Dr Mark Cuthbert

Reader in Environmental Geoscience

School of Earth and Environmental Sciences

: CuthbertM2@cardiff.ac.uk
: +44 29208 74051
: Main Building, Room 2.53, Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT

I am interested in a broad range of topics in the Environmental and Earth Sciences but have a primary specialism in groundwater hydrology. In particular, my research is currently focussed on coupled hydrological-climate process dynamics in order: to understand & quantify groundwater sustainability, particularly in drylands; to improve interpretations of terrestrial paleoclimate proxy archives; to understand Quaternary paleoenvironments & how they influenced our evolution as a species.

Please get in touch for more information about my research, for copies of papers, or if you are interested in collaborating.

Date
Type

2023

Zipper, S. et al. 2023. GroMoPo: A groundwater model portal for findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR) modeling. Groundwater 61(6), pp. 764-767. (10.1111/gwat.13343)
Quichimbo Miguitama, E. A., Singer, M. B., Michaelides, K., Rosolem, R., MacLeod, D. A., Asfaw, D. and Cuthbert, M. O. 2023. Assessing the sensitivity of modelled water partitioning to global precipitation datasets in a data‐scarce dryland region. Hydrological Processes 37(12), article number: e15047. (10.1002/hyp.15047)
Cuthbert, M., Gleeson, T., Bierkens, M., Ferguson, G. and Taylor, R. 2023. Defining renewable groundwater use and its relevance to sustainable groundwater management. Water Resources Research 59(9), article number: e2022WR032831. (10.1029/2022WR032831)
Warter, M. M., Singer, M. B., Cuthbert, M. O., Roberts, D. A., Caylor, K. K., Sabathier, R. and Stella, J. C. 2023. Modeling seasonal vegetation phenology from hydroclimatic drivers for contrasting plant functional groups within drylands of the Southwestern USA. Environmental Research: Ecology 2(2), article number: 25001. (10.1088/2752-664X/acb9a0)
Macleod, D. et al. 2023. Translating seasonal climate forecasts into water balance forecasts for decision making. PLOS Climate 2(3), article number: e0000138. (10.1371/journal.pclm.0000138)
West, C., Reinecke, R., Rosolem, R., MacDonald, A. M., Cuthbert, M. O. and Wagener, T. 2023. Ground truthing global-scale model estimates of groundwater recharge across Africa. Science of the Total Environment 858, article number: 159765. (10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159765)
Asfaw, D. T. et al. 2023. stoPET v1.0: a stochastic potential evapotranspiration generator for simulation of climate change impacts. Geoscientific Model Development 16(2), pp. 557-571. (10.5194/gmd-16-557-2023)

2022

West, C., Rosolem, R., MacDonald, A. M., Cuthbert, M. O. and Wagener, T. 2022. Understanding process controls on groundwater recharge variability across Africa through recharge landscapes. Journal of Hydrology 612(A), article number: 127967. (10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.127967)
Lowry, C. S., Dunkle, K. M., Kairies-Beatty, C. L., Arslan, S., Stahl, M., Bogie, N. and Cuthbert, M. O. 2022. Groundwater origami: folding paper models to visualize groundwater flow. Frontiers in Environmental Science 10, article number: 876853. (10.3389/fenvs.2022.876853)
Rust, W., Bloomfield, J. P., Cuthbert, M., Corstanje, R. and Holman, I. 2022. The importance of non-stationary multiannual periodicities in the North Atlantic Oscillation index for forecasting water resource drought. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 26(9), pp. 2449–2467. (10.5194/hess-26-2449-2022)
Patton, A. M., Rau, G. C., Cleall, P. J. and Cuthbert, M. O. 2022. Hydro-geomechanical characterisation of a coastal urban aquifer using multiscalar time and frequency domain groundwater-level responses. Hydrogeology Journal 29, pp. 2751-2771. (10.1007/s10040-021-02400-5)
Cuthbert, M. O., Rau, G. C., Ekstrom, M., O'Carroll, D. M. and Bates, A. J. 2022. Global climate-driven trade-offs between the water retention and cooling benefits of urban greening. Nature Communications 13(1), article number: 518. (10.1038/s41467-022-28160-8)

