scholarly journals Investigating late Holocene variations in hydroclimate and the stable isotope composition of precipitation using southern South American peatlands: an hypothesis

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 1457-1471 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. Daley ◽  
D. Mauquoy ◽  
F. M. Chambers ◽  
F. A. Street-Perrott ◽  
P. D. M. Hughes ◽  
...  

Abstract. Ombrotrophic raised peatlands provide an ideal archive for integrating late Holocene records of variations in hydroclimate and the estimated stable isotope composition of precipitation with recent instrumental measurements. Modern measurements of mean monthly surface air temperature, precipitation, and δD and δ18O-values in precipitation from the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries provide a short but invaluable record with which to investigate modern relationships between these variables, thereby enabling improved interpretation of the peatland palaeodata. Stable isotope data from two stations in the Global Network for Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP) from southern South America (Punta Arenas, Chile and Ushuaia, Argentina) were analysed for the period 1982 to 2008 and compared with longer-term meteorological data from the same locations (1890 to present and 1931 to present, respectively). δD and δ18O-values in precipitation have exhibited quite different trends in response to local surface air temperature and precipitation amount. At Punta Arenas, there has been a marked increase in the seasonal difference between summer and winter δ18O-values. A decline in the deuterium excess of summer precipitation at this station was associated with a general increase in relative humidity at 1000 mb over the surface of the Southeast Pacific Ocean, believed to be the major vapour source for the local precipitation. At Ushuaia, a fall in δ18O-values was associated with an increase in the mean annual amount of precipitation. Both records are consistent with a southward retraction and increase in zonal wind speed of the austral westerly wind belt. These regional differences, observed in response to a known driver, should be detectable in peatland sites close to the GNIP stations. Currently, insufficient data with suitable temporal resolution are available to test for these regional differences over the last 3000 yr. Existing peatland palaeoclimate data from two sites near Ushuaia, however, provide evidence for changes in the late Holocene that are consistent with the pattern observed in modern observations.

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 595-620 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. Daley ◽  
D. Mauquoy ◽  
F. M. Chambers

Abstract. Ombrotrophic raised peatlands provide an ideal archive for integrating late Holocene records of variations in hydroclimate and the estimated stable isotope composition of precipitation with recent instrumental measurements. Modern measurements of mean monthly surface air temperature, precipitation and δD and δ18O values in precipitation from the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries provide a short but invaluable record with which to investigate modern relationships between these variables, thereby enabling improved interpretation of the peatland palaeodata. Data from two stations in the Global Network for Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP) from Tierra del Fuego (Punta Arenas, Chile and Ushuaia, Argentina) were analysed for the period 1982 to 2008. In both locations, δD and δ18O values have decreased in response to quite different trends in local surface air temperature and total precipitation amount. At Ushuaia, the fall in δ18O values is associated with an increase in the mean annual amount of precipitation. At Punta Arenas, the fall in δ18O values is weakly associated with decrease in the precipitation amount and an increase in local temperatures. The pattern in both records is consistent with an increase in the zonal intensity of the southern westerly wind belt. These regional differences, observed in response to a known driver, should be detectable in peatland sites close to the GNIP stations. There is currently insufficient availability of suitably temporally resolved data to test for these regional differences over the last 3000 yr. Existing peatland palaeoclimate data from two sites near Ushuaia, however, provide evidence for changes in the late Holocene that are consistent with the pattern observed in modern observations. Furthermore, the records suggest synchroneity in millennial-scale oscillations between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Cuntz ◽  
Lucas A Cernusak ◽  

