Distinguish mammoth and elephant ivory with stable water isotopes

Te isotopic characteristics of the pingo ice cores are considered. Te distribution of δ18O and δ2H values, dexc, δ18O–δ2H and δ2H–d exc relationships, and the simulation of the distribution of δ18O and δ2H values during the ice formation in a closed system, allowed drawing conclusion about the hydrological conditions and stages of the ice core growth. All pingos (Pestsovoye, Weather, Pingo-20) were formed in draining lake basins in the course of freezing of closed taliks. It is established that the water, which served as a source for the formation of the ice core, was subjected to evaporation still before the ice formation. According to our estimates, the water from which the ice of the Pestsovoye pingo was formed was heavier in values of δ18O and δ2H by 3.9 and 29.7‰, respectively, than the current average annual precipitation in the region. Similarly, for the ice of the core of the Pingo Weather it is 2.9 and 14.5‰, and 5.1 and 27.7‰ for the Pingo-20, respectively. In the ice cores of all considered pingos there is an ice formed in a closed system: in Pingo-20 it is a pure injection ice, while in the Pestsovoye and the Weser ones – the injected-segregated ice. Te frost mounds Pestsovoe and Weser grew under changing hydrological conditions: one part of the ice was formed when there was a free ﬂow of water to the freezing front (open system); the other one – when the water-saturated lenses of the closed talik were frozen (closed system). Te isotopic composition of ice being formed under conditions of a closed system reﬂects isotopic depletion during freezing and ice formation according to the Rayleigh model. It is expressed in a successive decrease in the values of δ18O and δ2H from the frst portions of ice to the last ones as the freezing continued. Te contrast values of δ18O and δ2H in diﬀerent parts of the ice being formed in the closed system may be used as an additional tool to identify direction of freezing. In a closed system, the last portions of ice have the greater contrast of the isotope values as compared to the frst portions.

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A pulse of mercury and major ions in snowmelt runoff from a small Arctic Alaska watershed

10.21079/11681/41203 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Thomas Douglas ◽

Matthew Sturm ◽

Joel Blum ◽

Christopher Polashenski ◽

Svetlana Stuefer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Major Ions ◽

Atmospheric Mercury ◽

Water Isotopes ◽

Polar Regions ◽

Snowmelt Runoff ◽

Stable Water Isotopes ◽

Ephemeral Stream ◽

Arctic Alaska ◽

Open Sea ◽

Ice Leads

Atmospheric mercury (Hg) is deposited to Polar Regions during springtime atmospheric mercury depletion events (AMDEs) that require halogens and snow or ice surfaces. The fate of this Hg during and following snowmelt is largely unknown. We measured Hg, major ions, and stable water isotopes from the snowpack through the entire spring melt runoff period for two years. Our small (2.5 ha) watershed is near Barrow (now Utqiaġvik), Alaska. We measured discharge, made 10 000 snow depths, and collected over 100 samples of snow and meltwater for chemical analysis in 2008 and 2009 from the watershed snowpack and ephemeral stream channel. Our results suggest AMDE Hg complexed with Cl⁻ or Br⁻ may be less likely to be photochemically reduced and re-emitted to the atmosphere prior to snowmelt, and we estimate that roughly 25% of the Hg in snowmelt is attributable to AMDEs. Projected Arctic warming, with more open sea ice leads providing halogen sources that promote AMDEs, may provide enhanced Hg deposition, reduced Hg emission and, ultimately, an increase in snowpack and snowmelt runoff Hg concentrations.

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Linking Lagrangian model simulations with stable water isotope measurements in Arctic weather systems.

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-10984 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Aina Johannessen ◽

Alena Dekhtyareva ◽

Andrew Seidl ◽

Harald Sodemann

Keyword(s):

Water Cycle ◽

Lagrangian Model ◽

Water Isotopes ◽

Stable Water Isotopes ◽

Atmospheric Water ◽

Model Simulations ◽

Evaporation Source ◽

Isotope Measurements ◽

Water Isotope ◽

Eulerian Models

<p>Transport of water from an evaporation source towards a precipitation sink is the essence of the atmospheric water cycle. However, there are significant challenges with the representation of the atmospheric water cycle in models. For example, incomplete representation of sub-grid scale processes like evaporation, mixing or precipitation can lead to substantial model errors. Here we investigate the combined use of Lagrangian and Eulerian models and in-situ observations of stable water isotopes to reduce such sources of model error. The atmospheric water cycle in the Nordic Seas during cold air outbreaks (CAOs) is confined to a limited area, and thus may be used as a natural laboratory for hydrometeorological studies. We apply Lagrangian and Eulerian models together with observations taken during the ISLAS2020 field campaign in the Arctic in spring 2020 for characterising source-sink relationships in the water cycle. During the field campaign, we observed an alternating sequence of cold air outbreaks (CAO) and warm air intrusions (WAI) over the key measurement sites of Svalbard and northern Norway. Thereby, meteorological and stable water isotope measurements have been performed at multiple sites both upstream and downstream of the CAOs and WAIs. The Lagrangian model FLEXPART has been run with the input data from the regional convection-permitting numerical weather prediction model AROME Arctic at 2.5 km resolution to investigate transport patterns. The combination of observations and model simulations allows us to quantify the connection between source and sink for different weather systems, as well as the link between large-scale transport and stable water isotopes. Findings will lead to a better understanding of processes in the water cycle and the degree of conservation of isotopic signals during transport. This study may also serve as a guideline on how to evaluate the performance of Lagrangian transport models using stable water isotope measurements, and on how to detect constraints for quantifying the transport route and evaporation source from stable water isotope measurements for future work, including an aircraft campaign planned in 2021.</p>

