Scott Mooney
Biographic Data
| ID | 5599102 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Scott Mooney |
| GIVEN NAMES | Scott |
| FAMILY NAME | Mooney |
| SIGNATURE | MOONEY S |
| AFFILIATIONS | UNSW Sydney |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-4449-5060 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 68 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 20 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1994 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Re-imagining Sydney’s freshwater wetlands through historical ecology
Australian conservation targets commonly focus on preserving a vaguely defined ecological baseline, often conceptualised as a pre-European, ‘natural’ state. For instance, environmental legislation protects ‘Endangered Ecological Communities’ (EECs), which purportedly represent remnants of naturally occurring biota. However, EECs are often classified without long-term data, making it unclear as to whether the community being protected is indeed ‘n…
The transition from an Indigenous to a European influenced fire regime at Lake Werri Berri, south-east Australia
The drivers of fire regimes prior to the European occupation of Australia are still contentious, with some advocating regimes dominated by anthropogenic ignitions and others advocating a climate source or mixture of these elements. Here, we examine an 850-year history of fire regimes at Lake Werri Berri in south-east Australia, prior to and following European occupation. Macroscopic charcoal and FTIR spectroscopy were used to infer broad changes …
Widely used charcoal analysis method in paleo studies involving NaOCl results in loss of charcoal formed below 400°C
This study investigated the effects a dilute solution of bleach (4% sodium hypochlorite), has on charcoal. We were particularly interested in considering if charcoal formed under different conditions of pyrolysis was differentially affected by this treatment, which is commonly used for the quantification of charcoal in sediments. We first produced a series of charcoal samples, under laboratory conditions (at temperatures between 250°C and 800°C a…
Fire, humans and climate as drivers of environmental change on Broughton Island, New South Wales, Australia
In Australia, the drivers of precolonial fire regimes remain contentious, with some advocating an anthropogenic-dominated regime, and others highlighting the importance of climate, climatic variability or alternatively some nexus between climate and human activity. Here, we explore the inter-relationships between fire, humans and vegetation using macroscopic charcoal, archaeology and palynology over the last ~5430 cal. year BP from Broughton Isla…
Tracking an exotic raw material
A compliance-based excavation on Parramatta River (western Sydney) found evidence of a brief visitation by Aboriginal people during the terminal Pleistocene (c.14 ka), from which an exotic raw material–medium-grained porphyroblastic andalusite-cordierite hornfels–was recovered. This raw material is rare in the region, only found in the Megalong Valley situated some 75 km west of the site in Parramatta, and separated from the site by the Blue Moun…
The Radiocarbon Ages of Different Organic Components in the Mires of Eastern Australia
Radiocarbon ( 14 C) dating is widely used to determine the age of organic material in palaeoenvironmental research. Here we compare 14 C dates (n=17) resulting from macro-charcoal (>250 μm), short-lived plant macrofossils and pollen-rich residues isolated from two mire environments in eastern Australia. In most samples we found that short-lived plant macrofossils were the youngest organic component, the charcoal samples most often fell into the m…
Coastal wetlands reveal a non-synchronous island response to sea-level change and a palaeostorm record from 5.5 kyr to present
Here, we describe environmental change on Lord Howe Island (LHI; 31°30′S, 159°05′E) over the last 5500 cal. BP, derived from the analysis of the accumulating sediments in four coastal wetlands. Grain-size analyses, loss on ignition (LOI) and micrometre-resolution x-ray fluorescence (XRF) geochemical data were combined with 10 accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14 C dates to determine a chronology of environmental change. Sedimentary coastal feat…
Rising waters
New pollen, phytolith, charcoal and diatom data from 14 C AMS-dated sediments from three clusters of former occupation sites on the southern Yangtze Delta – Liangzhu, Majiabang and Chuodun – reveal that hydrological conditions were a key factor influencing early food production on the southern Yangtze Delta. At least two episodes of inundation are recognized, the first occurring at c. 7200–5700 cal. yr BP and a second from c. 4700 cal. yr BP. The…
Late Quaternary fire regimes of Australasia
Changes in fire regimes since the Last Glacial Maximum
Human—environment interactions in Australia and New Guinea during the Holocene
During the long history of human occupation in Australia and New Guinea, any interaction between people and their environment has been played out against changing sociocultural and environmental contexts. Although archaeologists have used palaeoenvironmental data to better characterize the relationships between humans and their environment, and palaeoecologists and geomorphologists have likewise used archaeological and historical information to a…
Implications of a 14 200 year contiguous fire record for understanding human—climate relationships at Goochs Swamp, New South Wales, Australia
