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Small iron-rich formations found within Western Australia's Pinnacles, which are part of the world's largest wind-blown limestone belt spanning more than 1,000km, have provided new insights into Earth's ancient climate and changing landscape.

The new research found the Pinnacles were formed about 100,000 years ago during what was the wettest period in the past half-million years for the area, and very different from the Mediterranean climate Western Australia experiences today.

The full study titled "Ironing out complexities in karst chronology: (U-Th)/He ferricrete ages reveal wet MIS 5c" was published in the journal Science Advances.

Lead author Dr. Matej Lipar, Adjunct Research Fellow in Curtin's School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, now at the Research Center of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU), said the spectacular finger-like stone Pinnacles at Nambung National Park are a type of karst created by water dissolving rocks.

"These formations offer crucial insights into ancient climates and environments, but accurately dating them has been extremely challenging until now," Dr. Lipar said.

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