OSL Daintree 4 Alluvium 60 0.55 0.04 22 2.96 0.11 35 0.18 0.01
031408 OSL Mowbray River Alluvium 100 74 2 23 3.23 0.14 20 22.8 1.3
031409 OSL S Mossman River Alluvium 100 116 5 33 4.31 0.18 20 27 2
031410 OSL Redlynch Estate 1 Slope failure 300 26.9 0.6 21 2.87 0.11 20 9.4 0.5
031411 OSL Redlynch Estate 2 Slope failure 100 32.1 0.4 27 2.34 0.10 8 13.7 0.7
031412 OSL Anderson Rd Slope failure 300 29.4 0.5 26 2.58 0.10 19 11.4 0.5
031413 OSL Mount Peter Rd 1 Alluvium 800 78 8 27 2.58 0.12 17 30 3
031414 OSL Mount Peter Rd 2 Alluvium 300 51.0 1.4 21 2.13 0.09 11 23.9 1.3
031415 OSL Mount Peter Rd 3 Alluvium 150 33.7 0.9 21 2.06 0.09 14 16.4 0.9
031416 OSL Wangetti 1 Alluvium 100 38.7 0.7 21 2.77 0.11 17 14.0 0.7
031417 OSL Wangetti 2 Fanglomerate 150 97 4 24 3.28 0.15 24 30 2
031418 OSL Wangetti 3 Fanglomerate 80 83 3 24 4.24 0.18 13 19.5 1.1
031419 OSL Liverpool Ck 1 Alluvium 800 193 12 38 3.60 0.14 34 54 4
031420 OSL Liverpool Ck 2 Alluvium 400 199 9 20 2.25 0.09 20 88 6
031421 OSL Liverpool Ck 3 Alluvium 360 230 8 23 3.95 0.16 18 58 3
 M.F. Thomas et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 251 (2007) 119136
Table 2 (continued )
Lab no Method Field site Deposit type
(B) Radiocarbon dated samples
14
Wk 13755 C AMS Liverpool Ck Organic clay
14
Wk 7011 C Miriwinni 1 Alluvium
14
Wk 7012 C Miriwinni 2 Alluvium
14
Wk 7013 C Miriwinni 3 Alluvium
14
Wk 7014 C Miriwinni 4 Alluvium
14
Wk 7015 C Miriwinni 5 Alluvium
by far the largest feature in the region. It occupies much
of the Mulgrave River corridor downstream from
Gordonvale, where the surface stands 20 m a.s.l. The
present Mulgrave River flows 25 km to the SSE before
reaching the sea. It has been suggested that the pre-fan
Mulgrave flowed north towards Cairns (Willmott and
Stephenson, 1989).
In contrast, the Barron River, just north of Cairns,
exits from a deep bedrock gorge that has cut back 5 km
into the escarpment, the upper reaches of the basin
extending above the Barron Falls at Kuranda. The river
crosses the coastal plain directly to the coast (810 km)
and there is no Late Pleistocene fan. Geological records
show (Jones, 1985) that 4090+ m of sediment lie
below the late Holocene floodplain, indicating a buried
channel graded to Late Pleistocene, low sea levels
( 110 m). Infilling by alluvial and marine sediments
presumably took place in the Holocene, during the
major post-glacial transgression 14.76.5 ka (Dunbar
et al., 2000; Dunbar and Dickens, 2003).
Low glacial sea levels must have influenced other
catchments, including the Daintree River to the North
and the Russell River to the South. But we have no
information on this question. Both these rivers share a
common morphology, the Late Pleistocene sedimenta-
tion being contained in terraces within well-developed
valleys that have cut back into the coastal ranges, and
this morphology is repeated elsewhere as at Freshwater
Creek near Cairns and Liverpool Creek south of
Innisfail. The much larger Burdekin River has a well
developed buried channel that continues to the outer-
most reefs (Fielding et al., 2003).
Additional field sites come from small catchments
that have produced minor fans of usually finer material,
though basal gravels are present at most sites. Fronting
the Macalister Range north of Cairns, fragments of
elevated fan-terraces are intersected by the coastal
highway and stand 1215 m above the high tide level.
These are often crudely bedded fanglomerates, contain-
ing blocks varying in size up to more than 50 cm
diameter (Fig. 5A). The upper surfaces of these beds
exhibit both semi-horizontal terrace fragments and also
125
14 14
Depth (cm) Age, C kyear BP Age C k Cal BP
380 21.3 314 21.3 314
50 3.0 170 4.854.05
150 14. 2 550 18.5515. 55
200 14. 7 670 19.3515. 95
250 8.9 64 10.2409.91
300 16. 9 140 20.9519.45
ancient boulder trains leading from the erosional catch-
ments. Two or three units containing both coarse and
fine-grained members are superposed at most sites and
these features have then been incised by active creeks.