2021

Sorensen, J. P. R. et al. 2021. The influence of groundwater abstraction on interpreting climate controls and extreme recharge events from well hydrographs in semi-arid South Africa. Hydrogeology Journal 29, pp. 2773-2787. (10.1007/s10040-021-02391-3)
Gleeson, T. et al. 2021. GMD perspective: the quest to improve the evaluation of groundwater representation in continental- to global-scale models. Geoscientific Model Development 14(12), pp. 7545–7571. (10.5194/gmd-14-7545-2021)
Quichimbo, E. A., Singer, M. B., Michaelides, K., Hobley, D. E. J., Rosolem, R. and Cuthbert, M. O. 2021. DRYP 1.0: A parsimonious hydrological model of DRYland Partitioning of the water balance. Geoscientific Model Development 14, pp. 6893-6917. (10.5194/gmd-14-6893-2021)
Seddon, D., Kashaigili, J. J., Taylor, R. G., Cuthbert, M. O., Mwihumbo, C. and MacDonald, A. M. 2021. Focused groundwater recharge in a tropical dryland: Empirical evidence from central, semi-arid Tanzania. Journal of Hydrology Regional Studies 37, article number: 100919. (10.1016/j.ejrh.2021.100919)
Zarate, E. et al. 2021. The role of superficial geology in controlling groundwater recharge in the weathered crystalline basement of semi-arid Tanzania. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies 36, article number: 100833. (10.1016/j.ejrh.2021.100833)
Singer, M. B. et al. 2021. Hourly potential evapotranspiration at 0.1˚ resolution for the global land surface from 1981-present. Scientific Data 8, article number: 224. (10.1038/s41597-021-01003-9)
Warter, M. M., Singer, M. B., Cuthbert, M. O., Roberts, D., Caylor, K. K., Sabathier, R. and Stella, J. 2021. Drought onset and propagation into soil moisture and grassland vegetation responses during the 2012–2019 major drought in Southern California. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 25(6), pp. 3713–3729. (10.5194/hess-25-3713-2021)
Rust, W., Cuthbert, M., Bloomfield, J., Corstanje, R., Howden, N. and Holman, I. 2021. Exploring the role of hydrological pathways in modulating multi-annual climate teleconnection periodicities from UK rainfall to streamflow. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 25(4), pp. 2223-2237. (10.5194/hess-25-2223-2021)
Acworth, R. I., Rau, G. C., Cuthbert, M. O., Leggett, K. and Andersen, M. S. 2021. Runoff and focused groundwater-recharge response to flooding rains in the arid zone of Australia. Hydrogeology Journal 29, pp. 737-764. (10.1007/s10040-020-02284-x)
Baker, A., Scheller, M., Oriani, F., Mariéthoz, G., Hartmann, A., Wang, Z. and Cuthbert, M. 2021. Quantifying temporal variability and spatial heterogeneity in rainfall recharge thresholds in a montane karst environment. Journal of Hydrology 594, article number: 125965. (10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.125965)
Rust, W., Bloomfield, J. P., Cuthbert, M. O., Corstanje, R. and Holman, I. P. 2021. Non-stationary control of the NAO on European rainfall and its implications for water resource management. Hydrological Processes 35(3), article number: e14099. (10.1002/hyp.14099)

