Abstract
AbstractConstraining the magnitude of past hydrological change
may improve understanding and predictions of future shifts in water
availability. Here we demonstrate that water-table depth, a
sensitive indicator of hydroclimate, can be quantitatively
reconstructed using Kr and Xe isotopes in groundwater. We present
the first-ever measurements of these dissolved noble gas isotopes in
groundwater at high precision (≤0.005‰
amu−1; 1σ), which reveal
depth-proportional signals set by gravitational settling in soil air
at the time of recharge. Analyses of California groundwater
successfully reproduce modern groundwater levels and indicate a
17.9 ± 1.3 m (±1 SE) decline in water-table depth in Southern
California during the last deglaciation. This hydroclimatic
transition from the wetter glacial period to more arid Holocene
accompanies a surface warming of 6.2 ± 0.6 °C (±1 SE). This new
hydroclimate proxy builds upon an existing paleo-temperature
application of noble gases and may identify regions prone to future
hydrological change.
Funder
National
Science Foundation
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Subject
General Physics and Astronomy,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology,General Chemistry
Cited by
23 articles.
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