Discover the mystery behind the strange rock pillars in the Australian desert

The indigenous Australian Yuid people believe that the rock towers, or what are known as The Pinnacles, represent the hands of warriors who were swallowed by the sandy place “Kong Kan”, extending over a distance of a thousand kilometers.

Now, scientists from Curtin University have found that the limestone rock towers about 5 meters high and 2 meters wide were formed 100,000 years ago during the wettest period of the past half a million years in the region.

“We found that this period was the wettest locally in the past half a million years, which is different from other regions in Australia and a far cry from the current Mediterranean climate in Western Australia,” said study co-author Matti Lebar.

Scientists found that the abundance of water during this time caused the limestone to dissolve, forming the distinctive iron-rich columns.

Scientists say such landscapes exist globally along coastlines, including in the Mediterranean, the Middle East and coastal southeast Africa, as well as the Indian subcontinent, the Caribbean, Bermuda and some Pacific islands.

They noted that landforms can serve as sensitive indicators of environmental change but only now has a method been developed to study changes of these formations in depth.

“Studying them on a precise timeline helps us understand how Earth’s geological systems respond to climate shifts,” Dr. Lebar explained.

Iron-rich nodules in limestone formations act like geological clocks, trapping helium from the decay of small amounts of radioactive uranium and thorium in the soil.

“Measuring this helium provides an accurate record of when the nodules form,” said Martin Danishek, one of the study’s authors.

Dr. Danishek added: “The innovative dating techniques developed in this study reveal that the nodules date back approximately 100,000 years, highlighting an exceptionally humid climatic period.”

Scientists hope the new method will allow precise dating of climate changes in such landscapes and help provide a more accurate timeline of past environmental changes.

“This research not only advances scientific knowledge, but also provides practical insights into the history of climate and environmental change, which are relevant to anyone interested in the present and future of our planet,” noted Milo Parham, one of the study’s co-authors.

Source: Independent