This paper interprets macroscopic charcoal (>250 μm), humification and loss-on-ignition over the last ~14200 cal. BP from Goochs Swamp, located to the west of Sydney in the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. This study aimed to investigate relationships between humans, climate and fire through time, primarily by comparison of these palaeoenvironmental indices with archaeological evidence from the region. Climatic forcing can explain all …
The fire, human and climate nexus in the Sydney Basin, eastern Australia
It is widely believed that Australian Aborigines utilized fire to manage many landscapes; however, to what extent this use of fire impacted on Australia's ecosystems remains uncertain. The late Pleistocene/ Holocene fire history from three sites within the Sydney Basin (Gooches Swamp, Lake Baraba and Kings Waterhole) were compared with archaeological and palaeoclimatic data. The Gooches Swamp record appeared to be most influenced by climate and t…
The Response of Aboriginal Burning Practices to Population Levels and El Niño–Southern Oscillation Events during the mid- to late-Holocene
Pollen and macroscopic charcoal have been analysed from a sedimentary sequence representing approximately 6100 years from a site within Wollemi National Park. This is located to the north-west of Sydney and forms a part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. The overall aim of the work was to examine the prehistoric interrelationships between vegetation, fire and human activity. There were relatively minor changes in the vegetation ov…
A Comparison of Charcoal and Archaeological Information to Address the Influences on Holocene Fire Activity in the Sydney Basin
The influence of Aboriginal people on fire activity and hence the vegetation of Australia has long been debated. This study aimed to document the local fire activity of the Holocene in the catchment of a small freshwater reed swamp located in the Sydney Basin and to compare this with nearby archaeological evidence; including artefact discard rates and the number of base camps and activity locations used through time. This archaeological evidence …
The use of mineral magnetic parameters to characterize archaeological ochres
A Comparison of the Environmental Changes of the Post-European Period with those of the Preceding 2000 Years at Lake Keilambete, South-western Victoria
Several parameters representing aspects of vegetation, fire, erosion and lacustrine productivity are investigated to compare the environmental changes of the historic period against those of the last 2000 years at Lake Keilambete in south-western Victoria. The average sedimentation rate post-dating European settlement was found to be c .2.5 times that of the analysed pre-European period and the nature of this sediment is distinctly different. Pol…
A fine-resolution palaeoclimatic reconstruction of the last 2000 years, from Lake Keilambete, southeastern Australia
A fine-resolution analysis of pollen, charcoal, magnetic susceptibility, sediment fractions and total carotenoids was used to investigate the last 2000 years of environmental history at Lake Keilambete, in western Victoria, Australia. The chronology of sedimentation was based on three radiocarbon dates, supplemented by inferences from 22 previous radiocarbon ages from the site, spanning approximately the last 7500 years. Changes in the analysed p…
Late holocene environmental change in an upper Montane area of the snowy mountains, New South Wales
This study examines environmental change in the upper montane zone of the Australian Eastern Highlands during the late Holocene, by analysing vegetation, fire and erosion records contained within a small fen located in a frost hollow. Differences in environmental parameters across the prehistoric—historic boundary were particularly investigated in an attempt to characterise better the changes associated with the imposition of European land‐use pr…
Environmental Systems and Human Impact at Cobrico Crater, South‐western Victoria
This study assesses human impact on the landscape around Cobrico, a volcanic crater lake in dairying country in south‐western Victoria. It compares the last 150 years of impact of European settlement against approximately the previous 1500 years of prehistoric occupation and land use. Focus is on vegetation dynamics, erosion, productivity changes and the fire regime. Since European settlement there has been woodland clearance and recovery, the in…
The use of mineral magnetic parameters to characterize archaeological ochres
Implications of a 14 200 year contiguous fire record for understanding human—climate relationships at Goochs Swamp, New South Wales, Australia
This paper interprets macroscopic charcoal (>250 μm), humification and loss-on-ignition over the last ~14200 cal. BP from Goochs Swamp, located to the west of Sydney in the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. This study aimed to investigate relationships between humans, climate and fire through time, primarily by comparison of these palaeoenvironmental indices with archaeological evidence from the region. Climatic forcing can explain all …
The fire, human and climate nexus in the Sydney Basin, eastern Australia
It is widely believed that Australian Aborigines utilized fire to manage many landscapes; however, to what extent this use of fire impacted on Australia's ecosystems remains uncertain. The late Pleistocene/ Holocene fire history from three sites within the Sydney Basin (Gooches Swamp, Lake Baraba and Kings Waterhole) were compared with archaeological and palaeoclimatic data. The Gooches Swamp record appeared to be most influenced by climate and t…
Tracking an exotic raw material
