scholarly journals Effects of changes in moisture source and the upstream rainout on stable isotopes in summer precipitation – a case study in Nanjing, East China

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 3919-3944 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Tang ◽  
H. Pang ◽  
W. Zhang ◽  
Y. Li ◽  
S. Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
Isotopic Composition ◽  
Asian Monsoon ◽  
Summer Precipitation ◽  
Monsoon Region ◽  
Asian Monsoon Region ◽  
Moisture Source ◽  
Source Regions ◽  
Stable Isotopic Composition ◽  
Stable Isotopic

Abstract. In the Asian monsoon region, variations in the stable isotopic composition of speleothems have often been attributed to the "amount effect". However, an increasing number of studies suggest that the "amount effect" in local precipitation is insignificant or even non-existent. To explore this issue further, we examined the variability of daily stable isotopic composition (δ18O) in summer precipitation of 2012–2014 in Nanjing, East China. We found that δ18O was not significantly correlated with local rainfall amount, but could be linked to changes in the location and rainout processes of precipitation source regions. Our findings suggest that the stable isotopes in precipitation could signal the location shift of precipitation source regions in the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) over the course of the monsoon season. As a result, changes in moisture source location and upstream rainout effect should be taken into account when interpreting the stable isotopic composition of speleothems in the Asian monsoon region.

scholarly journals Effects of changes in moisture source and the upstream rainout on stable isotopes in precipitation – a case study in Nanjing, eastern China

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 4293-4306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Tang ◽  
H. Pang ◽  
W. Zhang ◽  
Y. Li ◽  
S. Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Isotopic Composition ◽  
Asian Monsoon ◽  
Monsoon Season ◽  
Eastern China ◽  
Monsoon Region ◽  
Asian Monsoon Region ◽  
Moisture Source ◽  
Source Regions ◽  
Stable Isotopic Composition ◽  
Stable Isotopic

Abstract. In the Asian monsoon region, variations in the stable isotopic composition of speleothems have often been attributed to the "amount effect". However, an increasing number of studies suggest that the "amount effect" in local precipitation is insignificant or even non-existent. To explore this issue further, we examined the variability of daily stable isotopic composition (δ18O) in precipitation from September 2011 to November 2014 in Nanjing, eastern China. We found that intra-seasonal variations of δ18O during summer were not significantly correlated with local rainfall amount but could be linked to changes in the moisture source location and rainout processes in the source regions. Our findings suggest that the stable isotopes in summer precipitation could signal the location shift of precipitation source regions in the inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ) over the course of the monsoon season. As a result, changes in moisture source location and upstream rainout effect should be taken into account when interpreting the stable isotopic composition of speleothems in the Asian monsoon region. In addition, the temperature effect on isotopic variations in non-monsoonal precipitation should also be considered because precipitation in the non-monsoon season accounts for about half of its annual precipitation.

scholarly journals What controls the stable isotope composition of precipitation in the Asian monsoon region?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Le Duy Nguyen ◽  
Ingo Heidbüchel ◽  
Hanno Meyer ◽  
Bruno Merz ◽  
Heiko Apel
Keyword(s):  
Isotopic Composition ◽  
Asian Monsoon ◽  
Precipitation Amount ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Monsoon Region ◽  
Asian Monsoon Region ◽  
Air Mass ◽  
Local Factors ◽  
Regional Factors ◽  
Isotopic Records

Abstract. This study analyzes the influence of local and regional climatic factors on the stable isotopic composition of rainfall in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta as part of the Asian monsoon region. It is based on 1.5 years of weekly rainfall samples. Their isotopic content is analyzed by Local Meteoric Water Lines (LMWL) and single-factor regressions. Additionally, the contribution of several regional and local factors is quantified by multiple linear regressions (MLR) of all possible factor combinations and by relative importance analysis, a novel approach for the interpretation of isotopic records. The local factors are extracted from local climate records, while the regional factors are derived from atmospheric backward trajectories of water particles. The regional factors, i.e. precipitation, temperature, relative humidity and moving distance of the backward trajectories, are combined with equivalent local climatic parameters to predict the response variables δ18O, δ2H, and d-excess of precipitation at the station of measurement. The results indicate that (i) MLR can much better explain the isotopic variation of precipitation (R2 = 0.8) compared to single-factor linear regression (R2 = 0.3); (ii) the isotopic variation in precipitation is controlled dominantly by regional moisture regimes (~ 70 %) compared to local climatic conditions (~ 30 %); (iii) the most important climatic parameter during the early rainy season is the precipitation amount along the trajectories of air mass movements; (iv) the influence of local precipitation amount and temperature is not significant during the early rainy season, unlike the regional precipitation amount effect; (v) secondary fractionation processes (e.g. sub-cloud evaporation) take place mainly in the dry season, either locally for δ18O and δ2H, or along the air mass trajectories for d-excess. The analysis shows that regional and local factors vary in importance over the seasons, and that the source regions and transport pathways, and in particular the climatic conditions along the pathways, have a large influence on the isotopic composition of rainfall. The proposed methods thus proved to be valuable for the interpretation of the isotopic records in rainfall and the factors controlling it. The results illustrate that the interpretation of the isotopic composition in precipitation as a recorder of local climatic conditions, as for example performed for paleo records of water isotopes, may not be adequate in the Southern part of the Indochinese Peninsula, and likely also not in other regions affected by monsoon processes. However, the presented approach could open a pathway towards better and seasonally differentiated reconstruction of paleoclimates based on isotopic records.