<p>Several important isotopic biomarkers derive at least part of their signal from the stable isotope composition of leaf water (e.g., leaf wax δ<sup>2</sup>H, cellulose δ<sup>2</sup>H and δ<sup>18</sup>O, lignin δ<sup>18</sup>O). In order to interpret these isotopic proxies, it is therefore helpful to know which environmental variable most strongly controls a given leaf water stable isotope signal. We collated observations of the stable isotope compositions of leaf water, xylem water, and atmospheric vapour, along with air temperature and relative humidity, to test whether the dominant driver of leaf water <sup>2</sup>H concentration could differ from that of <sup>18</sup>O concentration. Our dataset comprises 690 observations from 35 sites with broad geographical coverage. We limited our analysis to daytime observations, when the photosynthetic processes that incorporate the leaf water isotopic signal primarily take place. The Craig-Gordon equation was generally a good predictor for daytime bulk leaf water stable isotope composition for both δ<sup>2</sup>H (R<sup>2</sup>=0.86, p<0.001) and δ<sup>18</sup>O (R<sup>2</sup>=0.63, p<0.001). It showed about 10% admixture of source water was caused by unenriched water pools such as leaf veins or the Péclet effect. Solving the Craig-Gordon equation requires knowledge of relative humidity, air temperature, and the stable isotope compositions of source water and atmospheric vapour. However, it is not possible to invert the Craig-Gordon equation to solve for one of these parameters unless the others are known. Here we show that the two isotopic signals of δ<sup>2</sup>H and δ<sup>18</sup>O are predominantly driven by different environmental variables: leaf water δ<sup>2</sup>H correlated most strongly with the δ<sup>2</sup>H of source water (R<sup>2</sup>=0.68, p<0.001) and atmospheric vapour (R<sup>2</sup>=0.63, p<0.001), whereas leaf water δ<sup>18</sup>O correlated most strongly with air relative humidity (R<sup>2</sup>=0.46, p<0.001). We conclude that these two isotopic signals of leaf water are not simply mirror images of the same environmental information, but carry distinct signals of different climate factors, with crucial implications for the interpretation of downstream isotopic biomarkers.</p>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Moreno ◽  
Miguel Iglesias ◽  
Cesar Azorin-Molina ◽  
Carlos Pérez-Mejías ◽  
Miguel Bartolomé ◽  
...  

Abstract. This article presents for the first time a large dataset of rainfall isotopic measurements (d18Op and d2Hp) sampled every day or every two days from seven sites in a west-to-east transect across northern Spain for 2010–2017. The main aim of this study is to: (1) characterize rainfall isotopic variability in northern Spain at daily and monthly time scales, and (2) assess the principal influencing factors determining rainfall isotopic variability. This comprehensive spatio-temporal approach allows exploring the role of air mass source in determining the isotopic composition of rainfall in northern Iberia by using back-trajectories; Atlantic fronts are found to be the dominant source of northern Iberia rain events studied. The relative role of air temperature and rainfall amount in determining the stable isotope composition of precipitation changes along the west-to-east transect. Air temperature appears to be the most significant influence on d18Op at daily and monthly time scales with the highest air temperature-d18Op dependency found for the Pyrenean station while a few sites in the transect show a significant negative correlation with precipitation amount. Distance from the coast, site elevation, and moisture source region (Atlantic versus Mediterranean) also significantly modulate the d18Op values and ranges but the type of precipitation (convective vs frontal rainfall) plays a key control, with convective rainfall associated with higher d18Op values. This dataset of the rainfall isotopic composition represents another step forward towards developing a more detailed, mechanistic framework for interpreting stable isotopes in rainfall as a palaeoclimate and hydrological tracer.


Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1065 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rong Guo ◽  
Shengjie Wang ◽  
Mingjun Zhang ◽  
Athanassios A. Argiriou ◽  
Xuemei Liu ◽  
...  

The origin of bottled water can be identified via its stable isotope signature because of the spatial variation of the stable isotope composition of natural waters. In this paper, the spatial pattern of δ2H and δ18O values were analyzed for a total of 242 bottled water samples produced at 137 sites across China that were randomly purchased during 2014–2015. The isotopic ratios of bottled water vary between −166‰ and −19‰ for δ2H, and between −21.6‰ and −2.1‰ for δ18O. Based on multiple regression analyses using meteorological and geographical parameters, an isoscape of Chinese bottled water was created. The results showed that altitude among spatial parameters and precipitation amount and air temperature among meteorological parameters were major natural factors determining the isotopic variation of bottled water. Our findings indicate the potential and the significance of the use of stable isotopes for the source identification of bottled water. An analysis of different origin types (spring, glacier and unmarked) and several different brands of bottled water in the same location reflected different production processes and source signatures.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quanzhi Yuan ◽  
Shaohong Wu ◽  
Dongsheng Zhao ◽  
Erfu Dai ◽  
Qin Yuan ◽  
...  

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