The isotopic composition of rainwater near Nahariya, Israel, was measured in 12 individual storms during the winter months of 1980/1981. Rains most depleted in the heavy stable isotopes and enriched in tritium are associated with air masses which come from North East Europe and have a short, intense interaction with the East Mediterranean Sea. Storms most enriched in 18O and D and depleted in tritium are associated with air masses which come from the Atlantic Ocean and enter the Mediterranean Sea on its western part, travelling along the North African Coast, sometimes with a southerly shift. A relatively high correlation coefficient was found between the stable isotopic content of precipitation and the 800 mb temperature.
The data from a precipitation sampling program in Israel show the synoptic scale history of the air masses to be the predominant factor which controls the isotopic data. Within a single storm, the passage of a front is always associated with values most depleted in the heavy isotopes. Local factors and especially the enrichment of the heavy isotopic species resulting from partial evaporation of rain in low lying stations, are superimposed on these large-scale effects.
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