scholarly journals The Capability of ENSEMBLES Models in Predicting the Principal Modes of Pan-Asian Monsoon Precipitation

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (21) ◽  
pp. 8486-8510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya Gao ◽  
Huijun Wang ◽  
Dong Chen
Keyword(s):  
Asian Monsoon ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Summer Precipitation ◽  
Tropical Indian Ocean ◽  
Spatiotemporal Distribution ◽  
Monsoon Region ◽  
Coupled Models ◽  
Asian Monsoon Region ◽  
Second Mode ◽  
Ensembles Project

Abstract The predictability of the dominant modes of summer (June–September) precipitation in the pan-Asian monsoon region is evaluated based on 1-month-lead retrospective forecasts in five state-of-the-art coupled models from the ENSEMBLES project for the period 1979–2005. The results show that the models and their multimodel ensemble mean (MME) perform well in reproducing the interannual variability of the climatology and the spatiotemporal distribution of the first mode of summer precipitation in the pan-Asian monsoon region. The associated oceanic and atmospheric circulation indicators are also well captured, such as the spatiotemporal structures of the simultaneous El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Antarctic Oscillation in the Pacific Ocean (AAOSP). Moreover, the interannual variation of the preceding AAOSP can also be captured by some of the coupled models. For individual models, the ECMWF, Météo-France, and Met Office models exhibit better skill with respect to the first mode of summer precipitation in the pan-Asian monsoon region, which displays a tripole pattern from north to south over 80°–140°E. In addition, these models can successfully predict the intensity and location of the associated ENSO, as well as the simultaneous summer AAOSP distributions. By contrast, the prediction capabilities of the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences (IFM-GEOMAR) and Euro-Mediterranean Center for Climate Change (CMCC-INGV) models are relatively weaker. Furthermore, the predictions of the second mode of the summer precipitation in the pan-Asian monsoon region are investigated. Some of the ENSEMBLES models show good capability in predicting the spatiotemporal distribution of the second mode, owing to the successful prediction of the atmospheric convection activities over the tropical Indian Ocean.

scholarly journals The stable isotopic composition of water vapour above Corsica during the HyMeX SOP1 campaign: insight into vertical mixing processes from lower-tropospheric survey flights

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. 6125-6151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald Sodemann ◽  
Franziska Aemisegger ◽  
Stephan Pfahl ◽  
Mark Bitter ◽  
Ulrich Corsmeier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Isotopic Composition ◽  
Water Vapour ◽  
Temporal Resolution ◽  
Mixing Processes ◽  
Stable Isotopic Composition ◽  
Strong Inversion ◽  
Stable Isotopic