3.3. Climate and weather systems
The prominent east-facing escarpment and its asso-
ciated granite peaks intercept the SE Trades that dominate
these latitudes, producing copious rainfall concentrated
into the wet season from November to May. This is also a
cyclone-prone region and Nott and Hayne (2001, this
volume), using evidence from storm beaches calculated
that major cyclones strike any given locality about once
every 250 years. Intense rainfall can also be triggered by
perturbations affecting the Trade Winds. These usually
take the form of upper airwaves and fronts moving from
the south and occur in most years. The rainfall regime is,
therefore, characterised by both persistent rainfall and
intense tropical storms. The storms produce annual
flooding on the major rivers and these floods are
categorised as severe at least once every decade. This
produces an environment in which rivers can be said to be
flood dominated with implications for later discussions.
Rainfall generally declines westwards, but sharp climatic
gradients are found within the coastal ranges and plateaus.
3.4. Bedrock weathering in the catchments
The role of bedrock weathering in these catchments
is important and the finer-grained, more decomposed
metasediments south of Cairns contain large volumes of
clay and sand. Samples of the saprolite show it to be
ferrallitic in character (Fookes, 1997). The depth of
weathering is difficult to define accurately but 46 m of
decomposed material is common, and often exceeded.
The deep saprolite is found below the middle and lower
parts of the escarpment, where slopes seldom exceed
20. The advanced stage of the weathering is indicative
of the slow rate of scarp retreat (Thomas, 2003). The
upper slopes of the escarpment show mainly early stages
of weathering penetration.
126 M.F. Thomas et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 251 (2007) 119136
North of Cairns, along the escarpment of the
Macalister Range, the metamorphic grits and granites
form slopes too steep to retain much soil. Here the
regolith is bouldery and beds of fine material in the
generally coarse, alluvial deposits are thin or absent. In
fact, wherever material is derived from the upper
escarpment it is usually comprised of cobbles and
boulders. These form the bulk of the landslide-derived
sediments.
4. Methods
4.1. Field sampling
An area some 20 km around Cairns has been subject
to very rapid suburbanisation in the past 10 years, with
the building of large residential estates in all the
catchments draining the main escarpment. Advantage
has been taken of the widespread deep alteration of the
rocks, and the presence of thick colluvium, to re-model
the relief for development. This, together with improve-
ment of the coastal, Bruce Highway has created a large
number of fresh sections year on year during our
investigations. We have, therefore, been opportunistic in
identifying sites for possible analysis and dating in each
year from 2001 to 2004.
In most cases dating has been undertaken using
Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) techniques at
the Nordic Luminescence Laboratory, Aarhus Univer-
sity, Denmark. Samples were collected in one of three
ways. In unconsolidated, relatively homogeneous ma-
terial, plastic tubes (40 mm 400 mm) were driven into
vertical sections, removed and sealed against light
penetration. However, this technique does not work well
in fine, partially consolidated sediments or in stony
deposits, both of which are widely represented. In the
former case large blocks of sediment were excavated
(approximately 60 cm 60 cm) and later cored in the
laboratory. However this is laborious and liable to
failure when blocks crack or break. Many sites were,
therefore, sampled in the dark, using black bags to
collect loosened sediment. This process is relatively
rapid but a pre-sampling survey must be carried out
carefully in advance, to identify exact sample points that
can later be recognised by torchlight. Additional sam-
ples for dose rate determination were collected in all
cases.
In some of the coarse deposits sand lenses were
sampled, for others bracketing dates from inter-bedded
sand deposits were used (as at Yule Point). Where coarse
flow deposits were directly sampled, mixed clast sizes
were sent to the laboratory.
4.2. Laboratory procedures
Samples from the early phase of the project and for
some other large, uniform terrace units were dated using
thermoluminescence (TL) analysis, carried out at the
University of Wollongong, using the regenerative tech-
nique as modified by Redhead (1988). Field samples
were cleaned in HCL and etched briefly in HF, then
serially irradiated using a 90Sr plaque source. All sam-
ples used in this paper displayed a broad temperature
plateau (300500 C), indicating that they were well
bleached.
Where possible organic material was collected for
14
C dating, carried out at the University of Waikato,
New Zealand. A series of weakly developed palaeosols
was sampled and dated by this method at Miriwinni,
where the granite-derived sediments contained quanti-
ties of albite, a TL-sensitive mineral that precluded
comparative dating from this site (see Nott et al., 2001).
A single radiocarbon date was also obtained from an
organic layer near the surface of a comparable terrace at
Liverpool Creek.
