Noble Gas Paleotemperatures and Other Climate Information Derived from Groundwater Archives on the Southern Hemisphere(Southern Africa and Australia)

9304573 Stute Groundwater circulating in extended confined aquifers contains information on past climates. Noble gas measurements, in particular, allow reconstruction of continental paleotemperatures ('noble gas paleothermometer'). Cl- and isotopic data (D), 18O) provide additional insight into long-term climate change. This award supports the collection and evaluation of geochemical data (He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, 14C, 13C D, 18O, 36Cl and major dissolved ions) from two groundwater flow systems in the southern hemisphere, the Stampriet aquifer in Namibia and the Dilwyn aquifer in southern Australia. Paleoclimate records from these aquifers will address the relationship between continental and oceanic paleotemperatures and the latitudinal symmetry of climate change during the past 30,000 years.