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<!DOCTYPE html>
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<head>
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<title>Diving through time</title>
<meta
name="description"
content="Complex underwater caves in South Australia hide the remains of now-extinct megafauna. Scientists have teamed up with cave divers on a perilous mission – to reach these exceptional fossils and learn more about Australia’s past." />
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<meta
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content="cave diving, diving, fossils, Mount Gambier, Limestone Coast, megafauna, science, archaeology" />
<meta name="author" content="Meg M Walker" />
<meta property="og:site_name" content="The Conversation" />
<meta
property="og:title"
content="South Australia's flooded caves hide a rich megafauna history. Scroll to explore" />
<meta
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content="Complex underwater caves in South Australia hide the remains of now-extinct megafauna. Scientists have teamed up with cave divers on a perilous mission – to reach these exceptional fossils and learn more about Australia’s past." />
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<li class="edition">Edition: Australia</li>
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</header>
<article>
<section>
<div class="intro_wrapper">
<div class="intro_figures">
<video
class="intro_video"
disableremoteplayback
autoplay=""
loop=""
muted=""
playsinline=""
webkit-playsinline=""
poster="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578109/original/file-20240226-28-bx1z5o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=crop&dpr=1">
<source
src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/1020/df52bab66b992a96a2c41da4263f0a31d3bafe47/site/static3/IMG_3537.mp4"
type="video/mp4" />
</video>
</div>
<div class="intro_copy">
<h1 class="article_title">Diving through time</h1>
<h2 class="article_teaser">
South Australia’s flooded caves hide a rich megafauna
history. Scroll to explore
</h2>
<p class="author_info">
By
<a
href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/meg-m-walker-1507814"
target="_blank"
>Meg M Walker</a
>,
<a
href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/joseph-monks-1509027"
target="_blank"
>Joseph Monks</a
>
and
<a
href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/julien-louys-1129368"
target="_blank"
>Julien Louys</a
>
</p>
</div>
</div>
</section>
<section>
<p class="publish_date">
Published:
<time datetime="2024-04-18T06:32:00.000Z"
>April 18, 2024 4:32pm AEST</time
>
</p>
<p>
Between Victoria’s Great Ocean Road and South Australia’s
Coonawarra lies a series of hidden underwater caves.
</p>
<p>
Largely undisturbed, for tens of thousands of years these caves have
preserved the bones of extinct megafauna. Many of the fossils are so
well preserved, they are perfect for investigating the mystery of the
animals’ extinctions.
</p>
<p>
But reaching them is no ordinary feat. The fossils lie in deep,
intricate, and sometimes very long underwater caves dotted along the
Limestone Coast.
</p>
<p>
The caves sit beneath farms, roads and even the bustling city centre
of Mount Gambier.
</p>
</section>
<section>
<div class="pinned_section pin_clipped">
<div class="pinned_media">
<figure>
<picture>
<source
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<source
media="(min-width: 980px) and (max-width: 1799px)"
srcset="
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sizes="100vw" />
<source
media="(min-width: 1800px)"
srcset="
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sizes="100vw" />
<img
class="pos_left illo"
alt="Colourful artwork of animals that look similar to native Australian marsupials today"
src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578777/original/file-20240228-28-md8gmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&auto=format&q=45&w=1400" />
</picture>
<figcaption class="pinned_media_attrib">
Palaeo-reconstruction of a South Australian cave. Peter Schouten
</figcaption>
<figcaption class="pinned_media_attrib_mobile">
Palaeo-reconstruction of a cave. Peter Schouten
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure>
<picture>
<source
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sizes="100vw" />
<img
class="pos_left illo"
alt="Colourful artwork of animals that look similar to native Australian marsupials today"
src=" https://images.theconversation.com/files/581792/original/file-20240313-16-23orhv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&auto=format&q=45&w=1400" />
</picture>
</figure>
<figure>
<video
height="100vh"
class="lazy pos_6"
disableremoteplayback
autoplay=""
loop=""
muted=""
playsinline=""
webkit-playsinline=""
data-src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/1019/5c50b18f39fbb52846a6e226bb95d220bc0c1465/site/static2/fossil%20cave-0008_1.mp4"
poster="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578107/original/file-20240226-24-at0dmv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=20&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1">
<source
type="video/mp4"
data-src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/1019/5c50b18f39fbb52846a6e226bb95d220bc0c1465/site/static2/fossil%20cave-0008_1.mp4" />
</video>
<figcaption>
Working in a team to image samples. Steve Trewavas
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="pinned_text">
<p>
Long ago, animals may have used these caves to shelter from the
elements, or as a place to find water in the dry Australian
climate.
