Thermoluminescence ages and Palaeoclimate from the Lake Malata Lake Greenly complex, Eyre peninsula, south Australia

Strandlines of playas from the Lake Malata-Lake Greenly Complex on the Lyre Peninsula, South Australia, preserve a detailed record of major changes in lake level and palaeoclimate spanning the period 320 ka to present. Thermoluminescence ages of quartz from a total of 13 carbonate lunettes, a pedogenic disconformity, a recent foredune, a sub-parabolic dune and a major foredune ridge have been obtained. The age of 319+/-72 ka for the foredune ridge is centred at the interglacial highstand of stage 9 and represents a unique high lake level in the complex. The formation of lunettes has long been linked to the aridity of the Last Glacial Maximum (ca. 18 ka). We are able to show that deflation of playa sediment into lunettes has been relatively common and has occurred intermittently throughout the period 130 ka to present. The deflation events have been synchronous with the global glacial inception (ca. 115 ka), cold intervals (ca. 85 and 75 ka) and cold stadials following the main glacial transition (ca. 54 and 43 ka). During the Last Glacial Maximum, deflation commenced as early as 26 ka and culminated in maximum deflation between 20 and 17 ka. The most recent phase of deflation has been dated at ca. 1.9 to 1.2 ka. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.