title: Evaporative cooling of speleothem drip water.
abstract: This 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 δ(18)O, 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.
authors.affiliation: 1] Connected Waters Initiative Research Centre, UNSW Australia, 110 King Street, Manly Vale, NSW 2093, Australia [2] School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK.
authors.forename: M O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Cuthbert
authors.affiliation: 1] Connected Waters Initiative Research Centre, UNSW Australia, 110 King Street, Manly Vale, NSW 2093, Australia [2] Affiliated to the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training, Australia.
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Rau
authors.affiliation: 1] Connected Waters Initiative Research Centre, UNSW Australia, 110 King Street, Manly Vale, NSW 2093, Australia [2] Affiliated to the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training, Australia.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.affiliation: 1] Connected Waters Initiative Research Centre, UNSW Australia, 110 King Street, Manly Vale, NSW 2093, Australia [2] Affiliated to the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training, Australia.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Roshan
authors.affiliation: 1] Connected Waters Initiative Research Centre, UNSW Australia, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia [2] Affiliated to the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training, Australia [3] Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre, UNSW Australia, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rutlidge
authors.affiliation: Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre, UNSW Australia, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Marjo
authors.affiliation: 1] Connected Waters Initiative Research Centre, UNSW Australia, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia [2] Affiliated to the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training, Australia [3] Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Lucas Heights NSW 2234, Australia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Markowska
authors.affiliation: 1] Connected Waters Initiative Research Centre, UNSW Australia, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia [2] Affiliated to the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training, Australia [3] Water Research Centre, UNSW Australia, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: C N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Jex
authors.affiliation: Connected Waters Initiative Research Centre, UNSW Australia, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: P W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.affiliation: 1] Connected Waters Initiative Research Centre, UNSW Australia, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia [2] Affiliated to the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training, Australia.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mariethoz
authors.affiliation: 1] Connected Waters Initiative Research Centre, UNSW Australia, 110 King Street, Manly Vale, NSW 2093, Australia [2] Affiliated to the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training, Australia.
authors.forename: R I
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Acworth
authors.affiliation: 1] Connected Waters Initiative Research Centre, UNSW Australia, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia [2] Affiliated to the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training, Australia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baker