For the samples collected for OSL dating, on return
to the laboratory, the surface of each sample was
removed if necessary (e.g. the ends of tube samples were
removed), and the unexposed inner material wet sieved
to recover the 180250 m grain size interval. Con-
ventional acid treatment (HCl, H2O2 and HF only; no
heavy liquids) was used to separate a quartz rich extract,
and the luminescence purity of this was checked using
infrared stimulation. All measurements of equivalent
dose used a standard SAR protocol (Murray and Wintle,
2000, 2003) with a preheat treatment of 260 C for 10 s,
and a cutheat of 180 C. The usual performance checks
were undertaken (recycling ratio, recuperation etc.), and
the mean dose recovery ratio (measured to given dose
ratio) for samples 031401 to 031421 is 1.04 0.013
(n = 63), showing that the SAR protocol used is able to
measure a known dose given in the laboratory before
any thermal treatment. Dose rates are all calculated from
high resolution gamma spectrometry analyses (Murray
et al., 1987) with a cosmic ray contribution calculated
using the relationships of Prescott and Hutton (1994).
Both field and saturated water contents were measured;
the value used in dosimetry calculations is the mean of
the two values.
5. Results
Reliable dates now come from 10 separate catch-
ments and fans and extend 150 km from North to South.
Additional dates have come from Liverpool Creek even
 M.F. Thomas et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 251 (2007) 119136
farther south and from a reconnaissance of terraces on
the Burdekin and Clark Rivers inland. Five different
landslide sites were also sampled. All dates are given
as ka. Errors are usually within 10% (OSL samples)
(Table 2).
When the dates from all the field sites are plotted
together (Fig. 3), it can be seen that distinct clusters
occur between 3129 ka and between 20/2114 ka,
although a number of dates plot between these clusters.
More scattered groupings occur between 5143 ka,
118 ka and 5.54.5 ka.
5.1. Sediments associated with alluvial fans (including
debris-flow deposits)
Elevated coastal terraces, fronting the steep escarp-
ment of the Macalister Range, north of Cairns are
proximal fan sediments and exhibit alternations of
alluvial gravels and sands with boulder (flow) deposits,
which we describe as fanglomerates. A typical section is
illustrated from near Yule Point (Fig. 4C). Most of the
dates from these sediments fall into OIS3, but some are
older. The youngest of the Late Pleistocene flow depos-
its date from around 30 ka, and are found at Wangetti,
Fig. 3. Dated samples from project area plotted by increasing age. The
main clusters of dates occur around 3029 ka and 2014 ka with lesser
grouping between 5145 and 5.55 ka (see also Table 1).
127
near Redcliff Point and in Freshwater Creek (29.7 ka)
(Fig. 4A). At Mt Peter Road south of Edmonton, basal
sediments of an extensive fan (Gray Creek) are of
similar age (30 ka), but finer in calibre, containing
cobbles rather than boulders (Fig. 4B). This is probably
a function of distance from the escarpment (N 2 km).
Sandy sediments dated to 30.5 ka were collected from a
terrace on the lower Daintree River, close to the village
of that name. Fig. 5 (A, B, C) illustrates the nature of
some of the sediments.
A few reconnaissance samples were taken from
extensive inland terraces on the Clark and Burdekin
rivers, and some from a prominent terrace on Liverpool
Creek (Fig. 2). These were dated using thermolumines-
cence (TL). At the Greenvale crossing on the Burdekin
basal sediments in a 9 m section (above bridge level)
gave a date of 57.2 ka and a near-surface sample 16.9 ka.
At the Clark River crossing by the highway samples
from an elevated terrace ranged from 46.1 to 30.5 ka, but
neither basal nor surface sediments could be reached. At
Liverpool Creek TL ages of 37.9 ka at 3 m and 29.8 ka
at 0.5 m were obtained from an 8 m section, and an
organic soil layer at the higher level was radiocarbon
dated to 21.3+/ 314 BP (23,000 cal year BP). Attempts
to use OSL dating on the feldspathic sands at this site
gave inconsistent, older results and were abandoned (see
Table 1). The sediments from all of these large fluvial
terraces date to OIS3.
Late Pleistocene fan deposits falling into the age
bracket 2714.1 ka (OIS2) have been sampled in the
South Mossman, and Mowbray catchments, and at
Wangetti, Redlynch and Kewarra, all north of Cairns;
from Freshwater Creek, the Gray Creek fan (at Mt Peter
Road), the Mulgrave River fan, and Behana Creek, south
of Cairns. Associated palaeosols at Miriwinni also fall
into this period. Many of the sites have been reported
previously (Nott et al., 2001). The deposits form a series
of low-angle fans (b2) comprised of coarse sands and
gravels (mostly b 10 cm d) in proximal areas (b 2 km from
the escarpment) (Fig. 5C). Much of the material close to
the escarpment is matrix supported gravel and has the
character of flow deposits, some of which may be derived
from local hillslopes, particularly in the narrow, incised
valley of Freshwater Creek. Elsewhere, alluvial stratigra-
phy is apparent with lenses of coarse gravels interbedded
with sands. As distance from the escarpment increases
thick deposits of sands and silts characterise the lower fans
and terraces of the Daintree, Mulgrave and Russell rivers.
