Cameron Barr

Research Interests

Ecological Impacts of Climate Change Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology

Dr Cameron Barr

Research and Laboratory Manager

School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences

College of Sciences

Cameron is a palaeolimnologist, studying indicators of past environments that are preserved in lake sediments. His specialty is high-resolution studies, to develop insights into when, how and why environments changed in the past. After gaining a Bachelor of Environmental Studies, with a major in Physical Geography, Cameron achieved first class Honours for a project that reconstructed 350 years of climatic and hydrological variability in the upper-southeast of South Australia. Questions arising from this research led him to undertake a Ph.D. in which he reconstructed drought intensity, frequency and duration over the last 1500 years in south-eastern Australia (e-thesis link: http://hdl.handle.net/2440/65582), and for which he was awarded the John Lewis silver medal for the most outstanding geography thesis in South Australia. Cameron has held two post-doctoral research positions since then; both examining lake sediments from North Stradbroke Island, Queensland. The first focussed on climates of the last 10,000 years and the response, and resilience, of vulnerable freshwater wetlands to large shifts in aridity. More recently, Cameron has been examining environmental change of the last 100,000 years, addressing questions around the impact of remote climate drivers, human arrival in Australia, and the subsequent extinction of megafauna.

Date Position Institution name
2019 - ongoing ARC Research Associate University of Adelaide
2018 - 2018 University of Adelaide Research Fellow University of Adelaide, Adelaide
2015 - 2017 ARC Research Associate University of Adelaide, Adelaide
2011 - 2013 Post Doctoral Research Associate University of Adelaide

Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount
2018 Award University of Adelaide Research Fellowship University of Adelaide Australia $154,920
2010 Award The John Lewis Silver Medal for Geography The Royal Geographical Society Australia -

Date Institution name Country Title
2010 University of Adelaide, Adelaide Australia PhD
2001 University of Adelaide, Adelaide Australia Bachelor of Environmental Studies (Hons 1st)

