[Aqualist] SHeMax project & workshop

[lynda petherick]

Dear Quaternarists,

It is our pleasure to introduce the three-year project ‘The Last Glacial Maximum in the Southern Hemisphere (SHeMax)’, submitted to INQUA under the PALCOM IFG SHAPE.

The project aims to explore Last Glacial Maximum in the Southern Hemisphere, encompassing the period 35-18 kyr BP in the latitudinal range 15-90oS. We will be comparing and contrasting model simulations and proxy records from terrestrial and marine environments, exploring regional synchroneity, drivers of variability and the quality of the data. Ultimately, we will be producing a series of conference presentations, and papers published in a special edition of Quaternary International.

To launch the project, we will be holding a 2-day workshop in Auckland, New Zealand, December 3-4 2016, immediately prior to the AQUA meeting.

Key questions to be explored in the workshop are:

1.      -What is the onset of the LGM in each region?

a.       When does it start?

b.      Is it an abrupt transition or a gradual drift?

2.      -Duration

a.       Single event or complex period?

3.      -Human settlement patterns

Prior to the workshop we will be soliciting 1000-word regional summaries and a key diagram from individuals, which will be collated towards producing a review paper of the current state of knowledge.

Summaries to be requested:


·         -South Africa

·         -South America

o   1 x subtropics

o   1 x temperate/high latitudes

·         -New Zealand

·         -Australia

o   Temperate

o   Subtropics

·         -Southern Oceans

·        -“Other” oceans

·         -Antarctic Peninsula

·         -Antarctic “other”

Participants in the workshop will be invited to contribute to the review paper. There are also opportunities to present key proxy records (speleothems, corals, tree rings etc).

If you have any questions, or are keen to be involved in SHeMax and/or the workshop, please contact Jamie Shulmeister james.shulmeister at uq.edu.au<mailto:james.shulmeister at uq.edu.au>.

Kind regards,

Lynda Petherick
Jamie Shulmeister
Maisa Rojas
Jasper Knight