Where the Mulgrave fan abuts the lower slopes of the
Malbon Thompson Range (see Nott et al., 2001, Fig. 5)
there is at least 10 m of this material, through which the
present river flows in a narrow, gorge-like section.
128 M.F. Thomas et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 251 (2007) 119136

Fig. 4. Examples of sediment sections in the Cairns area (see Fig. 1).(A) Freshwater Creek. A basal debris-flow is overlain by poorly stratified sandy
gravels (section partly obscured). Figure updated from Nott et al. (2001), Fig. 4. (B) Section in Gray Creek fan at Mount Peter Road showing typical
sequence in the Late Pleistocene fan deposits: MP1 30 ka, MP2 23.9 ka, MP3 16.4 ka. (C) Section in coarse (proximal) fan deposits below Macalister
Range near Yule Point. A, B, C are debris-flow units, 810 across; 1, 2, 3, 4 are alluvial channel deposits. OSL ages are 51 ka at 4 m (YP1) and 37 ka
at 0.6 m (YP2).

Dates from these deposits cluster between 19.7 and
14.1 ka, but older and somewhat coarser sediments are
found in five of the coastal fans (2722.8 ka). If the 14C
dated palaeosols are excluded, sediments are absent
from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) (22/21 ka)
when there is a gap of ca 3000 years without direct
evidence of deposition. Although similar gaps can be
observed in the fragmented, older terrace deposits, such
a long hiatus does not occur again until after 14 ka
(Fig. 3, Table 1).
5.2. Sediments associated with slope failures
Sediments associated with slope failures have also
been dated using OSL. Several deep-seated slides have
produced lobes of coarse sediment with some evidence of
local water flow. The failures include some large accu-
mulations that form ramp-like slopes (debris fans) beneath
large hillslope scars as at Redlynch on the southern flanks
of the Barron River gorge, where large-scale residential
building has taken place. A date of 43 ka was obtained
 M.F. Thomas et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 251 (2007) 119136 129

Fig. 5. Illustrations of fan deposition in the Cairns area. (A) Fanglomerates near Wangetti (coastal highway) showing coarse debris-flows containing
cobbles and boulders. (B) Details of coarse sediment at Wangetti showing sandy gravels draped over coarse flow unit. Sands from this unit dated to
19.5 ka. (C) Typical section in the main fan deposits south of Cairns, showing stratified sands and gravels (10 cm d). This section is close to the
weathered slopes of the lower escarpment (poor access made dating at this site impossible).

from this feature, with a later, inset unit having an age of
7.8 ka. A more limited lobe of debris is exposed in cuttings
at Reynold's Road, north of Cairns, giving an age of
18 ka, with finer colluvium in a distal position dating to
the mid-Holocene (5.1 ka). At Jungarra in the Freshwater
Creek valley two superposed landslide flow deposits
filling a hillslope depression returned dates of 47 and
30.4 ka, while a debris-flow within a nearby fan deposit
dated to 34 ka. Another flow at Redlynch North dates to
30 ka, and corresponds in age with the basal flow in
nearby Freshwater Creek and the coarse fan deposits at
Wangetti. Two smaller flows at Anderson Road and
Redlynch Estate gave dates of 11.4 ka and 9.4 ka. Al-
though sampling of these materials has of necessity been
opportunistic (where there were hillslope excavations), it
is clear that these types of flow deposit occur within OIS3
and the Holocene, but have been absent during OIS2.
appears to have ceased after 14 ka. But there is evidence
for continued slope instability with flow deposits dated to
13.9, 11.4, 9.4, and 7.8 ka (Table 1). Only one fluvial
sample falls within this period, from a low terrace of the
Mulgrave River (9.4 ka), close to the exit from the gorge
section of the river (Nott and Thomas, 2001).
Three instances of alluvium and fine, sandy colluvium
date to the Mid Holocene, around 5 ka. Near the head of
the Kewarra Fan and at the foot of the scarp at Reynolds
Road there is a fine red sediment with dates of 5.5 and
5.1 ka respectively, while a fragmentary terrace in a gully
Redcliff has an age of 5 ka. The radiocarbon age of
organic matter from a palaeosol in the youngest granitic
sands at Miriwinni is 48504050 cal year BP (Nott and
Thomas, 2001), which probably implies that the parent
material (sediment) is also close to 5 ka in age. After this
period our only records are of recent sedimentation.

5.3. Holocene alluvial sediments 6. Discussion

Most of the deposits investigated are late Pleistocene in 6.1. Depositional environments and climate change
age and there is a lack of evidence for widespread de-
position at the PleistoceneHolocene transition or in the The coarse, fanglomerate flow deposits sampled
early Holocene. Sedimentation on the fans and terraces range from 80+ ka to 29 ka, but most fall within OIS3
130 M.F. Thomas et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 251 (2007) 119136
(6428 ka), while the finer-grained fans appear to have
accumulated during mainly during OIS2, sedimentation
continuing until at least 1514 ka in most catchments.
