No continuous, high resolution records documenting paleoenvironmental change through the most recent deglaciation period for southern Australia currently exist. An extremely well-laminated stalagmite from the Flinders Ranges , SA, has been identified by U/Th disequilibrium dating to have formed during the period 17.5 - 14 ka. This stalagmite offers a rare opportunity to examine paleoenvironmental change and search for evidence of rapid climate events such as Heinrich event 1 that is well-documented in the northern hemisphere. In addition, dune building in the Strzelecki Desert to the north and east is concentrated in a number of discrete phases during this time. Comparing the dune and speleothem records will lead to a better understanding of the relationships between regional hydrology and environmental response during this period of rapid, high magnitude climate change.

An opportunity exists for a Summer Scholar to assist in reconstructing the paleoenvironmental record for this stalagmite. The student would gain experience in laboratory analyses (O-isotopes, laser ablation trace element analyses, U-series dating) and the interpretation of speleothem and dune paleoclimate records.

The Indian Ocean Dipole is now recognised as a climate system of international importance because of its effect on rainfall in Indonesia, Australia, Asia, and East Africa. Resolving the debate about how the Dipole and ENSO climate systems interact, and how they respond to different background climates, is essential for understanding the nature of drought in southern Australasia. Would you like to work with an international team to build on advances made at RSES in the microanalysis of stable-isotopes and trace elements in recently discovered corals from the Mentawai Islands, Sumatra, in western Indonesia? Corals from the Mentawai Islands are well located to quantify the range of IOD variability during times when Earth's climate was different from the present day. You will also have the special opportunity to answer a pressing question in the collective mind of Australasian society, how often do great-earthquakes occur and where will one strike next? The nature of great compound earthquakes, such the Boxing Day 2004 / Easter Monday 2005 event in Sumatra, is poorly understood, largely because the regularity of catastrophic earthquakes in space and time remains unanswered. This facet of the project will develop geochemical tracers in corals to reconstruct the recurrence intervals of great submarine earthquakes and tsunamis in Australasia. You will join an experienced international team from Australia (ANU, AIMS, CSIRO), Indonesia (LIPI), and the USA (Caltech, U. Wisconsin) who have complementary skills in geochemistry, geochronology, palaeoclimatology, ocean-atmosphere dynamics, palaeoclimate modelling, and palaeoseismology. The ideal candidate will enjoy fieldwork on the coral reefs of Indonesia (mapping, surveying, coral drilling, water sampling) and the development / application of innovative laboratory techniques. Contact Dr Mike Gagan (Michael.Gagan@anu.edu.au) and Dr Linda Ayliffe (Linda.Ayliffe@anu.edu.au) for further information.

The recent discovery of the dwarf hominin Homo floresiensis (the 'Hobbit') on the island of Flores in southeastern Indonesia revealed the surprising diversity of early humans in Australasia. How they survived in apparent isolation for tens of millennia, and the cause of their recent extinction, are topics of great debate. The surprisingly recent extinction of the Hobbit is particularly intriguing. This project is designed to answer a key question, could abrupt climate changes, unprecedented environmental shifts, or catastrophic volcanic eruptions have played a role in human dispersal, and extinction, in southern Australasia? Recent advances in geochronology and the microanalysis of stable-isotope ratios and elemental concentrations in carbonate cave formations (speleothems) have opened a new era in tropical palaeoclimatology and global change research. Your PhD research will focus on the important task of reconstructing the history of monsoon rainfall extremes, environmental shifts, and catastrophic volcanic eruptions over the past 150,000 years using speleothems from western Flores. During a caving expedition to Flores in August 2006, our team discovered material suitable for this research near the Hobbit occupation site. A major expedition is scheduled for 2007 to collect speleothems from these, and neighbouring sites.

You will join an experienced international team from Australia (ANU, U. Queensland, U. Newcastle), Indonesia (LIPI), and the USA (NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies) who have complementary skills in geochemistry, geochronology, palaeoclimatology, palaeoclimate modelling, and speleology. The ideal candidate will enjoy fieldwork in the karst limestone terranes of western Flores (mapping, surveying, speleothem drilling / collecting, water sampling) and the development / application of innovative laboratory techniques. Contact Dr Linda Ayliffe (Linda.Ayliffe@anu.edu.au) and Dr Mike Gagan (Michael.Gagan@anu.edu.au) for further information.