Caves demonstrate decrease in rainfall recharge of southwest Australian groundwater is unprecedented for the last 800 years

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dc.contributor.authorPriestley, SCen_AU
dc.contributor.authorTreble, PCen_AU
dc.contributor.authorGriffiths, ADen_AU
dc.contributor.authorBaker, AAen_AU
dc.contributor.authorAbram, NJen_AU
dc.contributor.authorMeredith, KTen_AU
dc.date.accessioned2023-12-21T23:17:32Zen_AU
dc.date.available2023-12-21T23:17:32Zen_AU
dc.date.issued2023-06-09en_AU
dc.date.statistics2023-06-23en_AU
dc.description.abstractBillions of people worldwide rely on groundwater. As rainfall in many regions in the future is projected to decrease, it is critical to understand the impacts of climate change on groundwater recharge. The groundwater recharge response to a sustained decrease in rainfall across southwest Australia that began in the late 1960s was examined in seven modern speleothems and drip waters from four caves. These show a pronounced increase or uptick in regional drip water and speleothem oxygen isotopic composition (δ18O) that is not driven by a change in rainfall δ18O values, but is in response to the shallow karst aquifers becoming disconnected from rainfall recharge due to regional drying. Our findings imply that rainfall recharge to groundwater may no longer be reliably occurring in this region, which is highly dependent on groundwater resources. Examination of the longer speleothem record shows that this situation is unprecedented over the last 800 years. © The Authors - Open Access licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.en_AU
dc.description.sponsorshipThis research is supported by funding from the Australian Research Council (DP140102059 to PCT and NJA). The Sr map used for CRY-S1 chronology was obtained on the X‐ray fluorescence microscopy (XFM) beamline at the Australian Synchrotron, part of ANSTO under proposals PA14312. The authors would like to thank Carolina Paice (Parks and Wildlife Services at Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park) and Mark Delane (Margaret River Busselton Tourism Association) for providing cave water level data and reports. We also thank Carolina and staff at Calgardup Caves for their dedication in maintaining the long-term monitoring of drip water in Golgotha Cave. We would also like to thank Nevena Kosarac and Liza McDonough for assistance with laminae counting of CRY-S1, and Lewis Adler and Mark Wainwright for IRMS analytical support. This research was undertaken with the assistance of resources and services from the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI), which is supported by the Australian Government. IsoGSM data which appears in this article, was provided thanks to Kei Yoshimura. The authors respectfully acknowledge the Wadandi Noongar peoples as the traditional and spiritual custodians of the study region.en_AU
dc.identifier.articlenumber206en_AU
dc.identifier.citationPriestley, S. C., Treble, P. C., Griffiths, A. D., Baker, A., Abram, N. J., & Meredith, K. T. (2023). Caves demonstrate decrease in rainfall recharge of southwest Australian groundwater is unprecedented for the last 800 years. Communications Earth & Environment, 4(1), 206. doi:10.1038/s43247-023-00858-7en_AU
dc.identifier.issn2662-4435en_AU
dc.identifier.issue1en_AU
dc.identifier.journaltitleCommunications Earth & Environmenten_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://apo.ansto.gov.au/handle/10238/15297en_AU
dc.identifier.volume4en_AU
dc.language.isoenen_AU
dc.publisherSpringer Natureen_AU
dc.relation.urihttps://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-00858-7en_AU
dc.subjectCavesen_AU
dc.subjectRain Wateren_AU
dc.subjectAustraliaen_AU
dc.subjectGround wateren_AU
dc.subjectOxygen isotopesen_AU
dc.subjectAquifersen_AU
dc.subjectDryingen_AU
dc.subjectClimatic changeen_AU
dc.subjectRiversen_AU
dc.subjectLakesen_AU
dc.titleCaves demonstrate decrease in rainfall recharge of southwest Australian groundwater is unprecedented for the last 800 yearsen_AU
dc.typeJournal Articleen_AU
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