Mapping oxygen stable isotopes of precipitation in Italy

Giustini, Francesca; Brilli, Mauro; Patera, A.

doi:10.1016/j.ejrh.2016.04.001

Cited by 106 publications

(134 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…In this view, to emphasize the variation of Po river water in 2017, LC-exc was calculated with respect to the updated Northern Italy meteoric water line reported by Giustini et al [36]:…”

Section: Derived Parameters: Calculation Of D-excess and Lc-excessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[41]. The Local Meteoric Water Line (LMWL) defined for Northern Italy [36] is also reported in grey for comparison.…”

Section: Isotopic Variation At the Pontelagoscuro Closing Sectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Regression lines have been calculated using the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression method, traditionally used to calculated the meteoric water line [41]. The Local Meteoric Water Line (LMWL) defined for Northern Italy [36] is also reported in grey for comparison.…”

Section: Isotopic Variation In the Po River Deltamentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Po River Water Isotopes during the Drought Condition of the Year 2017

Marchina

Natali

Bianchini

2019

Water

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The year 2017 was anomalously warm and dry across the whole Italian Peninsula, and the paucity of precipitation was emphasized during the extreme summer drought of the main Italian river, i.e., the Po river, which was characterized by a discharge persistently below 600 m 3 /s (in spite of the average discharge of 1500 m 3 /s). During these extreme conditions, the Po river oxygen and hydrogen stable isotopes (δD, δ 18 O) displayed a relation (δD = 6.1*δ 18 O − 6.6) significantly different from that recorded in the previous investigation of the years 2012-2014 (δD = 7.5*δ 18 O + 6.5). The lowering of the slope and the negative intercept clearly reflect the transition toward arid conditions that characterized the investigated period. The difference is expressed by the derivative parameter Line-Conditioned excess (LC-exc), which better describes the compositional difference of Po river water in the year 2017 with respect to that of the period 2012-2014, when the system was less affected by warm or dry conditions and the river discharge was more similar to the historical trends. The isotopic anomaly observed in 2017 throughout the river is even greater in the terminal part of the river, where in the meanders of the deltaic branches, the river flow progressively slows down, suffering significant evaporation. The isotopic signature of the water appears, therefore, an appropriate tool to monitor the watershed response to evolving environmental conditions. These sensitive isotopic parameters could be interpreted as "essential climate variables" (ECV) that are physical, chemical, or biological geo-referenced parameters that critically contribute to the characterization of Earth's climate. Future research needs to find relationships between ECV (including the water stable isotopes) and the evolution of ecosystems, which especially in the Mediterranean area, appear to be fragile and severely affected by natural and anthropogenic processes.

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“…In this view, to emphasize the variation of Po river water in 2017, LC-exc was calculated with respect to the updated Northern Italy meteoric water line reported by Giustini et al [36]:…”

Section: Derived Parameters: Calculation Of D-excess and Lc-excessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[41]. The Local Meteoric Water Line (LMWL) defined for Northern Italy [36] is also reported in grey for comparison.…”

Section: Isotopic Variation At the Pontelagoscuro Closing Sectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Po River Water Isotopes during the Drought Condition of the Year 2017

Marchina

Natali

Bianchini

2019

Water

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“…The relationship between δ 2 H and δ 18 O in precipitation delineates meteoric water lines (MWL), as firstly proposed by [56], who defined the global meteoric water line (GMWL) as a line calculated with ordinary least square regression method that has the formula δ 2 H = 8 × δ 18 O + 10. There are also many regional or local meteoric water lines (LMWLs) that differ from the GMWL in both slope and deuterium intercept, as a result of varying climatic and geographic parameters [57]. The degree by which the LMWL departs from the GMWL can reveal important information about the meteoric sources of water (e.g., oceanic or terrestrial) and atmospheric conditions during transport [57][58][59].…”

Section: Data Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Headwaters’ Isotopic Signature as a Tracer of Stream Origins and Climatic Anomalies: Evidence from the Italian Alps in Summer 2018

