Long-term monitoring of drip water and groundwater stable isotopic variability in the Yucatán Peninsula: Implications for recharge and speleothem rainfall reconstruction

Lases‐Hernandez, Fernanda; Medina‐Elizalde, Martín; Burns, Stephen J.; DeCesare, M.

doi:10.1016/j.gca.2018.11.028

Cited by 36 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…5), by the summer intensification of the easterly Caribbean low-level jet determining an increased moisture transport and precipitation over Central America, and by topographic effects. The stalagmite most likely reflects wet season recharge, as suggested by drip water observations in a Yucatán lowland cave 23 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…This slow growth preserves a uniquely long Holocene climate history for this humid tropical region. Because the amount effect is the dominant control on δ 18 O variations in Central America 22 and the Yucatán lowlands 23 , and the Caribbean slope is dominated by a single oceanic moisture source (the Caribbean Sea), we interpret the δ 18 O variations in the stalagmite as reflecting regional convective intensity. The most prominent aspects of our record are a sharp decrease of 1.3‰ in δ 18 O values in the early Holocene (between 11,000 and 9000 yr BP), linked to increased rainfall over Central America, and the following period of relatively stable conditions during the last 9000 yr BP, when δ 18 O values range between −6.6 and −5.5‰ VPDB (Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Initiation of a stable convective hydroclimatic regime in Central America circa 9000 years BP

et al. 2020

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Many Holocene hydroclimate records show rainfall changes that vary with local orbital insolation. However, some tropical regions display rainfall evolution that differs from gradual precessional pacing, suggesting that direct rainfall forcing effects were predominantly driven by sea-surface temperature thresholds or inter-ocean temperature gradients. Here we present a 12,000 yr continuous U/Th-dated precipitation record from a Guatemalan speleothem showing that Central American rainfall increased within a 2000 yr period from a persistently dry state to an active convective regime at 9000 yr BP and has remained strong thereafter. Our data suggest that the Holocene evolution of Central American rainfall was driven by exceeding a temperature threshold in the nearby tropical oceans. The sensitivity of this region to slow changes in radiative forcing is thus strongly mediated by internal dynamics acting on much faster time scales.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Initiation of a stable convective hydroclimatic regime in Central America circa 9000 years BP

et al. 2020

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“…Superimposed upon the spatial differences are changes in the seasonal variation in δ 18 O p , which is inversely correlated with rainfall amount. The influence of the amount effect on δ 18 O p in Central America and the Caribbean has been observed by studies from e.g., Panama [83], Belize, Guatemala and Mexico [80], Barbados [84], Puerto Rico [85,86], and the Yucatan peninsula [87,88]. However, moisture source and air mass rainout history are also important controls on the isotope values of Central American precipitation [89].…”

Section: Controls On δ 18 O P and δ 18 O Spelmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…In the Bahamas, evidence from stalagmites and fluid inclusions support temperature as the primary control on δ 18 O spel on millennial timescales [91,92]. However, on the Yucatan Peninsula, cave monitoring suggests that drip water and speleothem δ 18 O closely reflect rainfall amounts [8,87,88,93]. Furthermore, it is possible to discern the isotopic signature of individual tropical cyclones in a very high resolution δ 18 O spel record from Belize that is not included in SISAL_v1 [94].…”

Section: Controls On δ 18 O P and δ 18 O Spelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Speleothem Paleoclimatology for the Caribbean, Central America, and North America