2020

Rau, G. C. et al. 2020. Future-proofing hydrogeology by revising groundwater monitoring practice. Hydrogeology Journal 28, pp. 2963-2969. (10.1007/s10040-020-02242-7)
Rau, G. C., Cuthbert, M. O., Acworth, R. I. and Blum, P. 2020. Technical Note: Disentangling the groundwater response to Earth and atmospheric tides to improve subsurface characterisation. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 24, pp. 6033-6046. (10.5194/hess-24-6033-2020)
Ferguson, G., Cuthbert, M. O., Befus, K., Gleeson, T. and McIntosh, J. C. 2020. Rethinking groundwater age. Nature Geoscience 13(9), pp. 592-594. (10.1038/s41561-020-0629-7)
Baker, A., Berthelin, R., Cuthbert, M. O., Treble, P. C., Hartmann, A. and KSS Cave Studies Team, t. 2020. Rainfall recharge thresholds in a subtropical climate determined using a regional cave drip water monitoring network. Journal of Hydrology 587, article number: 125001. (10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.125001)
Quichimbo Miguitama, E. A., Singer, M. B. and Cuthbert, M. O. 2020. Characterizing groundwater-surface water interactions in idealized ephemeral stream systems. Hydrological Processes 34(18), pp. 3792-3806. (10.1002/hyp.13847)
Opie, S., Taylor, R. G., Brierley, C. M., Shamsudduha, M. and Cuthbert, M. O. 2020. Climate-groundwater dynamics inferred from GRACE and the role of hydraulic memory. Earth System Dynamics 11(3), pp. 775-791. (10.5194/esd-11-775-2020)
Gleeson, T., Cuthbert, M., Ferguson, G. and Perrone, D. 2020. Global groundwater sustainability, resources and systems in the Anthropocene. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 48, pp. 431-463. (10.1146/annurev-earth-071719-055251)
Markowska, M. et al. 2020. Modern speleothem oxygen isotope hydroclimate records in water-limited SE Australia. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 270, pp. 431-448. (10.1016/j.gca.2019.12.007)

2019

Cuthbert, M. O. et al. 2019. Observed controls on resilience of groundwater to climate variability in sub-Saharan Africa. Nature 572, pp. 230-234. (10.1038/s41586-019-1441-7)
Rust, W., Holman, I., Bloomfield, J., Cuthbert, M. and Corstanje, R. 2019. Understanding the potential of climate teleconnections to project future groundwater drought. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences and Discussions 23(8), pp. 3233-3245. (10.5194/hess-23-3233-2019)
Barker, A. et al. 2019. Global analysis reveals climatic controls on the oxygen isotope composition of cave drip water. Nature Communications 10, article number: 2984. (10.1038/s41467-019-11027-w)
Kolusu, S. R. et al. 2019. The El Niño event of 2015-2016: climate anomalies and their impact on groundwater resources in East and Southern Africa. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences and Discussions 23(3), pp. 1751-1762. (10.5194/hess-23-1751-2019)
Cuthbert, M. O., Gleeson, T., Moosdorf, N., Befus, K. M., Schneider, A., Hartmann, J. and Lehner, B. 2019. Global patterns and dynamics of climate-groundwater interactions. Nature Climate Change 9, pp. 137-141. (10.1038/s41558-018-0386-4)
Jones, M. D. et al. 2019. 20,000 years of societal vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in southwest Asia. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Water 6(2), article number: e1330. (10.1002/wat2.1330)
Patton, A. et al. 2019. Observed controls on the seasonal variability of urban groundwater thermal regimes. Presented at: European Geosciences Union Annual General Meeting, Vienna, Austria, 7-12 Apr 2019. pp. -.

2018

Rau, G. C., Acworth, R. I., Halloran, L. J. S., Timms, W. A. and Cuthbert, M. O. 2018. Quantifying compressible groundwater storage by combining cross-hole seismic surveys and head response to atmospheric tides. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface 123(8), pp. 1910-1930. (10.1029/2018JF004660)
Timms, W. A. et al. 2018. The influence of syndepositional macropores on the hydraulic integrity of thick alluvial clay aquitards. Water Resources Research 54(4), pp. 3122-3138. (10.1029/2017WR021681)
Rust, W., Holman, I., Corstanje, R., Bloomfield, J. and Cuthbert, M. 2018. A conceptual model for climatic teleconnection signal control on groundwater variability in the UK and Europe. Earth-Science Reviews 177, pp. 164-174. (10.1016/j.earscirev.2017.09.017)

2017

Rau, G. C., Halloran, L. J., Cuthbert, M. O., Andersen, M. S., Acworth, R. I. and Tellam, J. H. 2017. Characterising the dynamics of surface water-groundwater interactions in intermittent and ephemeral streams using streambed thermal signatures. Advances in Water Resources 107, pp. 354-369. (10.1016/j.advwatres.2017.07.005)
Schmidt, S. I., Cuthbert, M. and Schwientek, M. 2017. Towards an integrated understanding of how micro scale processes shape groundwater ecosystem functions. Science of the Total Environment 592, pp. 215-227. (10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.03.047)
Cuthbert, M. O., Gleeson, T., Reynolds, S. C., Bennett, M. R., Newton, A. C., McCormack, C. J. and Ashley, G. M. 2017. Modelling the role of groundwater hydro-refugia in East African hominin evolution and dispersal. Nature Communications 8, article number: 15696. (10.1038/ncomms15696)

Groundwater recharge and groundwater sustainability

How and why does groundwater recharge occur? How has recharge changed as the climate has varied, and how might it in the future? How can we best estimate groundwater recharge?