</p>
</div>
<div class="pinned_text">
<p class="chapter" data-image-index="1">
This area was once home to giant wombat-like marsupials known as
<a
href="https://australian.museum/learn/australia-over-time/extinct-animals/diprotodon-optatum/"
target="_blank"
><i>Diprotodon</i></a
>, marsupial lions called
<a
href="https://australian.museum/learn/animals/mammals/thylacoleo-carnifex/"
target="_blank"
><i>Thylacoleo</i></a
>, and short-faced kangaroos called
<a
href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sthenurinae"
target="_blank"
>sthenurines</a
>
that only had one toe on each foot.
</p>
</div>
<div class="pinned_text">
<p class="chapter" data-image-index="2">
We teamed up with experienced cave divers to help us investigate
why these giant marsupials became extinct.
</p>
</div>
<div class="pinned_text">
<p>
Over several expeditions, we’ve been building a picture of
the sorts of species preserved underwater, and how they could have
got there.
</p>
</div>
</div>
</section>
<section>
<h2>Scientists and cave divers exchanging expertise</h2>
<p>
Cave diving is not for the fainthearted. All diving can be dangerous,
but cave diving adds another level of risk.
</p>
<p>
You must have three light sources and a guideline to the surface, and
you have to take care to manage your depth and air supply.
</p>
<p>
Experienced divers from the Cave Divers Association of Australia
shared techniques developed over 50 years of exploring these caves.
</p>
</section>
<section>
<div class="pinned_section pin_block">
<div class="pinned_media">
<figure>
<picture>
<source
media="(max-width: 699px)"
srcset="
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<source
media="(min-width: 980px) and (max-width: 1799px)"
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sizes="100vw" />
<source
media="(min-width: 1800px)"
srcset="
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sizes="100vw" />
<img
alt="Divers in Fossil Cave searching for fossils"
src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579710/original/file-20240304-22-ph1f2x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&auto=format&q=45&w=1400" />
</picture>
<figcaption class="pinned_media_attrib">
Joe Monks and Julien Louys in Fossils Cave. Steve Trewavas
</figcaption>
<figcaption class="pinned_media_attrib_mobile">
J. Monks and J. Louys in Fossils Cave. Steve Trewavas
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure>
<video
height="100vh"
class="lazy pos_3"
disableremoteplayback
autoplay=""
loop=""
muted=""
playsinline=""
webkit-playsinline=""
data-src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/1019/5c50b18f39fbb52846a6e226bb95d220bc0c1465/site/static2/fossil%20cave-0010_1.mp4"
poster="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578108/original/file-20240226-20-m51g7i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=20&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1">
<source
type="video/mp4"
data-src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/1019/5c50b18f39fbb52846a6e226bb95d220bc0c1465/site/static2/fossil%20cave-0010_1.mp4" />
</video>
<figcaption class="pinned_media_attrib">
A diver glides to avoid disturbing sediment or ‘silting
out’. Steve Trewavas
</figcaption>
<figcaption class="pinned_media_attrib_mobile">
Gliding to avoid disturbing sediment. Steve Trewavas
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="pinned_text">
<p>
These expert cave divers were the first to find many of the
fossils we are currently researching.
</p>
</div>
<div class="pinned_text">
<p>
They taught our research team how to dive safely in this
environment.
</p>
</div>
<div class="pinned_text">
<p class="chapter" data-image-index="1">
The challenge of diving for fossils in an underwater cave is
unique. The techniques we’ve developed are the first of
their kind.
</p>
</div>
<div class="pinned_text">
<p>
Collecting samples in an underwater environment without losing
information poses a technical challenge.