Year Citation
2025 Cadd, H., Mariani, M., Tibby, J., Tyler, J., Barr, C., Leng, M. J., . . . Petherick, L. (2025). Australian subtropical vegetation and wetland response to fire, climate and nutrient availability during the Holocene. Journal of Quaternary Science, 40(3), 519-536.
DOI Scopus2 WoS2
2025 Marshall, J. C., Tibby, J., Moss, P., Martin, H., Gontz, A., Lau, A., . . . Cloutier, N. (2025). High-resolution analysis of sediments from Eighteen Mile Swamp (eastern Australia) records its transition from a fluctuating coastal lagoon to stable freshwater swamp. Journal of Quaternary Science, 40(4), 684-710.
DOI Scopus1
2025 Dharmarathna, A., Cadd, H., Barr, C., Francke, A., Hua, Q., Child, D., . . . Tyler, J. J. (2025). Developing robust lake sediment chronologies using 210Pb, Pu and radiocarbon dating of pollen concentrates and macrofossil: A case study from Lake Surprise, Victoria, Australia. Quaternary Geochronology, 89, 101686-1-101686-19.
DOI Scopus1 WoS1
2025 Tibby, J., Cadd, H., Harris, M., Marshall, J. C., Tyler, J., Barr, C., . . . Hofmann, H. (2025). Mid‐Holocene drying of K'gari lakes (subtropical eastern Australia) necessitates re‐evaluation of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation climate links and future drying risk. Journal of Quaternary Science, 40(8), 1437-1451.
DOI
2022 Maxson, C., Tibby, J., Barr, C., Tyler, J., Leng, M., Lomax, B., . . . Jacobsen, G. (2022). Ecology and climate sensitivity of a groundwater-fed lake on subtropical North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah), Queensland, Australia over the last 7500 years. Journal of Paleolimnology, 67(1), 75-93.
DOI Scopus6 WoS6
2022 Cadd, H., Sherborne-Higgins, B., Becerra-Valdivia, L., Tibby, J., Barr, C., Forbes, M., . . . Turney, C. (2022). The application of pollen radiocarbon dating and bayesian age-depth modeling for developing robust geochronological frameworks of wetland archives. Radiocarbon, 64(2), 213-235.
DOI Scopus11 WoS10
2022 Tyler, J. J., Marshall, J. C., Schulz, C., Barr, C., Hofmann, H., Blessing, J. J., . . . Tibby, J. (2022). Hydrological and Isotopic Variability of Perched Wetlands on North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah), Australia: Implications for Understanding the Effects of Past and Future Climate Change. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 10, 1-21.
DOI Scopus10 WoS8
2021 Kemp, C., Tibby, J., Barr, C., & Arnold, L. (2021). Climate, fire and vegetation history from subtropical North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah), eastern Australia, during the last three interglacials. Journal of Quaternary Science, 36(7), 1201-1213.
DOI Scopus3 WoS3
2021 Maxson IV, C., Tibby, J., Marshall, J., Kent, M., Tyler, J., Barr, C., . . . Lomax, B. H. (2021). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy as a tracer of organic matter sources in lake sediments. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 581, 110622-1-110622-11.
DOI Scopus18 WoS17
2021 Lewis, R. J., Tibby, J., Arnold, L. J., Gadd, P., Jacobsen, G., Barr, C., . . . Moss, E. (2021). Patterns of aeolian deposition in subtropical Australia through the last glacial and deglacial periods. Quaternary Research, 102, 68-90.
DOI Scopus13 WoS14
2021 Barr, C., Tibby, J., Leng, M. J., Tyler, J. J., Henderson, A. C. G., Overpeck, J. T., . . . McRobie, F. H. (2021). Author Correction: Holocene El Niño–Southern Oscillation variability reflected in subtropical Australian precipitation. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 1 page.
DOI
2020 Cadd, H. R., Tyler, J., Tibby, J., Baldock, J., Hawke, B., Barr, C., & Leng, M. J. (2020). The potential for rapid determination of charcoal from wetland sediments using infrared spectroscopy. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 542, 109562-1-109562-13.
DOI Scopus14 WoS11
2020 Lewis, R. J., Tibby, J., Arnold, L. J., Barr, C., Marshall, J., McGregor, G., . . . Yokoyama, Y. (2020). Insights into subtropical Australian aridity from Welsby Lagoon, north Stradbroke Island, over the past 80,000 years. Quaternary Science Reviews, 234, 106262-1-106262-13.
