ID:
publications-865
Type:
PEER REVIEWED ARTICLE
Year:
2014
Authors:
M. O. Cuthbert , G. C. Rau , M. S. Andersen , H. Roshan , H. Rutlidge , C. E. Marjo , M. Markowska , C. N. Jex , P. W. Graham , G. Mariethoz , R. I. A
Title:
Evaporative cooling of speleothem drip water
Venue/Journal:
DOI:
10.1038/srep05162
Research type:
Data Management & Analytics
Water System:
River Basins
Technical Focus:
Abstract:
AbstractThis study describes the first use of concurrent high-precision temperature and drip rate monitoring to explore what controls the temperature of speleothem forming drip water. Two contrasting sites, one with fast transient and one with slow constant dripping, in a temperate semi-arid location (Wellington, NSW, Australia), exhibit drip water temperatures which deviate significantly from the cave air temperature. We confirm the hypothesis that evaporative cooling is the dominant, but so far unattributed, control causing significant disequilibrium between drip water and host rock/air temperatures. The amount of cooling is dependent on the drip rate, relative humidity and ventilation. Our results have implications for the interpretation of temperature-sensitive, speleothem climate proxies such as δ18O, cave microecology and the use of heat as a tracer in karst. Understanding the processes controlling the temperature of speleothem-forming cave drip waters is vital for assessing the reliability of such deposits as archives of climate change.
Link with Projects:
299091
Link with Tools:
Related policies:
ID:
