Stable isotopes reveal sources of precipitation in the Qinghai Lake Basin of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau

Cui, Buli; Li, Xiaoyan

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.04.105

Cited by 102 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…The premonsoon precipitation with low δ 18 O was dominant, which was probably related with temperature effect because of the significant relationship between temperature and δ 18 O value during the premonsoon periods (Table 4). These isotopic results are consistent with a previous study (Cui & Li, 2015) showing high Water vapour δ 18 O and δ 2 H values were remarkably lower than those in precipitation during the premonsoon and monsoon periods (Tables 1 and 2), suggesting that isotopic fractionation occurred during the precipitation condensation processes (Dansgaard, 1964). The most negative δ 18 O values in water vapour events were observed across seasons ( Fig.…”

Section: Variations Of Water Isotopes In Precipitation and Water Vasupporting

confidence: 92%

Stable isotopes of atmospheric water vapour and precipitation in the northeast Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau

Zhang³

et al. 2019

Hydrological Processes

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Stable water isotopes (δ18O and δ2H) are an important source signature for understanding the hydrological cycle and altered climate regimes. However, the mechanisms underlying atmospheric water vapour isotopes in the northeast Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau of central Asia remain poorly understood. This study initially investigated water vapour isotopic composition and its controls during the premonsoon and monsoon seasons. Isotopic compositions of water vapour and precipitation exhibited high variability across seasons, with the most negative average δ18O values of precipitation and the most positive δ18O values of water vapour found during the premonsoon periods. Temperature effect was significant during the premonsoon period but not the monsoon period. Both a higher slope and intercept of the local meteoric water line were found during the monsoon period as compared with in the premonsoon period, suggesting that raindrops have been experienced a greater kinetic fractionation process such as reevaporation below the cloud during the premonsoon periods. The δ2H and δ18O signatures in atmospheric water vapour tended to be depleted with the occurrence of precipitation events especially during the monsoon period and probably as a result of rainout processes. The monthly average contribution of evaporation from the lake to local precipitation was 35.2%. High d‐excess values of water vapour were influenced by the high proportion of local moisture mixing, as indicated by the gradually increasing relative humidity along westerly and Asian monsoon trajectories. The daily observation (observed ε) showed deviations from the equilibrium fractionation factors (calculated ε), implying that raindrops experienced substantial evaporative enrichment during their descent. The average fraction of raindrops reevaporation was estimated to be 16.4± 12.9%. These findings provide useful insights for understanding the interaction between water vapour and precipitation, moisture sources, and help in reconstructing the paleoclimate in the alpine regions.

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Section: Variations Of Water Isotopes In Precipitation and Water Vasupporting

confidence: 92%

Stable isotopes of atmospheric water vapour and precipitation in the northeast Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau

Zhang³

et al. 2019

Hydrological Processes

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“…The two-component mixing model has been used to evaluate the fraction of local moisture recycling on the TP and surrounding areas in previous studies (Cui & Li, 2015;Kong et al, 2013;Kurita & Yamada, 2008;Xu et al, 2011). This model assumes that precipitation is formed from the mixture of advected vapor and local moisture recycled by evaporation (Froehlich et al, 2008;Kong et al, 2013).…”

Section: Two-component Mixing Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, it is necessary to understand these changes in the water cycle, especially at the decadal time scale. Most existing studies on moisture transport focus on the northeastern, central, and southern parts of the TP (Cui & Li, ; Tian et al, ; Wu et al, ; Yang et al, ), largely because of the lack of observations on the northwestern TP due to its harsh environment (Yu et al, ; Yu et al, ). However, the northwestern TP is an important link between the Asian monsoon and midlatitude regions (Watanabe & Yamazaki, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhanced Recent Local Moisture Recycling on the Northwestern Tibetan Plateau Deduced From Ice Core Deuterium Excess Records

Hou

Zhang

et al. 2017

JGR Atmospheres

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Local moisture recycling plays an essential role in maintaining an active hydrological cycle of the Tibetan Plateau (TP). Previous studies were largely limited to the seasonal time scale due to short and sparse observations, especially for the northwestern TP. In this study, we used a two‐component mixing model to estimate local moisture recycling over the past decades from the deuterium excess records of two ice cores (i.e., Chongce and Zangser Kangri) from the northwestern TP. The results show that on average almost half of the precipitation on the northwestern TP is provided by local moisture recycling. In addition, the local moisture recycling ratio has increased evidently on the northwestern TP, suggesting an enhanced hydrological cycle. This recent increase could be due to the climatic and environmental changes on the TP in the past decades. Rapid increases in temperature and precipitation have enhanced evaporation. Changes of land surface of plateau have significantly increased evapotranspiration. All of these have intensified local moisture recycling. However, the mixing model used in this study only includes a limited number of climate factors. Some of the extreme values of moisture recycling ratio could be caused by large‐scale atmospheric circulation and other climatic and weather events. Moreover, the potential mechanisms for the increase in local recycling need to be further examined, since the numeric simulations from climate models did not reproduce the increased contribution of local moisture recycling in precipitation.

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“…Second, the isotopic composition of precipitation may provide useful information on water cycle processes in a perspective of water resource management. For example, the isotopic variability of precipitation at short time scales needs to be understood when using isotope‐based hydrograph separation to identify the different contributions to runoff and streamflow, or when using isotope‐based methods to understand groundwater recharge processes (Cui & Li, 2015; Kong, Wang, Pu, et al, 2019; Pu et al, 2017; Wang et al, 2018). Third, isotopic records of precipitation are used for paleo‐altitude reconstructions of the TP (Rowley & Currie, 2006; Rowley, 2007; Rowley & Garzione, 2007), based on the observed depletion of precipitation with altitude at present (Dansgaard, 1964).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variability of Isotope Composition of Precipitation in the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau from the Synoptic to Seasonal Time Scale

Shi

Risi

et al. 2020

JGR Atmospheres

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Daily precipitation samples were collected at four sites in Mount Yulong and Mount Meili regions of southeastern Tibetan Plateau and analyzed for isotopic composition. Combined with water vapor isotopic composition derived from satellites data (Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer, Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer, and Greenhouse gases Observing Satellite), the factors controlling the variability in the isotopic composition of precipitation are investigated at the synoptic, intraseasonal, and seasonal time scales. At the seasonal scale, the isotope composition in precipitation is controlled by processes along air mass trajectories affecting the water vapor at the large scale (>200 km), especially upstream deep convection and air mass origin, and by local processes transforming the large‐scale water vapor isotopic composition into the precipitation composition, especially rain evaporation and local circulation. At the intraseasonal and synoptic scales, the isotope composition in precipitation is mainly controlled by these local processes. The shorter the time scale of isotopic variations, the smaller the spatial imprint of these variations. The fact that different factors control the isotopic variability at different time scales calls for caution when applying relationships observed at these time scales to interpret isotopic variations at paleoclimatic time scales. While general circulation models successfully capture the isotopic variability and its controlling factors at the seasonal scale, it fails to simulate them at shorter time scales, because it fails to simulate the local processes.

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Stable isotopes reveal sources of precipitation in the Qinghai Lake Basin of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau

Cited by 102 publications

References 63 publications

Stable isotopes of atmospheric water vapour and precipitation in the northeast Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau

Stable isotopes of atmospheric water vapour and precipitation in the northeast Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau

Enhanced Recent Local Moisture Recycling on the Northwestern Tibetan Plateau Deduced From Ice Core Deuterium Excess Records

Variability of Isotope Composition of Precipitation in the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau from the Synoptic to Seasonal Time Scale

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