Answering these questions is key to developing strategies for sustainable groundwater management, a critical part of meeting our global food-water-energy needs.

Key papers: Cuthbert et al. (2019) Nature; Gleeson et al. (2020) AREPS; Cuthbert et al. (2016) WRR; Cuthbert et al. (2013) HESS; Cuthbert (2010) WRR; Cuthbert et al. (2010)a JoH; Cuthbert et al. (2010)b JoW&CC; Cuthbert et al. (2009) QJEG&H

Climate-Groundwater Interactions and Paleohydrology

How has groundwater availability varied with climate over Earth’s history? How has this influenced the evolution of humans and other species? How will future climate change affect groundwater availability?

A better understanding of climate-groundwater interactions in the past and present is crucial to developing strategies for future human resilience to climate change.

Key papers: Cuthbert et al. (2019) Nature Climate Change; Cuthbert et al. (2017) Nature Communications; Holman et al. (2012) HJ

Hydrological Controls on Paleoclimate Proxy Archive Geochemistry

How do features of the water chemistry that are preserved in speleothems vary along a flow path from ‘drop’ (rainfall) to ‘drip’ (cave exfiltration)? How do groundwater inputs to lakes influence the chemistry of lake carbonate deposits?

Improved processes understanding of the links between hydrology, climate and the geochemistry of terrestrial paleoclimate proxy archives in the present, can improve our understanding and models of past climates.

Key papers: Markowska et al. GCA (2020); Jones, Cuthbert et al. (2016) QSR; Rau, Cuthbert et al. (2015) QSR; Cuthbert et al. 2014 EPSL; Cuthbert et al. 2014 Sci. Rep.

Surface water-groundwater interactions

What are the fundamental controls on exchange fluxes between surface water and groundwater? How does human activity change these dynamics? How can we best estimate these fluxes?

Such interactions control catchment water quality and hydroecological health and are fundamental for underpinning sound integrated catchment management.

Key papers: Quichimbo et al. (2020) HP; Rau et al. (2017) AWR; Roshan et al. 2014 AWR; Krause et al. 2014 WRR; Cuthbert & Mackay 2013 WRR; Cuthbert et al. 2010 AWR

Groundwater flow and transport processes

What governs the form of groundwater recessions? How can we characterise preferential flow phenomena in porous media? How do bacteria move in the subsurface? How can biomineralisation be used for reducing the spread of groundwater contaminants?

Exploring fundamental groundwater flow and transport processes is critical to managing human impact on the natural environment.

Key papers: Rau et al. (2018) JGR; Cuthbert 2014 WRR; Tobler et al. 2014; Handley-Sidhu et al. 2014; Cuthbert et al 2013 ES&T

Water in the Environment Module (EAT109) - Water in a Changing World MSc

https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/taught/courses/course/water-in-a-changing-world-msc

Water in the Geological Environment Module (EAT117) - Applied Environmental Geology MSc

https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/taught/courses/course/applied-environmental-geology

Advanced Environmental Geoscience Module (EA3306) - 2nd Year Undergraduate Programme in Environmental Geoscience

https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/2022/environmental-geoscience-bsc

Career overview

2020 - present: Principal Research Fellow & Reader, School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Cardiff University, UK
2017 - 2020: NERC Independent Research Fellow & Lecturer, Cardiff University, UK
2017 - 2017: Research Fellow, Water Research Institute, Cardiff University, UK
2016 - 2017: Senior Research Associate, University College London, UK
2014 - 2016: Research Fellow, University of Birmingham, UK
2012 - 2014: Marie Curie Research Fellow: University of New South Wales, Australia
2008 - 2012: Research Fellow, University of Birmingham, UK

+ 6 years outside academia in Environmental Consultancy & the charitable sector