Environmental Record from Ocean Depths Spans 250,000 Years

CANBERRA, Australia, March 10, 2003 (ENS) - Australian and French scientists voyaging across the Great Australian Bight have retrieved a core sample from the Murray Canyons that contains information on Australia's climate over the last 250,000 years.

"Taken aboard the French research vessel, "Marion Dufrense," this finding has been described as the best sedimentary core sample retrieved in Australian waters because of the important information it provides about the climate," said Minister for Environment and Heritage, Dr. David Kemp.

The core stretched out along the deck (Photo courtesy AUSCAN)

The AUSCAN voyage began in Hobart, Tasmania on February 18 and concluded in Fremantle on March 6.

From the ship, scientists drilled long cores into the sediment around the Murray Canyons system that has been deposited over the centuries by the Murray Darling river system.

"Early indications show the core is at a very high resolution and shows the highest rate of deposition of any core sample ever collected in Australian waters, meaning there is a large amount of sediment for every thousand years," Dr. Kemp said.

Researcher Julie Tranier investigates the characteristics of the core on board the "Marion Dufrense." (Photo courtesy AUSCAN)

Australian National University geologist aboard the ship, Professor Patrick De Deckker, called the core results "very significant."

"This is a phenomenal result. We plan to divide the core into one centimeter slices, each representing 100 years of ocean history. This information will hopefully allow us to chart the history of the oceans and climate of this region every 100 years for the past 250,000 years. It will also help us predict and plan for future ocean events," Deckker said.

The AUSCAN project is backed with A$1 million from the Federal Government's National Oceans Office as well as contributions from Geoscience Australia, the South Australian Research and Development Institute, and the Australian National University.

The AUSCAN website is online at: www.oceans.gov.au/auscan.