first true
carnivore mammals, first
anthropoid apes
complete disappearance of polar ice caps
causes sea levels to rise world wide
Victoria: last of the older volcanoes (~57m
- 20m yrs); maximum extension of sea into
Murray, Gippsland & Otway basins;
Miocene epoch:
mastodon, grasses
Victoria:
climatic change in late Miocene &
Pliocene times from the previously wet
coal-forming times resulted in:
retreat of the seas & draining
of the inland basins &
rejuvenation of streams which lay down
sand, clays & marl over the
limestones deposited by the seas
erosion of the major valleys in
Victorian Highlands to bedrock which
was later covered by deposition pf
river alluvia - initially by Tertiary
& later Pleistocene (30,000 to
4,000yrs ago)
the rise of eucalypt & decrease
in beech (now only in sheltered damp
valleys on higher mountains)
updoming of Western Highlands
resulting in newer volcanic series
over Western Highlands & Western
District Plains (last was 6000yrs ago)
Pliocene epoch:
higher mammals
Victoria:
in late Pliocene & early Pleistocene
times, renewed earth movements result in
the final uplifting of Mt Kosciusko,
Dundas Tablelands, Western & Eastern
Highlands as well as accentuating the
Otway Ranges & South Gippsland Uplands
resulting in formation of the Port Phillip
& Western Port Sunklands & their
faulting within them.
Quaternary period:
Pleistocene (10,000-2 million yrs
ago):
humans, larger
mammals
the last ice age
commenced 38000-40000yrs ago & max.
at 17-20,000yrs ago resulting in sea
levels falling 120-150m below present
levels, thus Tasmania & New Guinea
linked to Australia's land allowing
migration of animals & humans.
sea levels rose rapidly with minor
fluctuations until ~7300yrs ago by which
time it was ~10m below present
levels
Victoria:
limestone caves become dry enough for
occupation by animals & Aborigines
(23,000yrs ago)
Zanci event - 17500-15000yrs ago - rapid
change resulted in drying of the southern
Australian lakes
deposition of alluvia in major river
valleys (30,000-4000 yrs ago)
further subsidence of Mornington
Peninsula push Pleistocene dune rock &
beach deposits 135m below sea level due to
movements in Selwyn's Fault to the east
& the Bellarine Fault to the west
Paleolithic
(10,000-500,000 yrs ago)
- old stone age
Holocene:
final rise in sea levels - the Flandrian
Transgression - ended ~2000yrs ago
Victoria:
rising sea levels results in:
the buried valley floor of
rivers draining into sea being
50-100m below sea level
formation of calcareous dunes
& cementing of shell fragments
to form aeolianite
last of the volcanoes (6000yrs ago)
erosion into Pleistocene alluvial
bed in major river valleys by current
rivers (4000yrs ago to present)
Neolithic (2,000 - 10,000
yrs ago) - new stone age,
agriculture, domesticated
animals
the human plague continues to exhaust natural resources
whilst throwing the ecosystems into disarray
the end of oil reserves - will it finally destroy
industrial growth and cause global super-inflation?
global climate change - we have perhaps only a decade to
turn around drivers for global warming.
prolonged droughts
sea level rise flooding coastal communities
more extreme weather
perhaps a new ice age in Europe due to effects on the
Gulf Stream
history shows us that rapid warming over a period of
70yrs caused ice berg break up in Canada which
migrated east to France and these were then followed
by decades of intense cold with soil deep frozen as
far south as southern France.
the Gulf Stream is driven by the stream's fall to
the bottom of the sea in the Baltic as it gets colder
and more concentrated (thermohaline circulation) but
this can be disrupted by excessive ice berg or glacier
melting which dilutes the waters.
turning off the Gulf Stream means warm tropical
waters from the Mexican Gulf will no longer moderate
temperatures in the Norwegian Sea with resultant cold
climate for northern Europe.
sea levels would rise by 1m in northern hemisphere
and drop in the south.
2007 showed evidence of decreased salinity,
increased ice berg and glacier break up while Arctic
seas are open to shipping for longer periods each year
due to less sea ice.
probability of this occurring: perhaps 2% in next
decade and 50% in next century.
loss of flora and fauna - not to mention deforestation
by man directly.
will the internet further marginalise people or will it
provide opportunity to improve humanity.
how will we feed the Western world (let alone the Third
World) when prolonged droughts or weather extremes impact
the major food growing regions while soaring oil prices
with depletion of reserves will make food too expensive to
transport long distances, not to mention ecosystem
disasters such as the massive loss of honey bees in 2007
impacting fruit pollination.
its time to stop taking the world for granted like
everything else in our lives.
will technology be enough to solve the problems:
electrical power generation from:
geo-thermal power
new higher efficiency solar cells based on quantum
crystals
"clean" coal power stations
methane hydrate ice on ocean floors but this will
only add to carbon dioxide production and be
expensive.
expansion of nuclear fission stations
nuclear fusion converting hydrogen to helium like on
the sun (at least 50 years away)
carbon nano tubes 50x stronger than steel that could
build space elevators and replace rockets
but how will we create products currently based on oil
such as plastics