A compliance-based excavation on Parramatta River (western Sydney) found evidence of a brief visitation by Aboriginal people during the terminal Pleistocene (c.14 ka), from which an exotic raw material–medium-grained porphyroblastic andalusite-cordierite hornfels–was recovered. This raw material is rare in the region, only found in the Megalong Valley situated some 75 km west of the site in Parramatta, and separated from the site by the Blue Moun…
The Radiocarbon Ages of Different Organic Components in the Mires of Eastern Australia
Radiocarbon ( 14 C) dating is widely used to determine the age of organic material in palaeoenvironmental research. Here we compare 14 C dates (n=17) resulting from macro-charcoal (>250 μm), short-lived plant macrofossils and pollen-rich residues isolated from two mire environments in eastern Australia. In most samples we found that short-lived plant macrofossils were the youngest organic component, the charcoal samples most often fell into the m…
A fine-resolution palaeoclimatic reconstruction of the last 2000 years, from Lake Keilambete, southeastern Australia
A fine-resolution analysis of pollen, charcoal, magnetic susceptibility, sediment fractions and total carotenoids was used to investigate the last 2000 years of environmental history at Lake Keilambete, in western Victoria, Australia. The chronology of sedimentation was based on three radiocarbon dates, supplemented by inferences from 22 previous radiocarbon ages from the site, spanning approximately the last 7500 years. Changes in the analysed p…
Environmental Systems and Human Impact at Cobrico Crater, South‐western Victoria
This study assesses human impact on the landscape around Cobrico, a volcanic crater lake in dairying country in south‐western Victoria. It compares the last 150 years of impact of European settlement against approximately the previous 1500 years of prehistoric occupation and land use. Focus is on vegetation dynamics, erosion, productivity changes and the fire regime. Since European settlement there has been woodland clearance and recovery, the in…
The Response of Aboriginal Burning Practices to Population Levels and El Niño–Southern Oscillation Events during the mid- to late-Holocene
Pollen and macroscopic charcoal have been analysed from a sedimentary sequence representing approximately 6100 years from a site within Wollemi National Park. This is located to the north-west of Sydney and forms a part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. The overall aim of the work was to examine the prehistoric interrelationships between vegetation, fire and human activity. There were relatively minor changes in the vegetation ov…
A Comparison of Charcoal and Archaeological Information to Address the Influences on Holocene Fire Activity in the Sydney Basin
The influence of Aboriginal people on fire activity and hence the vegetation of Australia has long been debated. This study aimed to document the local fire activity of the Holocene in the catchment of a small freshwater reed swamp located in the Sydney Basin and to compare this with nearby archaeological evidence; including artefact discard rates and the number of base camps and activity locations used through time. This archaeological evidence …
A Comparison of the Environmental Changes of the Post-European Period with those of the Preceding 2000 Years at Lake Keilambete, South-western Victoria
Several parameters representing aspects of vegetation, fire, erosion and lacustrine productivity are investigated to compare the environmental changes of the historic period against those of the last 2000 years at Lake Keilambete in south-western Victoria. The average sedimentation rate post-dating European settlement was found to be c .2.5 times that of the analysed pre-European period and the nature of this sediment is distinctly different. Pol…
Rising waters
New pollen, phytolith, charcoal and diatom data from 14 C AMS-dated sediments from three clusters of former occupation sites on the southern Yangtze Delta – Liangzhu, Majiabang and Chuodun – reveal that hydrological conditions were a key factor influencing early food production on the southern Yangtze Delta. At least two episodes of inundation are recognized, the first occurring at c. 7200–5700 cal. yr BP and a second from c. 4700 cal. yr BP. The…
Human—environment interactions in Australia and New Guinea during the Holocene
During the long history of human occupation in Australia and New Guinea, any interaction between people and their environment has been played out against changing sociocultural and environmental contexts. Although archaeologists have used palaeoenvironmental data to better characterize the relationships between humans and their environment, and palaeoecologists and geomorphologists have likewise used archaeological and historical information to a…
Re-imagining Sydney’s freshwater wetlands through historical ecology
Australian conservation targets commonly focus on preserving a vaguely defined ecological baseline, often conceptualised as a pre-European, ‘natural’ state. For instance, environmental legislation protects ‘Endangered Ecological Communities’ (EECs), which purportedly represent remnants of naturally occurring biota. However, EECs are often classified without long-term data, making it unclear as to whether the community being protected is indeed ‘n…
The transition from an Indigenous to a European influenced fire regime at Lake Werri Berri, south-east Australia
