Western science has long debated when the towering pillars of the Pinnacles came to be. A new study suggests most of the spires formed when a particularly wet period dissolved the surrounding rock.
Geoscientists say a desert of limestone monoliths known as the Pinnacles formed 100,000 years ago during an extremely wet period.To stand among the limestone spires and shifting deep yellow sands of the Pinnacles Desert can feel like being on another planet.
His co-author, Curtin University geologist Milo Barham, likened the rock to "Swiss cheese" where the holes got so big all that was left was the Pinnacles.Iron nodules provide dates The remaining landscape is known as karst, a term used for areas comprising weathered limestone or other minerals such as gypsum and dolomite.To pin down when the Pinnacles formed, the researchers looked at other geochemical processes that took place as the limestone dissolved.
Iron nodules, predominantly made up of the iron-rich mineral goethite, on the side of pinnacles were dated to determine when the latter formed.The researchers calculated the age of the iron nodules using a method called U-Th/He dating, which measures the accumulation of helium atoms produced by the radioactive decay of uranium and thorium.
"These are some of the things that I guess we still need to find out. There's plenty of mystery left in the Pinnacles to explore."Looking further afield, Dr Lipar said if iron nodules are present in similar karst regions around the world, they too could be used to date those areas and gain a deeper understanding of Earth's past climates.
Pinnacles Nambung Kwong-Kan Yued Yuet Karst Limestone Desert Coral Coast
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