The small iron-rich formations found within the Pinnacles of Western Australia, part of the largest wind-shaped limestone belt in the world, spanning over 1000km, they provided new information about Earth’s ancient climate and landscape changes.
Iron nuggets found on pinnacles in the western Australian desert: what they reveal
The new research found that the Pinnacles formed around 100,000 years ago, during what was the area’s wettest period in 500,000 years. very different from Mediterranean climate that Western Australia experiences today.
The lead author, Dr Matej Liparresearch associate at the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Curtin University, now at the Research Center of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU), said the spectacular finger-like Pinnacles in Nambung National Park are a type of karst created by water dissolving rocks.
“These formations offer crucial information about ancient climates and environments, but dating them precisely has been extremely difficult until now.“Dr. Lipar said.
“Karst landscapes, like those in Nambung National Parkare found throughout the world and are sensitive indicators of environmental changes. Studying them within an accurate timeline helps us understand how Earth’s geologic systems respond to climate change.”
Dr. Lipar later added: “We found that this period was locally the wettest in the last 500,000 years, distinct from other regions in Australia and far from Western Australia’s current Mediterranean climate.”
But the news on iron nuggets doesn’t end here: “An abundance of water during this period caused the limestone to dissolve, forming the characteristic pillars of the Pinnacles and creating the ideal environment for the development of the nodules iron.”
Like iron it allowed us to see how climate and landscape have changed throughout history
Curtin’s co-author, Associate Professor Martin Danišík, del John de Laeter Centreclaimed that the iron-rich nodules acted like geological clocks, trapping helium from the constant radioactive decomposition of very small quantities of naturally occurring uranium and thorium.
“Measuring this helium provides a precise record of when the nodules formed“, ha said Dr. Danišík, who then added: “The innovative dating techniques developed in this study reveal that the nodules date back approximately one hundred thousand years, highlighting an exceptionally humid climatic period.”
Study co-author Associate Professor Milo Barham, from the Timescales of Mineral Systems Group at Curtin University’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said stated that being able to reconstruct past climate change is important given the context it provides for understanding human evolution and ecosystems more broadlyamid dramatic climate fluctuations over the past three million years.
“This new knowledge will improve our understanding of global environments and ecosystems, helping us prepare for, and mitigate, the impacts of a warming planet,” said Dr. Barham, who later concluded: “This research not only advances scientific knowledge, but also offers practical insights on the history of climate and environmental changesrelevant to anyone concerned about the present and future of our planet.“
An international collaboration with ZRC SAZU, the research project was supported by the Slovenian Agency for Research and Innovation.
You can find the complete study on iron nuggets (FE as chemical symbol of the periodic table) by ZRC SAZU here.
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