2024 Laureate Profile: Professor Andrew Baker

Administering Organisation: The University of New South Wales

Fellowship Project Summary

FL240100057 - Caves and their stalagmites: linking climate to groundwater recharge

Professor Baker aims to generate new knowledge that is only possible by combining the analysis of cave stalagmites, underground hydrological monitoring, and climate hydrological modelling to identify when this replenishment occurred in the past, present, and future. Professor Baker’s research will be a first for caves and cave stalagmites to be used to define the role of climate phenomena such as El Niño and La Niña, and the Indian Ocean Dipole in the replenishment of groundwater. This project will use presentations at industry-focused conferences, workshops, and a white paper to communicate research outcomes to state and federal water policymakers and to industries that use groundwater as a resource, such as commercial forestry, the wine industry, tourism, and water supply. By applying these research outcomes, Professor Baker’s work will help identify where groundwater can be sustainably used for water supply and industrial use in the future and to mitigate the impacts of prolonged droughts that are predicted as result of climate change. 

Australian Research Council Funding: $3,038,909