Three thousand years of effective infiltration in eastern Australia: A multi proxy stalagmite record from Wombeyan Caves, New South Wales, Australia

Abstract

Understanding how climate drivers have influenced Eastern Australia (EA) hydroclimate variability over recent millennia is hampered by the short duration of instrumental climate records (<120 years). Proxy data measured from a stalagmite collected from Wombeyan Caves (NSW, Australia) extends the EA hydroclimate record to a 3000-year period, from 1045 BCE to 2006 CE. High-resolution time series of past water infiltration are derived from microstratigraphy, trace element concentrations, stable carbon and oxygen isotope ratios, and dated using radiocarbon. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of hydroclimate-sensitive trace elements identified a dominant mode of variability (PC1) that strongly al..