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Stable isotope compositions (δ(2)H, δ(18)O and δ(17)O) of rainfall and snowfall in the central United States

Stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen (δ(2)H, δ(18)O and δ(17)O) can be used as natural tracers to improve our understanding of hydrological and meteorological processes. Studies of precipitation isotopes, especially (17)O-excess observations, are extremely limited in the mid-latitudes. To fill thi...

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Autores principales: Tian, Chao, Wang, Lixin, Kaseke, Kudzai Farai, Bird, Broxton W.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Nature Publishing Group UK 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5928101/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29712983
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-25102-7
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author Tian, Chao
Wang, Lixin
Kaseke, Kudzai Farai
Bird, Broxton W.
author_facet Tian, Chao
Wang, Lixin
Kaseke, Kudzai Farai
Bird, Broxton W.
author_sort Tian, Chao
collection PubMed
description Stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen (δ(2)H, δ(18)O and δ(17)O) can be used as natural tracers to improve our understanding of hydrological and meteorological processes. Studies of precipitation isotopes, especially (17)O-excess observations, are extremely limited in the mid-latitudes. To fill this knowledge gap, we measured δ(2)H, δ(18)O and δ(17)O of event-based precipitation samples collected from Indianapolis, Indiana, USA over two years and investigated the influence of meteorological factors on precipitation isotope variations. The results showed that the daily temperature played a major role in controlling the isotope variations. Precipitation experienced kinetic fractionation associated with evaporation at the moisture source in the spring and summer and for rainfall, while snowfall, as well as precipitation in the fall and winter, were mainly affected by equilibrium fractionation. The (17)O-excess of both rainfall and snowfall were not affected by local meteorological factors over the whole study period. At the seasonal scale, it was the case only for the spring. Therefore, (17)O-excess of rainfall, snowfall and the spring precipitation could be considered as tracers of evaporative conditions at the moisture source. This study provides a unique precipitation isotope dataset for mid-latitudes and provides a more mechanistic understanding of precipitation formation mechanisms in this region.
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spelling pubmed-59281012018-05-07 Stable isotope compositions (δ(2)H, δ(18)O and δ(17)O) of rainfall and snowfall in the central United States Tian, Chao Wang, Lixin Kaseke, Kudzai Farai Bird, Broxton W. Sci Rep Article Stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen (δ(2)H, δ(18)O and δ(17)O) can be used as natural tracers to improve our understanding of hydrological and meteorological processes. Studies of precipitation isotopes, especially (17)O-excess observations, are extremely limited in the mid-latitudes. To fill this knowledge gap, we measured δ(2)H, δ(18)O and δ(17)O of event-based precipitation samples collected from Indianapolis, Indiana, USA over two years and investigated the influence of meteorological factors on precipitation isotope variations. The results showed that the daily temperature played a major role in controlling the isotope variations. Precipitation experienced kinetic fractionation associated with evaporation at the moisture source in the spring and summer and for rainfall, while snowfall, as well as precipitation in the fall and winter, were mainly affected by equilibrium fractionation. The (17)O-excess of both rainfall and snowfall were not affected by local meteorological factors over the whole study period. At the seasonal scale, it was the case only for the spring. Therefore, (17)O-excess of rainfall, snowfall and the spring precipitation could be considered as tracers of evaporative conditions at the moisture source. This study provides a unique precipitation isotope dataset for mid-latitudes and provides a more mechanistic understanding of precipitation formation mechanisms in this region. Nature Publishing Group UK 2018-04-30 /pmc/articles/PMC5928101/ /pubmed/29712983 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-25102-7 Text en © The Author(s) 2018 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
spellingShingle Article
Tian, Chao
Wang, Lixin
Kaseke, Kudzai Farai
Bird, Broxton W.
Stable isotope compositions (δ(2)H, δ(18)O and δ(17)O) of rainfall and snowfall in the central United States
title Stable isotope compositions (δ(2)H, δ(18)O and δ(17)O) of rainfall and snowfall in the central United States
title_full Stable isotope compositions (δ(2)H, δ(18)O and δ(17)O) of rainfall and snowfall in the central United States
title_fullStr Stable isotope compositions (δ(2)H, δ(18)O and δ(17)O) of rainfall and snowfall in the central United States
title_full_unstemmed Stable isotope compositions (δ(2)H, δ(18)O and δ(17)O) of rainfall and snowfall in the central United States
title_short Stable isotope compositions (δ(2)H, δ(18)O and δ(17)O) of rainfall and snowfall in the central United States
title_sort stable isotope compositions (δ(2)h, δ(18)o and δ(17)o) of rainfall and snowfall in the central united states
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5928101/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29712983
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-25102-7
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