Moisture availability in the southwest United States over the last three glacial-interglacial cycles.

ABSTRACT: The projected long-term drying of the southwest (SW) United States in response to climate warming raises a sobering alarm for this already water-limited region, yet the climatic controls on moisture availability over longer time scales remain a topic of debate. Here, we present a 350,000-year record of past water table fluctuations in Devils Hole 2 cave that are driven by variations in recharge amount to the local groundwater flow system. Because of the unprecedented length and precision of our record, we can observe variations in regional moisture availability over the last three glacial-interglacial cycles at a millennial-scale resolution. The timing of past water table rises and falls (>9 m in amplitude) closely coincides with the expansion and reduction of Northern Hemisphere ice volum

SUBMITTER: Wendt KA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6200359 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature