Rainfall in a nutshell
P. spiralis trees on the Magela Creek floodplain near Madjedbebe, with an inset displaying the cephalium. Credit Florin et al.
Across the world, it’s what humans and other organisms have left behind that’s advanced our understanding of the Earth’s past. From pyramids to garbage piles, such leavings also preserve the opportunity to understand human history at the time these things were made or discarded.
When it comes to continuous Earth history, it doesn’t get much better than a 65,000-year-old rainfall record. That’s what archaeologists are generating from the ancient food scraps found at Australia’s earliest-known site of human occupation, in the Northern Territory.
Fruit of the Anyakngarra, also known as pandanus. The soft base is made into a drink and their nuts are an excellent source of fat and protein. 26 January 2021 Archaeologists are generating a 65,000-year-old rainfall record from ancient food scraps found at Australia’s earliest-known site of human occupation. University of Queensland researcher Dr Anna Florin said the research was giving a glimpse into the Kakadu region’s environment from the time when people first entered the continent from the north. “Using the scraps from meals eaten tens of thousands of years ago, we can tell a localised story of climate change and explore its effects on communities living in the Kakadu region through time,” said Dr Florin, who also works with ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage .
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Ancient food scraps provide clues to past rainfall in Australia’s Northern Territory
These pandanus trees, on Australia’s Magela Creek floodplain near the archaeological site of Madjedbebe, are the subject of new research involving the University of Washington.Florin et al., 2021, Nature Ecology and Evolution
Ancient food scraps found at Australia’s earliest site of human occupation, in the Kakadu region of the Northern Territory, are helping researchers generate rainfall records dating back 65,000 years.
A new study led by the University of Queensland and involving the University of Washington provides a glimpse into the region’s climate at the time when people first entered the Australian continent from the north.
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Mining at the Ranger Uranium Mine wound up yesterday after more than 40 years
Traditional owners in Kakadu are now calling for an extension of the project’s rehabilitation phase
The company that runs the mine has signalled its support for the move
Production at the Ranger Uranium Mine, on the outskirts of the national park, drew to a close yesterday after more than 40 years of operation.
Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation, which represents Mirarr traditional owners, has used the closure to demand owner Energy Resources Australia (ERA) rehabilitate the site
beyond its current lease expiry in 2026.
Within that timeframe, the company is required to restore the site to its previous pristine state.
Kakadu s most controversial Ranger calls it a day
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Forty years after it began in a blaze of controversy, the uranium mine surrounded by Kakadu National Park will cease processing the nuclear fuel for the last time on Friday.
ASX-listed Energy Resources of Australia has been gradually retiring aspects of the processing circuit at the Northern Territory s Ranger mine in recent weeks, and in keeping with federal law, the company will stop processing its remaining stockpiles before midnight.
The end of processing comes eight years after mining at Ranger ceased, and more than five years after ERA s biggest shareholder, Rio Tinto, sounded the death knell by declaring it would not support any further mining at the site.