Year
2023
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences
Abstract
There are still significant knowledge gaps in our understanding of the Quaternary palaeo-history of tropical Australasia. Sedimentary archives, such as lake or cave sediments, and their associated proxies, have properties which can illuminate past climate and ecology, and provide insight into how people have interacted with their environment.
Biomarkers such as n-alkanes are increasingly being used to study past vegetation assemblages as they have the potential to preserve well when compared to other widely used proxies such as pollen. In addition, as compound-specific isotopes can be measured on n-alkanes, there is great potential for investigating vegetation sources more directly than can be achieved when using isotopes measured on bulk organic material. n-Alkanes, which are hydrocarbons associated with plant leaf waxes, are the focus of the work presented in this thesis. While these biomarkers have been studied widely in the Northern Hemisphere, there is still a lack of palaeo-environmental research using n-alkanes and compound-specific isotopes in the Southern Hemisphere. Specifically, the work presented in this thesis will focus on n-alkanes in tropical Australasia, a region from which few palaeo-environmental records exist and which is a particularly challenging environment in which to preserve biomarkers and other bio-proxies. Thus, this PhD will provide additional and complementary environmental information to that provided by commonly used palaeo-environmental proxies such as pollen.
Recommended Citation
Boesl, Fabian, Characteristics of n-alkanes in tropical sediment – implications for palaeoenvironmental research, Doctor of Philosophy thesis, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, 2023. https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses1/1753
FoR codes (2008)
0402 GEOCHEMISTRY, 0406 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENTAL GEOSCIENCE
Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Wollongong.