At Freshwater Creek and Wangetti the two facies
overlap. This may be partly a function of their locations,
close to steep mountainous catchments. But observation
at other fan sites indicates that basal sediments, dating to
ca 30 ka are coarser than later deposits. The fact that two
major landslide flows also date to 3032 ka is also
indicative of active slope processes at this time. Late
OIS3 climates though cool are considered to have been
considerably wetter than the ensuing OIS2 (glacial)
climates throughout much of the tropics (Thomas and
Thorp, 2003; Hope et al., 2004), and active fluvial
activity during this period in Australia was recorded by
Nanson et al. (1992). At Freshwater Creek the contrast
between the basal boulder deposit and later, finer sedi-
ments appears to signify a change of regime towards
much lower energy conditions (Fig. 4A).
Deposition during the subsequent 15,000 years
suggests that alluvial sediments accumulated dominant-
ly by vertical accretion of sands and gravels, creating
most of the present coastal plain surface, but probably
extending beyond the present coastline. The thick
saprolite mentioned earlier was an important source of
fine material deposited on the distal fans and terraces.
Many exposures show crude stratification of coarse
gravels and pebbles, intercalated with sands and silts,
typical of locally derived colluvium and lacking clear
evidence for permanent channels (see Nott et al., 2001).
Thus conditions appear to have changed from flood
deposition to extensive sedimentation in response to
frequent, low energy flows. Such a switch could only
come about if the catchment environment had altered
significantly towards more open woodland and rainfall
was both highly seasonal and irregular, such that runoff
was intermittent or ephemeral in most valleys, while
sediment supply from slopes may have increased. On
the other hand a high sediment yield from hillslopes can
be inferred from the widespread amorphous colluvium
below most slopes, and this suggests short heavy down-
pours on relatively unprotected soil surfaces. Reduction
in stream power combined with the dwindling of low
flows and increased sediment yields are classic condi-
tions for alluvial fan accumulation and these factors
appear to have dominated all the catchments between
27 ka and 14 ka, bridging the Last Glacial Maxi-
mum (LGM).
Fan incision occurred after 14 ka and presumably
also resulted from altered catchment hydrology and
vegetation cover during the postglacial transition. In-
creased rainfall and storm activity are likely conse-
quences from the fundamental changes in Pacific Ocean
circulation after 14.2 ka (Turney et al., 2006). This
would have resulted in higher discharges and increased
stream power, and also sustained dry season low flows,
maintaining permanent stream channels. Recovering
vegetation would progressively reduce the quantity of
sediment entering the channels from stream banks, and
from hillslopes in the upper catchments. Incision
probably resulted from these changes and led to the
formation narrow fluvial corridors enclosed by bluffs of
Pleistocene sediments, and these survive today. Small
terraces formed within the corridor would have been
susceptible to destruction by erosion and, therefore, the
preservation of much of the evidence for Holocene
sedimentation has been poor in these reaches. Initially,
sea levels would have remained low and sediment may
have been deposited offshore to accumulate behind the
Great Barrier Reef (Dunbar et al., 2000; Heap et al.,
2002), but rapid recovery to near present levels soon
after 10 ka led to accumulation of mid Holocene
sediments in the lower, estuarine reaches of the river
systems. It has already been noted that substantial accu-
mulations of Holocene sediment occur in the buried
channel of the Barron River (Jones, 1985).
6.2. Ecological evidence for climate changes
Some critical periods of major ecological change have
been noted by Kershaw (1986) at Lynch's Crater and
more recently by Haberle (2005) at Lake Euramoo. At
the former site deterioration of the rainforest began
around 80 ka, following the end of OIS5 but the period
following 45 ka seems to have been critical, with the
widespread loss of Araucaria from the wet sclerophyll
woodlands (Stevenson and Hope, 2005) and a rapid
increase in charcoal (42/4427 ka) (Turney et al., 2001;
Kershaw et al., 2006). Widespread climate instability
between 45 and 35 ka has been noted (Hope, 2004)
throughout the Austral-Asian region and it seems
unlikely that human agency alone was responsible for
vegetation change. Increasing dryness after 2726 ka is
also evidenced by the loss of Dacrydium, and appearance
of Eucalypt charcoal (Hopkins et al., 1993). At Lake
Euramoo, dry sclerophyll forest was dominant between
23 and 16.8 ka, recovering to a wet sclerophyll forest
16.88.6 ka, by which time a warm temperate rainforest
prevailed at this site (700+ m a.s.l.) The substantial
change to post-glacial climates after 14.2 ka noted by
Turney et al. (2006) from a survey of sites from the
southwest pacific fits into this pattern. The wetter
climates prevailed until ca 5 ka when drier conditions
led to changes in the forest structure (Haberle, 2005).