</p>
</div>
</div>
</section>
<section>
<h2>Underwater science</h2>
<p>
We are recording and collecting fossils through narrow underwater
passages, some over a kilometre long.
</p>
<p>
The typical equipment we might use in dry caves, or even in underwater
archaeology, is simply not feasible here.
</p>
<figure class="standard_img">
<picture>
<img
class="pos_bottom"
loading="lazy"
alt="A group of divers on the surface of Tank Cave, about to dive."
sizes="(min-width: 1600px) 1600px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 800px, 800px"
srcset="
https://images.theconversation.com/files/581793/original/file-20240313-22-4uibef.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=50&auto=format&w=700& 600w,
https://images.theconversation.com/files/581793/original/file-20240313-22-4uibef.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=50&auto=format&w=700& 800w,
https://images.theconversation.com/files/581793/original/file-20240313-22-4uibef.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=50&auto=format&w=700& 1600w
"
src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581793/original/file-20240313-22-4uibef.jpg" />
</picture>
<figcaption>
Cave divers preparing for a dive in buddy pairs. Carley Rosengreen
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>
So, we have retrofitted every collection technique. Our tools must
travel safely on a diver into the caves, and then work underwater.
</p>
<p>
Good teamwork, sharing tasks, and a clear plan are essential for
success as we can’t talk to each other while diving, and can
only carry a limited amount of field gear.
</p>
</section>
<section>
<div class="pinned_section pin_block">
<div class="pinned_media">
<figure>
<video
style="object-position: 70%"
class="lazy"
height="100vh"
disableremoteplayback
autoplay=""
loop=""
muted=""
playsinline=""
webkit-playsinline=""
data-src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/1019/5c50b18f39fbb52846a6e226bb95d220bc0c1465/site/static2/fossil%20cave-0006.mp4"
poster="">
<source
type="video/mp4"
data-src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/1019/5c50b18f39fbb52846a6e226bb95d220bc0c1465/site/static2/fossil%20cave-0006.mp4" />
</video>
<figcaption>Beginning the journey. Steve Trewavas</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure>
<video
style="object-position: 40%"
class="lazy"
height="100vh"
disableremoteplayback
autoplay=""
loop=""
muted=""
playsinline=""
webkit-playsinline=""
data-src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/1023/81d336b8c6ad504ec1c8d0d48e1a5e5a85bd1d17/site/static4/fossil%20cave-0007.mp4"
poster="">
<source
type="video/mp4"
data-src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/1023/81d336b8c6ad504ec1c8d0d48e1a5e5a85bd1d17/site/static4/fossil%20cave-0007.mp4" />
</video>
<figcaption class="pinned_media_attrib">
Placing a scale before photographing a sample. Steve Trewavas
</figcaption>
<figcaption class="pinned_media_attrib_mobile">
Photographing a sample. Steve Trewavas
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="pinned_text">
<p>
Identifying and recording where the fossils are before they are
recovered is critical, but it is slow going.
</p>
</div>
<div class="pinned_text">
<p>
We use 3D recording to map the whole cave before we lift the
fossils out.
</p>
</div>
<div class="pinned_text">
<p class="chapter" data-image-index="1">
We must also be careful not to damage the remains as they leave
their underwater bone bed.
</p>
</div>
<div class="pinned_text">
<p>
With samples of their surrounding material, we can accurately date
the fossils. We can also catch a glimpse of the environments of
the past.
</p>
</div>
</div>
</section>
<section>
<h2>A unique geological archive</h2>
<p>
The Limestone Coast is
<a
href="https://visitlimestonecoast.com.au/blog/sinkhole-and-swimming-hotspots-of-the-limestone-coast/"
target="_blank"
>riddled with sinkholes</a
>, underground tunnels and caverns. These spaces are etched out as
groundwater moves through and dissolves the spongy, porous limestone
rock that makes up this region.
</p>
<p>
As the caves grow and become unstable, they collapse and may open up
to the surface. They also have a unique relationship with groundwater.
</p>
<p>
As Earth has cycled through ice ages and warmer periods, sea levels
and groundwater levels have fluctuated in response to the melt and
freeze of glaciers. In response, the caves too would either dry out or
become flooded.
