A first-ever global analysis of cave drip waters has shown where stalagmites can provide vital clues towards understanding past rainfall patterns.
A first-ever global analysis of cave drip waters has shown where stalagmites can provide vital clues towards understanding past rainfall patterns.
In a study published recently in the prestigious journal Nature Communications, UNSW Sydney scientists led an international group of researchers to amass the data of 163 drip sites in 39 caves on five continents.
They found that in climates that have a mean average temperature of less than 10oC, isotopes of oxygen in cave drip water were similarly composed as those measured in rainwater. As UNSW’s Dr Andy Baker explains, this follows what you would expect in colder climates with less evaporation of rainfall.
“This oxygen in the water drips from the stalactites and onto the stalagmites,” says Dr Baker, from UNSW’s School of Biological and Earth and Environmental Sciences.
Read more at University of New South Wales
Photo Credit: Life-Of-Pix via Pixabay
