Ancient Shorelines and Extreme Rainstorms at Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre

The beat of the Australian desert water cycle is echoed in the shorelines of Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre. This normally dry lake is occasionally flooded by flows entering the lake from ephemeral desert streams, after heavy upstream rainstorms. Levels of earlier lake floods are recorded by ancient shoreline landforms and reflect past episodes of extreme rainstorms. To unravel the mystery behind the relationship between current desert rainfall characteristics and the stunning geomorphic features captured in this photo, we embarked on a journey to the dry lake margins. This field campaign and its following research aim to uncover valuable information about past extreme events and deepen our understanding of possible future scenarios.