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Bayesian estimates of the mean recharge elevations of water sources in the Central America region using stable water isotopes

Journal of Hydrology Regional Studies ◽

10.1016/j.ejrh.2020.100739 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 32 ◽

pp. 100739

Author(s):

L. Nicole Arellano ◽

Stephen P. Good ◽

Ricardo Sánchez-Murillo ◽

W. Todd Jarvis ◽

David C. Noone ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Central America ◽

Water Sources ◽

Water Isotopes ◽

Stable Water Isotopes ◽

Bayesian Estimates ◽

The Mean

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Intraseasonal variability in South America recorded in stable water isotopes

Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres ◽

10.1029/2006jd008298 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 112 (D20) ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Christophe Sturm ◽

Françoise Vimeux ◽

Gerhard Krinner

Keyword(s):

South America ◽

Intraseasonal Variability ◽

Water Isotopes ◽

Stable Water Isotopes

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Use of stable water isotopes to identify hydrological processes of meteoric water in montane catchments

Hydrological Processes ◽

10.1002/hyp.10557 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 29 (23) ◽

pp. 4957-4967 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Tsung-Ren Peng ◽

Kuan-Yu Chen ◽

Wen-Jun Zhan ◽

Wan-Chung Lu ◽

Lun-Tao John Tong

Keyword(s):

Meteoric Water ◽

Hydrological Processes ◽

Water Isotopes ◽

Stable Water Isotopes

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O, H and C isotopic systematics of Icelandic groundwater

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/20199807031 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 98 ◽

pp. 07031

Author(s):

Arny E. Sveinbjörnsdóttir ◽

Andri Stefánsson ◽

Jan Heinemeier

Keyword(s):

Isotopic Composition ◽

Carbon Isotopes ◽

Upper Mantle ◽

Lower Crust ◽

Natural Waters ◽

Large Range ◽

Carbon Sources ◽

Water Isotopes ◽

Stable Water Isotopes ◽

Range Of Values

Stable water isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen have been studied in Icelandic natural waters since 1960 for hydrological and geothermal research. All the waters are of meteoric and seawater origin. The measured range in δD and δ18O is large -131 to +3.3‰ and -20.8 to +2.3‰ respectively. Some of the waters are more depleted than any present-day precipitation suggesting a pre-Holocene component in the groundwater. Carbon isotopes of streams, rivers, soil and groundwater have been studied since 1990 in order to evaluate the carbon sources and reactions that possibly influence the carbon systematics of the water. Results show large range of values, for δ13CDIC -27.4 to +4.5‰ and for 14CDIC +0.6 to +118 pMC. Apart from atmospheric, organic and rock leaching, input of gas at depth with similar isotopic composition as the pre-erupted melt of the upper mantle and lower crust beneath Iceland have been identified as sources for carbon in the deeper groundwater.

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

10.5194/acp-2016-728 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Harald Sodemann ◽

Franziska Aemisegger ◽

Stephan Pfahl ◽

Mark Bitter ◽

Ulrich Corsmeier ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Boundary Layer ◽

Stable Isotope ◽

Water Vapour ◽

Isotope Composition ◽

Water Isotopes ◽

High Temporal Resolution ◽

Stable Isotope Composition ◽

Stable Water Isotopes ◽

Mixing Processes ◽

Strong Inversion

Abstract. Stable water isotopes are powerful indicators of meteorological processes on a broad range of scales, reflecting evaporation, condensation, and airmass 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 high temporal resolution, enabling to tremendously extend the measurement data base in space and time. Here we present the first set of airborne spectroscopic stable water isotopes measurements over the western Mediterranean. Measurements have been acquired by a customised Picarro L2130-i cavity-ring down spectrometer deployed onboard of the Dornier 128 D-IBUF aircraft together with a meteorological flux measurement package during the HyMeX SOP1 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 in 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 of the stable isotope parameters δD, δ18O and d-excess during the study period. A time-averaged perspective of the vertical stable isotope composition reveals for the first time the mean vertical structure of stable water isotopes over the Mediterranean at high resolution. A d-excess minimum in the overall average profile is reached in the region of the boundary layer top due to precipitation evaporation, bracketed by higher d-excess values near the surface due to non-equilibrium fractionation and above the boundary layer due to the non-linearity of the d-excess definition. Repeated flights along the same pattern reveals 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.

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