Quaternary Aminostratigraphy of Eolianite on Lord Howe Island

Amino acid racemization (AAR) dating data from eolianite on Lord Howe Island provides a geochronological framework from the Holocene to Middle Pleistocene. The dataset defines three aminozones based on D/L ratios from land snails and whole-rock samples, correlating with formations like Neds Beach and Searles Point. Data from Geoscience Australia supports independent lithostratigraphic interpretations and extends the known interval of eolianite deposition.

Use Cases

• Correlating disparate eolianite successions based on amino acid racemization data.
• Assessing the reliability of AAR dating by analyzing multiple samples from individual lithostratigraphic units.
• Linking large dune unit deposition to periods of high sea level based on the extended time interval revealed by the data.
• Comparing AAR-derived aminozones with independent U/Th and TL age data from speleothems and corals.

Strengths

• Reliability assessed by analyzing multiple samples per unit and checking stratigraphic order of D/L ratios.
• Defines three aminozones with specific mean D/L-leucine ratios, such as 0.03±0.01 for modern samples.
• Data is in broad agreement with independent U/Th and TL ages from speleothems and corals.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Amino acid racemization (AAR) dating of eolianite and land snail samples.

Time Range

Holocene to Middle Pleistocene

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-20 01:20:10.008316; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Lord Howe Island, Southwest Pacific Ocean