The relationship between climate and the development of landforms in the cainozoic rocks of Queensland

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Abstract
Climate is the fundamental control for both the landform and weathering profile. Moreover, climate controls whether calcrete, silcrete or laterite is the end product of the duricrusting process. Examination of climatic records for Queensland indicates that the most convenient parameter is temperature which can be graphically related to the effectiveness of rainfall and the amount of runoff available for erosional purposes. By expressing climate in terms of temperature, rather than precipitation, it is possible to compare present‐day climates with earlier climates. This comparison may be represented in terms of temperature change as deduced from the evidence of lowered snowlines and isotopic oxygen determinations. The sequences of landforms in southeast Queensland are described and are shown to be a result of continued warping on a north‐south axis. The history of climatic changes is such that pediplain processes have dominated until the Pleistocene and, as a consequence, fluvial alluvial development has been restricted. This has had significant economic results in that permeable alluvium, suitable for utilization as groundwater aquifers, is somewhat rare in Queensland.

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