 M.F. Thomas et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 251 (2007) 119136 131

6.3. Catchment response to Late Quaternary environ-
mental changes
If critical dates or periods of rapid change in climate
and ecological conditions are compared to equally crit-
ical changes in the landscape processes as recorded by
sedimentation then the nature of landscape response to
major climate change in this environment can be inter-
preted, if certain assumptions are made (see Table 3).
First, humid climates in the past were wet enough to
sustain complex rainforests. Second, that dry climates
in the past corresponded with periods of lowered sea
surface temperatures and reduced moisture flux. These
circumstances are thought also to correlate with re-
duced ENSO and cyclone activity. Third, that sea-level
changes in the late Pleistocene affected the lower
reaches of rivers entering the Coral Sea, but did not
affect valleys more than 10 km from the sea, and had
no effect on the formation of fans along smaller streams
draining the escarpment.
Long term reduction of rainfall, initiated as early as
300 ka (Kershaw et al., 2003), may have been a result of
changes in landsea configuration within the Indonesian
archipelago. But during the last glacial cycle (LGC)
from OIS5eOIS2 this trend was reinforced by orbital
factors and global cooling. This trend is seen in the
pollen record from NE Queensland and also at Old lake
Coomboo on Fraser Island (22S 145 E) (Longmore
and Heijns, 1999; Donders et al., 2006). The 150,000-
year record from Lake Eyre (Magee et al., 2004) also

Table 3
Tentative interpretation of landscape response to Late Quaternary climate and vegetation change in tropical northeast Queensland, Australia
Climate vegetation Alluvial/colluvial deposition Slope System response
instability
80 Rainforest, OIS5e (too few records) ?
humid in
75
Declining OIS4 (too few records) ?
humidity
64
60 Cool humid OIS3 fanglomerates fluvial deposition
(scattered records)
45 Climate instability landslides slope instability
OIS3 30 fanglomerates copious sedimentation (large
alluvial deposits terrace units; debris flows)
28 28
27 Cooler, climate OIS2 27 fan sediments increasing sediment yield
(mainly coarse gravel)
slope erosion
reduced stream flow
(alluvial/colluvial fans)
22 Dry LGM climate 22
dry sclerophyll 2 2 possible hiatus at LGM reduced activity
woodland 21
Slow post-glacial 2 0 accretion of 10+ m fan sediments widespread, copious fan
climate recovery 14 (mainly fine gravel, sands) deposition, slope instability
(landslides)
16.8 wet sclerophyll
forest
declining sediment yield
14.2 Rainfall increasing 14 absence of fan sediments incision of channels
11.5
11.5 Humid, wetter OIS1 (very few records)
8.6N rainforest recovery landslides slope failures, flooding
(dry excursions 8.2 (debris flows, slope failures)
in N Australia 5.9)
5.5N Drying of
climates?
5 dry forest 5 thin colluvium dry episode?
(local colluvium)
? ?degraded forest, (very few records/ increasing frequency of
disturbance ongoing investigations) floods?
132 M.F. Thomas et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 251 (2007) 119136
shows that five lacustrine phases at ca. 120, 86, 63, 40
and 10 ka exhibit progressively declining levels.
Although the river catchments must have responded to
the long term trend, it is the evidence for periods of more
rapid climate and vegetation change that provides the
stronger signal. Fluvial archives elsewhere in Australia
indicate enhanced stream activity during OIS5e, OIS3 and
the Holocene (OIS1), with evidence for less activity
during OIS4 and OIS2 (Kershaw and Nanson, 1993;
Tooth and Nanson, 1995; Nanson et al., 2003). The record
from NE Queensland shows that a group of coarse sedi-
ments and flow deposits formed during OIS3. Isolated,
older deposits are too few to offer new information on
earlier stages. A number of major slope failures occurred
during OIS3 and this may reflect the suggested instability
and fluctuation of climate at this time, extreme events
occurring even within a cooler climate. These conditions
appear to have persisted until at least 29 ka, with several
major coarse deposits dating to the period 3129 ka.
Thereafter a rapid decline in the calibre of sediments
found in our surveys is evident and a total of 18 dates from
10 fans and sub-catchments fall between 27 and 14 ka. In
proximal areas these fan deposits are mostly coarse sands,
gravels and pebbles with some discontinuous cobble beds
near larger rivers. In distal areas the fine sands and silts
accumulated to thicknesses of 10 m in places.
Glacial mode climates were established globally
around 28/27 ka (Broecker and Denton, 1990) and climat-
ic variability may have lessened, as the Austral-Asian
monsoon weakened, ENSO events became weaker or
ceased in favour of La Nina stability. Relatively cold,
stable conditions with low rainfall and a marked reduction
in tropical cyclone activity were associated with open, dry-
sclerophyll woodlands and savannas. Many rivers would
have been reduced to seasonal flow, smaller streams were
probably ephemeral. If gallery forests died back in steeper
valleys, stored sediment would be liberated from foot-
slopes and terraces, while sediment yield from steeper
slopes increased. These conditions would have developed
slowly and extended widely towards the LGM. It is likely
that these conditions account for the fans and fan-terraces
described in this paper. The period of relatively low energy
alluvial and colluvial deposition continued for around 14
15,000 years and ended after 14 ka.
