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Palaeolimnological evidence for the independent evolution of neighbouring terminal lakes, the Murray Darling Basin, Australia

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Abstract

The estuary of the lower River Murray features a complex mosaic of lakes, coastal lagoons and interconnecting channels. The waters of these wetlands are degraded as a result of river regulation, water abstraction, salinisation, sedimentation and the recent constriction of the River mouth. Palaeolimnologial analysis of sediment cores in two wetlands reveals that salinity in the large terminal Lake Alexandrina was only moderately influenced by tidal inflow, particularly over the past ca. 2000 years. It is now largely fresh as a result of isolation by a series of barriers completed by 1940 AD. In contrast, the seaward portion of the Coorong, a back barrier coastal lagoon, was determined to be a subsaline estuary strongly influenced by marine inflows. These findings contrast somewhat with the Coorong’s current Ramsar classification as a saline lagoon. Riverine diatoms, typical of the fossil flora of Lake Alexandrina, are rare or absent in the Holocene sediments of the Coorong, other than for a short period in the late Holocene in the northernmost end of the lagoon. The palaeolimnological evidence for independent evolution of these wetlands is consistent with geomorphic evidence of a stranded, last interglacial shoreline that acted as a sill limiting the exchange of flows between Lake Alexandrina and the Coorong lagoon.

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Acknowledgements

This project was partly funded through the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality under the Upper South East Dryland Salinity and Flood Management Program (USEDS & FMP). Liz Barnett kindly provided access to LA2 sediments. Penny Everingham of the DWLBC provided administrative support. The cooperation of the Ngarrindjeri community is greatly appreciated, particularly Derek Gollin. Asta Cox, Carl Sayer, Glenn Tassicker, Angus MacGregor, Ashley Natt and Craig McVeigh assisted with fieldwork.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geographical & Environmental Studies, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia

    Jennie Fluin, Peter Gell & John Tibby

  2. School of Earth & Environmental Science, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia

    Deborah Haynes

  3. CSIRO Land Water, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia

    Gary Hancock

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  1. Jennie Fluin
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  2. Peter Gell
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  4. John Tibby
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Correspondence to Jennie Fluin.

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Fluin, J., Gell, P., Haynes, D. et al. Palaeolimnological evidence for the independent evolution of neighbouring terminal lakes, the Murray Darling Basin, Australia. Hydrobiologia 591, 117–134 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-007-0799-y

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