Abstract. Stable isotopes of water vapour are powerful indicators of meteorological processes on a broad range of scales, reflecting evaporation, condensation, and air mass mixing processes. With the recent advent of fast laser-based spectroscopic methods, it has become possible to measure the stable isotopic composition of atmospheric water vapour in situ at a high temporal resolution. Here we present results from such comprehensive airborne spectroscopic isotope measurements in water vapour over the western Mediterranean at a high spatial and temporal resolution. Measurements have been acquired by a customized Picarro L2130-i cavity-ring down spectrometer deployed onboard the Dornier 128 D-IBUF aircraft together with a meteorological flux measurement package during the HyMeX SOP1 (Hydrological cycle in Mediterranean Experiment special observation period 1) field campaign in Corsica, France, during September and October 2012. Taking into account memory effects of the air inlet pipe, the typical time resolution of the measurements was about 15–30 s, resulting in an average horizontal resolution of about 1–2 km. Cross-calibration of the water vapour measurements from all humidity sensors showed good agreement under most flight conditions but the most turbulent ones. In total 21 successful stable isotope flights with 59 flight hours have been performed. Our data provide quasi-climatological autumn average conditions and vertical profiles of the stable isotope parameters δD, δ18O, and d-excess during the study period. A d-excess minimum in the overall average profile is reached in the region of the boundary-layer top, possibly caused by precipitation evaporation. This minimum is bracketed by higher d-excess values near the surface caused by non-equilibrium fractionation, and a maximum above the boundary layer related to the increasing d-excess in very depleted and dry high-altitude air masses. Repeated flights along the same pattern reveal pronounced day-to-day variability due to changes in the large-scale circulation. During a period marked by a strong inversion at the top of the marine boundary layer, vertical gradients in stable isotopes reached up to 25.4 ‰ 100 m−1 for δD and 24.0 ‰ 100 m−1 for the d-excess.

scholarly journals Stable isotopes in precipitation in the Asian monsoon region

2005 ◽  
Vol 110 (D23) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Vuille ◽  
M. Werner ◽  
R. S. Bradley ◽  
F. Keimig
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
Asian Monsoon ◽  
Monsoon Region ◽  
Asian Monsoon Region

Paleo-climate of the Boise area, Idaho from the last glacial maximum to the present based on groundwater δ2H and δ18O compositions

2009 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa E. Schlegel ◽  
Alan L. Mayo ◽  
Steve Nelson ◽  
Dave Tingey ◽  
Rachel Henderson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Isotopic Composition ◽  
Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
Glacial Maximum ◽  
Deuterium Excess ◽  
Moisture Source ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Stable Isotopic Composition ◽  
Stable Isotopic ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Last Glacial

AbstractA 30 ka paleo-climate record of the Boise area, Idaho, USA has been delineated using groundwater stable isotopic compositions. Groundwater ages are modern (cold batholith), 5–15 ka (thermal batholith), 10–20 ka (frontal fault), and 20–30 ka (Snake River plain thermal). The stable isotopic composition of groundwaters have been used as a surrogate for the stable isotopic composition of precipitation. Using δ2H and δ18O compositions, local groundwater lines (LGWL's) were defined for each system. Each LGWL has been evaluated with defined slopes of 6.94 and 8, respectively, and resulting deuterium excess values (d) were found for each groundwater system for each slope. Time dependent changes in moisture source humidity and temperature, and Boise area recharge temperatures, calculated from stable isotopic data and the deuterium excess factors, agree with previous paleo-climate studies. Results indicate that from the last glacial maximum to the present time the humidity over the ocean moisture source increased by 9%, sea surface temperature at the moisture source increased 6–7°C, and local Boise temperature increased by 4–5°C. A greater increase of temperature at the moisture source as compared to the Boise area may impart be due to a shift in the moisture source area.

scholarly journals Atmospheric Moisture Sources, Paths, and the Quantitative Importance to the Eastern Asian Monsoon Region

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 637-649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lintao Li ◽  
Albertus J. Dolman ◽  
Zongxue Xu
Keyword(s):  
Asian Monsoon ◽  
Southwest Monsoon ◽  
Particle Dispersion ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
Specific Humidity ◽  
Lagrangian Model ◽  
Monsoon Region ◽  
Asian Monsoon Region ◽  
Moisture Source ◽  
Moisture Sources

Abstract A Lagrangian model [Flexible Particle dispersion model (FLEXPART)] was used to calculate the back trajectories of air parcels residing over the East Asian monsoon region (EAM) for a 4-yr period (2009–12). To detect the moisture source–sink relationships to the EAM, the moisture budgets [evaporation minus precipitation (E − P)] were evaluated by diagnosing the changes of specific humidity along the trajectories. A circulation constraint method was proposed to define the moisture sources of the EAM, to quantify their importance, to depict the moisture transport processes, and to reveal the fate of the moisture from different sources. The results indicated that in winter the largest airmass inflow is through the dry westerlies, but they do not form net precipitation. The much smaller contribution of the tropical oceans is more relevant to winter precipitation. In summer, the main contribution was through the southwest monsoon, with a mean specific humidity of 9.8 g kg−1 when entering the EAM, providing more than 40% of the moisture to the EAM and making the southwest monsoon the most humid and abundant moisture source of the EAM. Local evaporation plays an important role as a moisture source for the EAM both in summer and winter.

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