South-west Australia relies on groundwater for three-quarters of its water use. But a new study of the region’s caves has found a drying climate is having a dramatic impact on this precious resource.
To look inside a stalagmite is to look back in time tens of thousands of years to see how the Earth’s climate patterns have shaped the world we live in today.
Caves are easily forgotten when fire rips through the bush, but despite their robustness the long-term impact of frequent, unprecedented fire seasons presents a new challenge for subsurface geology.