et al. 2019

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Speleothem oxygen isotope records from the Caribbean, Central, and North America reveal climatic controls that include orbital variation, deglacial forcing related to ocean circulation and ice sheet retreat, and the influence of local and remote sea surface temperature variations. Here, we review these records and the global climate teleconnections they suggest following the recent publication of the Speleothem Isotopes Synthesis and Analysis (SISAL) database. We find that low-latitude records generally reflect changes in precipitation, whereas higher latitude records are sensitive to temperature and moisture source variability. Tropical records suggest precipitation variability is forced by orbital precession and North Atlantic Ocean circulation driven changes in atmospheric convection on long timescales, and tropical sea surface temperature variations on short timescales. On millennial timescales, precipitation seasonality in southwestern North America is related to North Atlantic climate variability. Great Basin speleothem records are closely linked with changes in Northern Hemisphere summer insolation. Although speleothems have revealed these critical global climate teleconnections, the paucity of continuous records precludes our ability to investigate climate drivers from the whole of Central and North America for the Pleistocene through modern. This underscores the need to improve spatial and temporal coverage of speleothem records across this climatically variable region.Quaternary 2019, 2, 5 2 of 33 original authors. The challenges found while compiling such data are discussed in [1]. The database archives speleothem oxygen and carbon isotope data, detailed chronologic and analytical information, and important metadata for each cave site and speleothem such as bedrock geology, overburden thickness, and whether cave monitoring was conducted, among other pieces of information that are essential for working with and interpreting speleothem isotope records.Of the 376 records included in SISAL_v1, 42 are from cave sites in Central and North America and the Caribbean [2]. These records cover a vast region, spanning the tropics to mid-latitudes and bordering two oceans, with climate controls that are highly variable both in the modern and through time. Speleothem records from this region have revealed critical climate teleconnections between the polar regions, the tropics, and the mid-latitudes at decadal to orbital timescales [3][4][5][6]. These records have provided evidence for the effects of climate variability on ancient civilizations [7-9], and contributed toward open questions and key debates regarding Earth's climate system [3,10]. Here, we discuss the spatial and temporal coverage of North and Central American and Caribbean speleothem records included in SISAL_v1 and the predominant controls on δ 18 O spel variability in each region. We review the most salient discoveries arising from regional records included in SISAL_v1 and conduct a statistical analysis to underscore observed spatial relationships. O...

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“…Once reaching the aquifer, the recently infiltrated water with an isotopic composition slightly different form the RWML mix with the existing groundwater. It has been suggested that, in thin vadose zone (<10 m), meteoric water moves fast but with differential contribution to the isotopic composition of the local aquifer (Lases-Hernandez et al, 2019). However, it is not clear if water moves faster or only that there is less distance to travel relative to the local phreatic level.…”

Section: Groundwatermentioning

confidence: 99%

Water stable isotopes (δ<sup>2</sup>H and δ<sup>18</sup>O) in the Peninsula of Yucatan, Mexico

Cejudo

Acosta‐González

Leal‐Bautista

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Abstract. The hydrogen and oxygen isotopic composition of water is a very important tool to estimate water balance, groundwater recharge, and evaporation. Water isotopes have been used to increase our understanding of the distribution and amounts of renewable and non-renewable groundwater. Isotopic data from precipitation and groundwater is available in much of Mexico but there is little information from the Peninsula of Yucatan, an area heavily relying in groundwater in which current estimates of groundwater availability are uncertain. In this paper, we compiled published and unpublished δ2H and δ18O data in meteoric (waters derived from precipitation), ground- and pore-waters, to obtain a regional meteoric water line (RMWL) expressed by the equation δ2H = 8.1846 δ18O + 10.289. The data suggest that precipitation originates in convective systems, low-pressure events, moisture from frontal events, and from re-condensed moisture. The evaporation lines from groundwater suggest mixing of water with different isotopic composition, but also provide clues to recent meteoric water rapid recharge, likely from rain events of great intensity. We present a groundwater isoscape of the Peninsula of Yucatan and finally address the lack of conciliation between hydrogeology and groundwater management.

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Long-term monitoring of drip water and groundwater stable isotopic variability in the Yucatán Peninsula: Implications for recharge and speleothem rainfall reconstruction

Cited by 36 publications

References 65 publications

Initiation of a stable convective hydroclimatic regime in Central America circa 9000 years BP

Initiation of a stable convective hydroclimatic regime in Central America circa 9000 years BP

Speleothem Paleoclimatology for the Caribbean, Central America, and North America

Water stable isotopes (δ<sup>2</sup>H and δ<sup>18</sup>O) in the Peninsula of Yucatan, Mexico

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Long-term monitoring of drip water and groundwater stable isotopic variability in the Yucatán Peninsula: Implications for recharge and speleothem rainfall reconstruction

Cited by 36 publications

References 65 publications

Initiation of a stable convective hydroclimatic regime in Central America circa 9000 years BP

Initiation of a stable convective hydroclimatic regime in Central America circa 9000 years BP

Speleothem Paleoclimatology for the Caribbean, Central America, and North America

Water stable isotopes (δ&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;H and δ&lt;sup&gt;18&lt;/sup&gt;O) in the Peninsula of Yucatan, Mexico

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Water stable isotopes (δ<sup>2</sup>H and δ<sup>18</sup>O) in the Peninsula of Yucatan, Mexico