The drivers of fire regimes prior to the European occupation of Australia are still contentious, with some advocating regimes dominated by anthropogenic ignitions and others advocating a climate source or mixture of these elements. Here, we examine an 850-year history of fire regimes at Lake Werri Berri in south-east Australia, prior to and following European occupation. Macroscopic charcoal and FTIR spectroscopy were used to infer broad changes …
Widely used charcoal analysis method in paleo studies involving NaOCl results in loss of charcoal formed below 400°C
This study investigated the effects a dilute solution of bleach (4% sodium hypochlorite), has on charcoal. We were particularly interested in considering if charcoal formed under different conditions of pyrolysis was differentially affected by this treatment, which is commonly used for the quantification of charcoal in sediments. We first produced a series of charcoal samples, under laboratory conditions (at temperatures between 250°C and 800°C a…
Fire, humans and climate as drivers of environmental change on Broughton Island, New South Wales, Australia
In Australia, the drivers of precolonial fire regimes remain contentious, with some advocating an anthropogenic-dominated regime, and others highlighting the importance of climate, climatic variability or alternatively some nexus between climate and human activity. Here, we explore the inter-relationships between fire, humans and vegetation using macroscopic charcoal, archaeology and palynology over the last ~5430 cal. year BP from Broughton Isla…
Environmental Systems and Human Impact at Cobrico Crater, South‐western Victoria
This study assesses human impact on the landscape around Cobrico, a volcanic crater lake in dairying country in south‐western Victoria. It compares the last 150 years of impact of European settlement against approximately the previous 1500 years of prehistoric occupation and land use. Focus is on vegetation dynamics, erosion, productivity changes and the fire regime. Since European settlement there has been woodland clearance and recovery, the in…
A fine-resolution palaeoclimatic reconstruction of the last 2000 years, from Lake Keilambete, southeastern Australia
A fine-resolution analysis of pollen, charcoal, magnetic susceptibility, sediment fractions and total carotenoids was used to investigate the last 2000 years of environmental history at Lake Keilambete, in western Victoria, Australia. The chronology of sedimentation was based on three radiocarbon dates, supplemented by inferences from 22 previous radiocarbon ages from the site, spanning approximately the last 7500 years. Changes in the analysed p…
Late holocene environmental change in an upper Montane area of the snowy mountains, New South Wales
This study examines environmental change in the upper montane zone of the Australian Eastern Highlands during the late Holocene, by analysing vegetation, fire and erosion records contained within a small fen located in a frost hollow. Differences in environmental parameters across the prehistoric—historic boundary were particularly investigated in an attempt to characterise better the changes associated with the imposition of European land‐use pr…
A Comparison of the Environmental Changes of the Post-European Period with those of the Preceding 2000 Years at Lake Keilambete, South-western Victoria
Several parameters representing aspects of vegetation, fire, erosion and lacustrine productivity are investigated to compare the environmental changes of the historic period against those of the last 2000 years at Lake Keilambete in south-western Victoria. The average sedimentation rate post-dating European settlement was found to be c .2.5 times that of the analysed pre-European period and the nature of this sediment is distinctly different. Pol…
The use of mineral magnetic parameters to characterize archaeological ochres
The fire, human and climate nexus in the Sydney Basin, eastern Australia
It is widely believed that Australian Aborigines utilized fire to manage many landscapes; however, to what extent this use of fire impacted on Australia's ecosystems remains uncertain. The late Pleistocene/ Holocene fire history from three sites within the Sydney Basin (Gooches Swamp, Lake Baraba and Kings Waterhole) were compared with archaeological and palaeoclimatic data. The Gooches Swamp record appeared to be most influenced by climate and t…
The Response of Aboriginal Burning Practices to Population Levels and El Niño–Southern Oscillation Events during the mid- to late-Holocene
Pollen and macroscopic charcoal have been analysed from a sedimentary sequence representing approximately 6100 years from a site within Wollemi National Park. This is located to the north-west of Sydney and forms a part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. The overall aim of the work was to examine the prehistoric interrelationships between vegetation, fire and human activity. There were relatively minor changes in the vegetation ov…
A Comparison of Charcoal and Archaeological Information to Address the Influences on Holocene Fire Activity in the Sydney Basin
The influence of Aboriginal people on fire activity and hence the vegetation of Australia has long been debated. This study aimed to document the local fire activity of the Holocene in the catchment of a small freshwater reed swamp located in the Sydney Basin and to compare this with nearby archaeological evidence; including artefact discard rates and the number of base camps and activity locations used through time. This archaeological evidence …
Changes in fire regimes since the Last Glacial Maximum
Human—environment interactions in Australia and New Guinea during the Holocene