DOI Scopus38 WoS35
2020 Richards, J., Tibby, J., Barr, C., & Goonan, P. (2020). Effect of substrate type on diatom-based water quality assessments in the Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australia. Hydrobiologia, 847(14), 3077-3090.
DOI Scopus14 WoS14
2020 Kemp, C. W., Tibby, J., Arnold, L. J., Barr, C., Gadd, P. S., Marshall, J. C., . . . Jacobsen, G. E. (2020). Climates of the last three interglacials in subtropical eastern Australia inferred from wetland sediment geochemistry. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 538, 1-16.
DOI Scopus25 WoS24
2019 Tibby, J., Richards, J., Tyler, J. J., Barr, C., Fluin, J., & Goonan, P. (2019). Diatom-water quality thresholds in South Australian streams indicate a need for more stringent water quality guidelines. Marine and Freshwater Research, 71(8), 942-952.
DOI Scopus15 WoS13
2019 Kemp, C., Tibby, J., Arnold, L., & Barr, C. (2019). Australian hydroclimate during Marine Isotope Stage 3: a synthesis and review. Quaternary Science Reviews, 204, 94-104.
DOI Scopus26 WoS25
2019 Barr, C., Tibby, J., Leng, M. J., Tyler, J. J., Henderson, A. C. G., Overpeck, J. T., . . . McRobie, F. H. (2019). Holocene El Niño–Southern Oscillation variability reflected in subtropical Australian precipitation. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 1627-1-1627-9.
DOI Scopus89 WoS87 Europe PMC12
2019 Andrae, J. W., McInerney, F. A., Tibby, J., Henderson, A. C. G., Hall, P. A., Marshall, J. C., . . . Greenway, M. (2019). Variation in leaf wax n-alkane characteristics with climate in the broad-leaved paperbark (Melaleuca quinquenervia). Organic Geochemistry, 130, 33-42.
DOI Scopus23 WoS20
2019 Negus, P. M., Barr, C., Tibby, J., Mcgregor, G. B., Marshall, J., & Fluin, J. (2019). Subtle variability in water quality structures tropical diatom assemblages in streams of Cape York Peninsula, Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research, 70(10), 1358-1377.
DOI Scopus4 WoS4
2019 Mariani, M., Tibby, J., Barr, C., Moss, P., Marshall, J. C., & McGregor, G. B. (2019). Reduced rainfall drives biomass limitation of long-term fire activity in Australia’s subtropical sclerophyll forests. Journal of Biogeography, 46(9), 1974-1987.
DOI Scopus17 WoS16
2019 Tibby, J., Barr, C., Marshall, J. C., Richards, J., Perna, C., Fluin, J., & Cadd, H. R. (2019). Assessing the relative impacts of land-use change and river regulation on Burdekin River (Australia) floodplain wetlands. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 29(10), 1712-1725.
DOI Scopus6 WoS7
2019 Hill, K. E., Barr, C., Tibby, J., Hill, R. S., & Watling, J. R. (2019). A comparison of stomatal traits between contemporary and fossil leaves of Melaleuca quinquenervia: Do they reflect climate variation?. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 271, 104109-1-104109-8.
DOI Scopus3 WoS4
2018 Cadd, H. R., Tibby, J., Barr, C., Tyler, J., Unger, L., Leng, M. J., . . . Baldock, J. (2018). Development of a southern hemisphere subtropical wetland (Welsby Lagoon, south-east Queensland, Australia) through the last glacial cycle. Quaternary Science Reviews, 202, 53-65.
DOI Scopus34 WoS34
2018 Tibby, J., Tyler, J., & Barr, C. (2018). Post little ice age drying of eastern Australia conflates understanding of early settlement impacts. Quaternary Science Reviews, 202, 45-52.
DOI Scopus21 WoS21
2017 Barr, C., Tibby, J., Moss, P., Halverson, G., Marshall, J., McGregor, G., & Stirling, E. (2017). A 25,000-year record of environmental change from Welsby Lagoon, North Stradbroke Island, in the Australian subtropics. Quaternary International, 449, 106-118.
DOI Scopus21 WoS20
2017 Tibby, J., Barr, C., Marshall, J., McGregor, G., Moss, P., Arnold, L., . . . Moss, E. (2017). Persistence of wetlands on North Stradbroke Island (south-east Queensland, Australia) during the last glacial cycle: implications for Quaternary science and biogeography. Journal of Quaternary Science, 32(6), 770-781.
DOI Scopus27 WoS28