Important climate change in the Austral-Asian region
following 15 ka has been noted, and greatly increased
humidity at 15 ka (15.314,700 cal years BP) is re-
corded from NE Africa (Williams et al., 2000) and in
multiproxy records across the tropics (see Kale et al.,
2003). The evidence from West Africa (Thorp and
Thomas, 1992; Thomas and Thorp, 1995) indicates that
floods, incision and deposition of coarse sediments
occurred during the PleistoceneHolocene transition. It
is also likely that such periods of rapid climate change
have been characterised by high variability. The fans of
NE Queensland were possibly incised during such a
period and later sediments were deposited within the,
initially narrow, river corridors so produced. There is no
documented effect of the Younger Dryas (12.811,600
cal years BP) in NE Queensland, but full development
of Holocene humidity occurred well after this event.
Nonetheless hillslope instability probably resulted from
increasing humidity in the early Holocene climate. Pre-
cipitation falling on wet sclerophyll woodland may have
been more likely to trigger shallow translational slides
than under the more complex rainforest canopy, and the
flow lobes from these are the features we have sampled.
The earliest Holocene terrace deposit we have dated
is on the Mulgrave River fan, which returned a (TL) date
of 9.4 ka near the outlet of the river from its upland
channel (see Nott et al., 2001, Fig. 5). Three other early
Holocene dates record marked slope instability between
11 and 8 ka, possibly indicating high humidity and
prolonged rainfalls. Significantly, this period is when
the rainforest was slowly becoming re-established on
the Atherton Plateau, a process that continued until 8.6
6 ka according to Williams (1994), and even to 3500 BP
according to Hopkins et al. (1993). The recovery of
evergreen rainforests was probably delayed by instabil-
ity in the climate regime towards the end of the Pleis-
tocene, and late re-establishment of the Walker Cell and
ENSO influenced climate pattern (Schulmeister and
Lees, 1995); also possibly by eroded soils and by fire.
There is evidence for renewed fine colluvium forming
a thin surface layer (b 3 m) on many footslopes and
Pleistocene fans. Two dates of 5.55.1 ka from the upper
Kewarra Fan and at Reynold's Road respectively, may
record a period of enhanced sediment yield from hillslopes
in the mid-Holocene but further evidence is required.
We have insufficient data from fluvial sediments of
Holocene age for any analysis of conditions during this
period.
The nature of mid-Holocene climates remains uncer-
tain. The widespread drying of climates in Africa and
America after 5.5 ka may not have been reflected in lands
bordering the western Pacific. In equatorial Panama,
Gonzlez et al. (2006) have identified a significant
change from the Holocene optimum conditions at
5.6 ka, but the climate still remained humid. Schulmeister
and Lees (1995) found evidence for a major change
towards highly variable, ENSO dominated climates after
ca. 4000 BP. Mayewski et al. (2004) recently reviewed
evidence for global Holocene climate variability and
identified periods of rapid climate change (RCCs) as due
 M.F. Thomas et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 251 (2007) 119136
to the glacial aftermath, between 9000 and 8000 cal
years BP, and periods demonstrating the cool poles, dry
tropics principle 60005000, 42003800, 35002500,
and 12001000 cal years BP. They argue that 14C and
10
Be records point to a decline in solar output during the
major RCC events 60005000 and 35002500 cal years
BP. The earliest period of RCC after 9 ka took place when
the climates were strongly influenced by ice-sheet
dynamics and possibly by increases in volcanic aerosols,
and Mayewski et al. (2004) argue that the 8.2 ka event
has to be seen in this context.
Short-term RCCs in the Holocene (or at any other
time) raise issues in relation to the interpretation of
fluvial archives for a number of reasons. It has been
shown here that major transformations of landscape had
already taken place when catchment behaviour switched
to fan formation in OIS2, and it has been argued
(Vandenberghe and Maddy, 2001; Veldkamp and
Tebbens, 2001; Lewis et al., 2001; Thomas, 2004) that
rivers have changed behaviour on a millennial scale in
Europe and elsewhere, and that short-term RCCs such as
the YD stadial (1300 years) may be too short to be
reflected in river sediments in areas distant from the
immediate influence of glacial advance. In the lowland,
humid tropics, where frost and wind play no part in
surface processes, much of the sedimentation can be a
record of extreme events that recur on decade to century
timescales. The impact of sub-millennial, cyclical or
similar fluctuations of regional climate is, therefore,
most likely to be seen in the magnitude and frequency of
such events (Nott et al., 1999), rather than as a secular
change in fluvial behaviour. It is possible, therefore, that
such episodes as the YD, the 8.2 ka event and some later
fluctuations in climate can only be identified from high
resolution cores taken from lower reaches of floodplains.