During the long history of human occupation in Australia and New Guinea, any interaction between people and their environment has been played out against changing sociocultural and environmental contexts. Although archaeologists have used palaeoenvironmental data to better characterize the relationships between humans and their environment, and palaeoecologists and geomorphologists have likewise used archaeological and historical information to a…
Implications of a 14 200 year contiguous fire record for understanding human—climate relationships at Goochs Swamp, New South Wales, Australia
This paper interprets macroscopic charcoal (>250 μm), humification and loss-on-ignition over the last ~14200 cal. BP from Goochs Swamp, located to the west of Sydney in the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. This study aimed to investigate relationships between humans, climate and fire through time, primarily by comparison of these palaeoenvironmental indices with archaeological evidence from the region. Climatic forcing can explain all …
Late Quaternary fire regimes of Australasia
Coastal wetlands reveal a non-synchronous island response to sea-level change and a palaeostorm record from 5.5 kyr to present
Here, we describe environmental change on Lord Howe Island (LHI; 31°30′S, 159°05′E) over the last 5500 cal. BP, derived from the analysis of the accumulating sediments in four coastal wetlands. Grain-size analyses, loss on ignition (LOI) and micrometre-resolution x-ray fluorescence (XRF) geochemical data were combined with 10 accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14 C dates to determine a chronology of environmental change. Sedimentary coastal feat…
Rising waters
New pollen, phytolith, charcoal and diatom data from 14 C AMS-dated sediments from three clusters of former occupation sites on the southern Yangtze Delta – Liangzhu, Majiabang and Chuodun – reveal that hydrological conditions were a key factor influencing early food production on the southern Yangtze Delta. At least two episodes of inundation are recognized, the first occurring at c. 7200–5700 cal. yr BP and a second from c. 4700 cal. yr BP. The…
The Radiocarbon Ages of Different Organic Components in the Mires of Eastern Australia
Radiocarbon ( 14 C) dating is widely used to determine the age of organic material in palaeoenvironmental research. Here we compare 14 C dates (n=17) resulting from macro-charcoal (>250 μm), short-lived plant macrofossils and pollen-rich residues isolated from two mire environments in eastern Australia. In most samples we found that short-lived plant macrofossils were the youngest organic component, the charcoal samples most often fell into the m…
Fire, humans and climate as drivers of environmental change on Broughton Island, New South Wales, Australia
In Australia, the drivers of precolonial fire regimes remain contentious, with some advocating an anthropogenic-dominated regime, and others highlighting the importance of climate, climatic variability or alternatively some nexus between climate and human activity. Here, we explore the inter-relationships between fire, humans and vegetation using macroscopic charcoal, archaeology and palynology over the last ~5430 cal. year BP from Broughton Isla…
Tracking an exotic raw material
A compliance-based excavation on Parramatta River (western Sydney) found evidence of a brief visitation by Aboriginal people during the terminal Pleistocene (c.14 ka), from which an exotic raw material–medium-grained porphyroblastic andalusite-cordierite hornfels–was recovered. This raw material is rare in the region, only found in the Megalong Valley situated some 75 km west of the site in Parramatta, and separated from the site by the Blue Moun…
Widely used charcoal analysis method in paleo studies involving NaOCl results in loss of charcoal formed below 400°C
This study investigated the effects a dilute solution of bleach (4% sodium hypochlorite), has on charcoal. We were particularly interested in considering if charcoal formed under different conditions of pyrolysis was differentially affected by this treatment, which is commonly used for the quantification of charcoal in sediments. We first produced a series of charcoal samples, under laboratory conditions (at temperatures between 250°C and 800°C a…
The transition from an Indigenous to a European influenced fire regime at Lake Werri Berri, south-east Australia
The drivers of fire regimes prior to the European occupation of Australia are still contentious, with some advocating regimes dominated by anthropogenic ignitions and others advocating a climate source or mixture of these elements. Here, we examine an 850-year history of fire regimes at Lake Werri Berri in south-east Australia, prior to and following European occupation. Macroscopic charcoal and FTIR spectroscopy were used to infer broad changes …
Re-imagining Sydney’s freshwater wetlands through historical ecology
Australian conservation targets commonly focus on preserving a vaguely defined ecological baseline, often conceptualised as a pre-European, ‘natural’ state. For instance, environmental legislation protects ‘Endangered Ecological Communities’ (EECs), which purportedly represent remnants of naturally occurring biota. However, EECs are often classified without long-term data, making it unclear as to whether the community being protected is indeed ‘n…
Geography (19 works) · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research (18 works) · Archaeology (17 works) · Geology (17 works) · Ecology (14 works) · Physical geography (14 works) · Climate change (11 works) · Holocene (10 works) · Oceanography (10 works) · Paleontology (10 works)