2017 Ackerley, D., Reeves, J., Barr, C., Bostock, H., Fitzsimmons, K., Fletcher, M., . . . Tyler, J. (2017). Evaluation of PMIP2 and PMIP3 simulations of mid-Holocene climate in the Indo-Pacific, Australasian and Southern Ocean regions. Climate of the Past, 13(11), 1661-1684.
DOI Scopus4 WoS3
2016 Moss, P., Tibby, J., Shapland, F., Fairfax, R., Stewart, P., Barr, C., . . . Sloss, C. (2016). Patterned fen formation and development from the Great Sandy Region, south-east Queensland, Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research, 67(6), 816-827.
DOI Scopus23 WoS20
2016 Tibby, J., Barr, C., McInerney, F., Henderson, A., Leng, M., Greenway, M., . . . McNeil, V. (2016). Carbon isotope discrimination in leaves of the broad-leaved paperbark tree, Melaleuca quinquenervia, as a tool for quantifying past tropical and subtropical rainfall. Global Change Biology, 22(10), 3474-3486.
DOI Scopus17 WoS16 Europe PMC5
2016 Kiem, A., Johnson, F., Westra, S., van Dijk, A., Evans, J., O Donnell, A., . . . Mehrotra, R. (2016). Natural hazards in Australia: droughts. Climatic Change, 139(1), 37-54.
DOI Scopus231 WoS215
2016 Cunningham, L., Tibby, J., Forrester, S., Barr, C., & Skjemstad, J. (2016). Mid-infrared spectroscopy as a potential tool for reconstructing lake salinity. Water (Switzerland), 8(11), 479-1-479-17.
DOI Scopus4 WoS4
2015 Tyler, J., Mills, K., Barr, C., Sniderman, J., Gell, P., & Karoly, D. (2015). Identifying coherent patterns of environmental change between multiple, multivariate records: an application to four 1000-year diatom records from Victoria, Australia. Quaternary Science Reviews, 119, 94-105.
DOI Scopus14 WoS14
2015 Chang, J., Shulmeister, J., Woodward, C., Steinberger, L., Tibby, J., & Barr, C. (2015). A chironomid-inferred summer temperature reconstruction from subtropical Australia during the last glacial maximum (LGM) and the last deglaciation. Quaternary Science Reviews, 122, 282-292.
DOI Scopus27 WoS27
2014 Barr, C., Tibby, J., Gell, P., Tyler, J., Zawadzki, A., & Jacobsen, G. (2014). Climate variability in south-eastern Australia over the last 1500 years inferred from the high-resolution diatom records of two crater lakes. Quaternary Science Reviews, 95, 115-131.
DOI Scopus42 WoS42
2014 Goodwin, I., Browning, S., Lorrey, A., Mayewski, P., Phipps, S., Bertler, N., . . . Stager, J. (2014). A reconstruction of extratropical Indo-Pacific sea-level pressure patterns during the Medieval Climate Anomaly. Climate Dynamics, 43(5-6), 1197-1219.
DOI Scopus39 WoS37
2013 Mills, K., Gell, P., Gergis, J., Baker, P., Finlayson, C., Hesse, P., . . . Tibby, J. (2013). Paleoclimate studies and natural-resource management in the Murray-Darling Basin II: unravelling human impacts and climate variability. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, 60(5), 561-571.
DOI Scopus19 WoS19
2013 Moss, P., Tibby, J., Petherick, L., McGowan, H., & Barr, C. (2013). Late Quaternary vegetation history of North Stradbroke Island, Queensland, eastern Australia. Quaternary Science Reviews, 74, 257-272.
DOI Scopus77 WoS77
2013 Barr, C., Tibby, J., Marshall, J., McGregor, G., Moss, P., Halverson, G., & Fluin, J. (2013). Combining monitoring, models and palaeolimnology to assess ecosystem response to environmental change at monthly to millennial timescales: the stability of Blue Lake, North Stradbroke Island, Australia. Freshwater Biology, 58(8), 1614-1630.
DOI Scopus42 WoS41
2011 Mettam, P., Tibby, J., Barr, C., & Marshall, J. (2011). Development of Eighteen Mile Swamp, North Stradbroke Island: a palaeolimnological study. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland, 117, 119-130.

Year Citation
- Barr, C. (n.d.). Barr et al. Swallow Lagoon data.
DOI

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2015 - 2020 Co-Supervisor A 210,000-year reconstruction of subtropical climates from Fern Gully Lagoon, North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah), Australia Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Christopher Wilde Kemp

Date Role Membership Country
2010 - ongoing - International Palaeolimnology Association -
2009 - 2019 Member Australasian Quaternary Association (AQUA) Australia

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