Marchina

Lencioni

Paoli

et al. 2020

Water

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Glaciers are shrinking due to global warming, resulting in a diminishing contribution of ice and snowmelt to headwaters and subsequent consequences to freshwater ecosystems. Within this context, we tested whether water-stable isotopes are spatio-temporal tracers of (i) water in high altitude periglacial environments, being the isotopic signature of surface water inherited from the snow/icemelt, groundwater, and rainfall; and (ii) regional (year-specific) meteorological conditions, being the isotopic signature of precipitations affected by air temperature, humidity and aqueous vapour origin, ascribing stable isotopes to the list of "essential climate variables" (ECVs). To this end, we investigated the ionic and isotopic composition (δ 18 O and δ 2 H) of six high-altitude streams and one pond in the Italian Alps (Noce and Sarca basins) during the ablation season in 2018. Differences between habitat types (pond, kryal, rhithral, krenal) were detected. More negative values of δ 18 O and δ 2 H were recorded in the kryal and glacio-rhithral sites, dominated by ice and snowmelt, in early summer. Less negative values were recorded in these sites in late summer, as well as in the krenal sites, which were dominated by groundwater and rainfall inputs. The isotopic results also show that the complex alpine orography influences air masses and moisture, ultimately resulting in isotopic differences in the precipitations of neighboring but distinct catchments (Sarca and Noce basins). On average, less negative values were recorded in the Sarca basin, characterized by a higher contribution of precipitation of Mediterranean origin. In general, isotopic results of the entire water population appeared to be strongly influenced by the regional climatic anomaly of 2018, which was anomalously warm. Therefore, the study will provide additional information for the climate change debate, proposing water isotopes as ECVs for assessing change in a warmer future.Water 2020, 12, 390 2 of 18 future, mean annual runoff is expected to progressively decrease in glacier-fed streams, and overall changes in the hydrological behavior of small-and large-scale catchments are expected [9,10].Glacier shrinking and its consequences on glacier-fed streams induce variation in the physical, chemical and biological features of freshwater ecosystems [11,12]. This profoundly affects the ecosystem services that glacier-fed rivers provide to humans, particularly the provision of water for agriculture, hydropower, and consumption [11,13,14]. This is crucial for mountain settlements in glacialized regions, where the snow and ice melt contribution, especially in spring and summer, is the most relevant water source for several uses [13][14][15]. In particular, streams draining in Alpine areas are generally identified as some of the environments most sensitive to climate change [16,17]. This is particularly true for glacier-fed streams and rivers [18]. Within this scenario, runoff changes also impact on the biological community structure [13,19]. In fact, alpine stream...

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“…5.2.2). Slopes higher than the GMWL slope (8) are not uncommon in Italy, which presents a high slope variability among different sampling sites, ranging from 4.9 to 9.2 (Longinelli and Selmo, 2003;Giustini et al, 2016). The higher slope at RG3 indicates that little if any evaporation is occurring in the water source system: an occurrence consistent with coarse debris setting and very limited vegetation cover producing high infiltration rates in the rock-glacier system (Williams et al, 2006).…”

Section: Export Of Solutes During Rain Eventsmentioning

confidence: 99%

On characteristics and dynamics of water-rock glacier interactions in mountain areas (Western Italian Alps)

Colombo¹

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Permafrost degradation affects hydrochemistry of surface waters. In particular, evidence of modifications in water quality has been collected in mountain headwaters impacted by rock-glacier thawing. Rock glaciers are slowly flowing mixtures of debris and ice-rich permafrost, and can represent a reservoir of water. Melting ice inside them has been reported to affect surface water hydrochemistry, in some cases causing ecological damages. Investigating the mechanisms for this, however, requires understanding how, where and when rock glaciers and water bodies interact. Moreover, it is necessary to understand how atmospheric forcing can affect the export of physicochemical fluxes from rock glaciers. Different hypotheses have been proposed to explain the main driving weather-climate processes, nevertheless, they are still unclear.With these goals, hydrology and structural setting of a rock glacier-pond system located in the NW Italian Alps were elucidated using waterborne geophysics (ground penetrating radar, electrical resistivity tomography and selfpotential) and heat tracing. An integrated study of atmospheric parameters (air temperature, snow cover duration, rainfall) and physicochemical characteristics of water (water temperature as a proxy of rock-glacier discharge, stable water isotopes, major ions and trace elements) was also performed in the pond on a high-resolution temporal basis (weekly) for two consecutive ice-free seasons.The advancing movement of the investigated rock glacier has progressively filled the valley depression, creating a dam that could have modified the level of impounded water. A subsurface hydrological window connecting the rock glacier ii to the pond was also detected, where an inflow of cold underground waters from the rock glacier was observed. Here, greater water contribution from the rock glacier occurred following intense precipitation events during the ice-free season.An outflowing mechanism of the pond is hypothesised and might be associated with the presence of a subsurface seepage.An intra-seasonal behaviour of solute export from the rock glacier into the pond was found, with increasing solute export associated with higher rock-glacier hydrological contributions. The key finding was the rainfall (after snowmelt depletion) as primary driver of solute export from the rock glacier during the thawing season after warm atmospheric periods, with the flushing of solutes stored in the rock glacier.iii ContributionsIn this thesis, several collaborators helped in carrying out field and laboratory activities, and data elaboration. supervised and helped with water physicochemical analyses.

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Mapping oxygen stable isotopes of precipitation in Italy

Cited by 106 publications

References 59 publications

The Po River Water Isotopes during the Drought Condition of the Year 2017

The Po River Water Isotopes during the Drought Condition of the Year 2017

Headwaters’ Isotopic Signature as a Tracer of Stream Origins and Climatic Anomalies: Evidence from the Italian Alps in Summer 2018

On characteristics and dynamics of water-rock glacier interactions in mountain areas (Western Italian Alps)

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