Hydrogeochemical responses of cave drip water to the local climate in the Liangfeng Cave, Southwest China

Abstract

The hydrogeochemistry of cave drip water is an important environmental index in cave systems, and drip water monitoring may be an essential solution for paleoclimate reconstructions. We measured the hydrogeochemical properties of the seasonal and perennial drip water and CO2 concentrations from 2015 to 2019 in the Liangfeng Cave, Guilin, Southwest China. This study identified the difference in the regional environmental records in the perennial and seasonal drip water. By comparing the regional climate data recorded by the drip water, the results showed that the perennial drip water recorded regional climate information throughout the year, whereas the seasonal drip water only recorded the high precipitation periods. The precipitation during the 2015 dry season was abnormally high, and higher than the values in other rainy seasons. This indicates that hydrogeochemistry only represents changes in precipitation and not the alternation of dry and rainy seasons during this period.