A new open access paper on the effects of sea level rise on Australia

Norman, K., Bradshaw, C.J., Saltré, F., Clarkson, C., Cohen,
T.J., Hiscock, P., Jones, T. and Boesl, F., 2024. Sea level rise
drowned a vast habitable area of north-western Australia
driving long-term cultural change. Quaternary Science Reviews,
324, no.108418.
[www.sciencedirect.com]

"Highlights
• MIS4 lowstand exposed a vast archipelago off the northwest coast of Sahul.
• The island environment likely enabled staged human dispersal from Wallacea to Sahul.
• The NW Shelf contained a mosaic of habitable fresh and saltwater environments.
• Modelling reveals the drowned shelf could have supported between 50,000 and 500,000 people.
• Retreat ahead of sea level rise drove increasing occupation and new rock art styles."

Yours,

Paul H.

"The past is never dead. It's not even past."
William Faulkner, Act 1, Scene III, Requiem for a Nun (1951)