</p>
</section>
<section>
<div class="pinned_section pin_clipped">
<div class="pinned_media">
<figure>
<picture>
<source
media="(max-width: 699px)"
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<source
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<img
alt="Metallic stairs leading down to the Stick-Tomato Cave through a sinkhole in the Naracoorte Caves National Park in South Australia"
src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578460/original/file-20240228-22-cfns81.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&auto=format&q=45&w=1400" />
</picture>
<figcaption class="pinned_media_attrib">
Stick-Tomato Cave in Naracoorte Caves National Park, SA.
Alexandra.ROSA/Shutterstock
</figcaption>
<figcaption class="pinned_media_attrib_mobile">
Stick-Tomato Cave, SA. Alexandra.ROSA/Shutterstock
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure>
<picture>
<source
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<source
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<source
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sizes="100vw" />
<img
loading="lazy"
alt="A drone shot of 'Little Blue Lake' near Mt Schank, South Australia. An easily accesible local hotspot for cooling off in the extreme summertime heat."
src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578461/original/file-20240228-20-vogufi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&auto=format&q=45&w=1400" />
</picture>
<figcaption class="pinned_media_attrib">
Little Blue Lake sinkhole near Mt Schank, SA.
LyndonOK/Shutterstock
</figcaption>
<figcaption class="pinned_media_attrib_mobile">
Little Blue Lake sinkhole, SA. LyndonOK/Shutterstock
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="map_wrapper">
<svg id="map1"></svg>
<div class="map_legend">
<div></div>
<p> - caves</p>
</div>
<figcaption>
Map: South Australia Department for Trade and Investment
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="pinned_text">
<p>
As the environment shifted, the height of the water in the caves
would change how they were used or occupied.
</p>
</div>
<div class="pinned_text">
<p>
Over time, soils and debris have moved into these caves, including
animal remains.
</p>
</div>
<div class="pinned_text">
<p class="chapter" data-image-index="1">
If we can understand what the caves looked like when the animals
died, we can start reconstructing the local environments of the
fossils we find.
</p>
</div>
<div class="pinned_text map_chapter">
<div class="chapter" data-image-index="2"></div>
</div>
<div class="pinned_text">
<p>
To date, we have discovered fossils in the Tank Cave system, in
the iconic Engelbrecht Cave system underneath the urban centre of
Mount Gambier, and in Gouldens Sinkhole, a well-known training
area for divers.
</p>
</div>
</div>
</section>
<section>
<h2>Exciting bones</h2>
<p>
Divers in the 1970s and 80s found some megafauna bones in these cave
systems. But with new methods and diving technology, we can now reach
the important information surrounding the bones, too.
</p>
<p>
Since 2022, our research team has started systematic work to recover
megafauna fossils from the caves, with minimal loss of scientific
information.
</p>
</section>
<section>
<div class="pinned_section pin_clipped">
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Looking through fossil samples in the lab. Andrew Thomson
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Comparing the jaws of modern macropods and an extinct sthenurine
. Andrew Thomson
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Inspecting sthenurine jaw bones. Andrew Thomson
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<figcaption>
Meg Walker reviewing fossils. Steve Trewavas
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<div class="pinned_text">
<p>
Our initial investigations have yielded skulls and other bones
from small marsupials, megafauna, dingoes, and even a sheep or
two.
</p>
</div>
<div class="pinned_text">
<p>
The bone beds have a long history of collecting animals, and this
continues even today.
</p>
</div>
<div class="pinned_text">
<p class="chapter" data-image-index="1">
Fossils that can be identified to a species are the most exciting
– they tell us which animals once lived in the area.
</p>
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<div class="pinned_text">
<p class="chapter" data-image-index="1">
Here, we have the jaw of a short-faced kangaroo that roamed
Australia for millions of years, before becoming extinct
<a
href="https://theconversation.com/this-extinct-kangaroo-had-a-branch-crunching-bite-to-rival-todays-giant-pandas-123266"
target="_blank">
around 40,000 years ago</a
>.
</p>
</div>