Thus, while vegetation often responds to increased
aridity, especially drought conditions, through the impact
of fire, such events may be limited to interfluves and
steep slopes in a landscape otherwise still forested. If the
upper catchments of the NE Queensland rivers, such as
the Daintree, Barron, Mulgrave and Russell remained
forested through the mid-Holocene their hydrology
would have remained buffered against drought, main-
taining critical low flows on the larger rivers.
7. Conclusions
A number of conclusions emerge from this study, in
the light of other published work.
(1) In NE Queensland long term change towards
more arid conditions may have continued over
133
105 years. Superimposed on this secular trend are
periods of more rapid change, apparently effective
over 103 years, but probably involving abrupt
episodes lasting 102 years.
(2) Weather patterns will have varied within this time
spectrum, responding to global cooling and
its effects on sea surface temperatures (SSTs),
the intensity of the monsoon and Walker cell
(ENSO) activity, leading to changes in magni-
tude and frequency of storm events on a decadal
scale.
(3) Geomorphic outcomes from these trends have
been mediated by vegetation change, and partic-
ularly the fate of the rainforest, which declined
after OIS5e, giving way to progressively less
complex and more open, sclerophyll woodland
until its recovery in the Holocene.
(4) Alluvial deposition during OIS3 and OIS2 indi-
cates marked contrasts in regime. OIS3 climates
appear to have remained relatively humid and
contained major storm events despite global
cooling, while OIS2 climates led to fan formation
and a reduced calibre of sediment, indicating loss
of stream power through reduced runoff and low
flood peaks. The switch from high-energy
flow conditions to vertical accretion appears to
have come after 28 ka and continued until
14 ka.
(5) Incision of the fans took place following postgla-
cial warming of climate, during the Pleistocene
Holocene transition, but early Holocene humidity
probably peaked after 12 ka (post YD) and full
recovery of the rainforest was delayed a further 3
4 kyears.
(6) Finally, there appears to be a lagged or delayed
response of catchment systems to major climate
change. In NE Queensland, long-term trends
have been interrupted by episodes of more abrupt
change, possibly still evident on a millennial
scale. We have no evidence for the decade to
century changes that are recorded from areas
affected by glacial meltwater. For major changes
to take place in catchment behaviour many
different thresholds must be crossed. These
probably coincide with critical combinations of
long-term trend (10 4 10 3 years), short-term
fluctuation (10 2 101 y) and the incidence of
extreme events (100 10 1 years). In NE Queens-
land such changes probably took place towards
the end of OIS5 (uncertain), OIS3 ( 28 ka)
and OIS2 (post 15/14 ka) (see Thomas, 2003,
2004).
134 M.F. Thomas et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 251 (2007) 119136

8. Postscript award of an Emeritus Fellowship (20022003), and The

Studies of fluvial response to climate change depend
on the availability of multiproxy chronologies derived
from pollen sites and ocean cores for verification. But
the impact of climate change may be amplified in fluvial
records derived from catchments sensitive to environ-
mental perturbation when compared to some isolated
and protected pollen sites.
In areas with strong spatial climatic gradients, such as
the hinterland of Cairns, regional changes may be masked
by local site conditions at pollen sites and dampened by
the integration of fluvial and marine process signals in
ocean drilling cores. Greater recognition, therefore needs
to be given to the record of slope and stream deposition in
attempts to understand the timing and magnitude of major
landscape changes. Regional surveys of evidence for
climate change such as those provided by Mayewski et al.
(2004) and Hope et al. (2004) offer important perspec-
tives on these issues. It is also important that confirmatory
chronologies of Late Quaternary climate change, in the
humid tropics also come from equatorial areas, where
spatial gradients in climatic parameters are less steep.
One such record from Panama (Gonzlez et al., 2006)
presents a chronology that matches closely that derived
from the Queensland data:
1. cold and 39.428. 1 cal
humid phase: year BP
2. coldest, driest 28.114.5 cal
phase: year BP
3. transitional phase 14.511.3 cal
of sea-level rise, year BP
humid:
4. moisture and 11.35.6 cal year
temperature BP, (drier ca 7.0
optimum: cal year BP)
5. humidity persists, post 5.6 cal
but disturbance year BP
important:
Thus evidence is accumulating from many tropical
regions for a clear chronology of important environ-
mental changes. The magnitude and impacts of these
changes have varied with location and, in the critical
region of seasonally humid climates in NE Queensland,
the magnitude has at times been great enough to
destabilise and transform the sensitive landscapes.
Acknowledgements
Over the period of this research funding has been
received by M. F. Thomas from the Carnegie Trust for the
Universities of Scotland, the Leverhulme Trust by the
Royal Society of Edinburgh. J. Nott has received funding
from the Australian Research Council. The figures were
drawn by William Jamieson at the University of Stirling,
UK.
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