scholarly journals Seasonal and Inter-Annual Variations of Stable Isotopic Characteristics of Rainfall and Cave Water in Shennong Cave, Southeast China, and Its Paleoclimatic Implication

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ye Tian ◽  
Haiwei Zhang ◽  
Rui Zhang ◽  
Fan Zhang ◽  
Zeyuan Liang ◽  
...  

Speleothem calcite stable oxygen isotope (δ18OC) is one of the most widely used proxies in paleoclimate research, and understanding its seasonal-annual variability is very significant for palaeoclimate reconstruction. Five-year precipitation and karst cave water from 2016 to 2021 were monitored in Shennong cave, Jiangxi Province, Southeast China. The local meteoric water line (LMWL) is δD = 8.20 × δ18O + 13.34, which is similar to the global meteoric water line. The stable hydrogen and oxygen isotope (δD and δ18O) characteristics of precipitation and cave water were studied. δ18O and δD of precipitation and cave water show obvious seasonal variations. Lower precipitation δ18O and δD generally occur during summer and autumn compared with higher δ18O and δD values during winter and spring. Meanwhile, low precipitation δ18O values do not only appear in June–July when precipitation is the highest of the year but also appear in August–September when precipitation is limited. The back-trajectory analysis of monsoon precipitation moisture sources shows that the moisture uptake regions vary little on inter-annual scales; the water vapor of rainfall in June–July comes from the South China Sea and the Bay of Bengal, while the moisture source in August–September is mainly from the West Pacific and local area. The El Niño-Southern Oscillation is an important factor affecting the value of δ18O by modulating the percentage of summer monsoon precipitation in the annual precipitation and moisture source. The relationship between amount-weighted monthly mean precipitation δ18O and Niño-3.4 index shows that the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) intensifies during La Niña phases, resulting in more precipitation in monsoon season (May to September, MJJAS) and lower δ18O values, and vice versa during El Niño phases.

Abstract Long-term continuous monitoring of precipitation isotopes has great potential to advance our understanding of hydrometeorological processes that determine stable isotope variability in the monsoon regions. This study presents 4–year daily precipitation isotopes from Yungui Plateau in southwestern China that is influenced by Indian summer monsoon and East Asian monsoon. The local meteoric water line (LMWL, δ2H=8.12 δ18O+11.2) was firstly established at the Tengchong (TC) site, which was close to the global meteoric water line (GMWL, δ2H=8 δ18O+10) indicating little secondary sub–cloud evaporation in the falling rain. Precipitation δ18O values exhibited significant inverse relationships with precipitation amount (r = −0.42), air temperature (r = −0.43), and relative humidity (r = −0.41) with lower correlation coefficients throughout the entire period, which indicated that precipitation isotopic variability in TC could not be well explained by the local meteorological factors but influenced by other combined factors of regional precipitation amount and upstream rainout. Precipitation δ18O values showed a clear V–shaped trend throughout the observation period, characterized by higher δ18O values during the pre–monsoon period whereas lower values during the post–monsoon period. This seasonal variation of precipitation δ18O values was associated with the seasonal movement of the Intertropical convergence zone and seasonal changes in moisture transport. Combined with backward trajectory analysis, precipitation δ18O values were estimated by a Rayleigh distillation model showing that upstream rainout processes from Bay of Bengal (BoB) towards land (Myanmar), and recycling moisture over land were key factors affecting the isotopic compositions of the TC precipitation. These findings could enhance our understanding of atmospheric dynamics and moisture source in the monsoon regions and will potentially facilitate the interpretation of numerous isotopic proxy records from this region.


Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 2791
Author(s):  
Pengyan Su ◽  
Mingjun Zhang ◽  
Deye Qu ◽  
Jiaxin Wang ◽  
Yu Zhang ◽  
...  

As a species for ecological restoration in northern China, Tamarix ramosissima plays an important role in river protection, flood control, regional climate regulation, and landscape construction with vegetation. Two sampling sites were selected in the hillside and floodplain habitats along the Lanzhou City, and the xylems of T. ramosissima and potential water sources were collected, respectively. The Bayesian mixture model (MixSIAR) and soil water excess (SW-excess) were applied to analyze the relationship on different water pools and the utilization ratios of T. ramosissima to potential water sources in two habitats. The results showed that the slope and intercept of local meteoric water line (LMWL) in two habitats were smaller compared with the global meteoric water line (GMWL), which indicated the existence of drier climate and strong evaporation in the study area, especially in the hillside habitat. Except for the three months in hillside, the SW-excess of T. ramosissima were negative, which indicated that xylems of T. ramosissima are more depleted in δ2H than the soil water line. In growing seasons, the main water source in hillside habitat was deep soil water (80~150 cm) and the utilization ratio was 63 ± 17% for T. ramosissima, while the main water source in floodplain habitat was shallow soil water (0~30 cm), with a utilization ratio of 42.6 ± 19.2%, and the water sources were different in diverse months. T. ramosissima has a certain adaptation mechanism and water-use strategies in two habitats, and also an altered water uptake pattern in acquiring the more stable water. This study will provide a theoretical basis for plant water management in ecological environment protection in the Loess Plateau.


Author(s):  
Yang Song ◽  
Shengjie Wang ◽  
Athanassios Argiriou ◽  
Mingjun Zhang ◽  
Yudong Shi

The stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopes as well as their correlation in precipitation have been widely investigated for the understanding of various hydrological processes. Monthly precipitation data were usually recommended in order to establish a linear relationship between the stable hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios (also known as local meteoric water lines or LMWL for a specific location); however, the LMWL based on daily (or event-based) precipitation data is usually different from that using monthly data. Based on 83 sampling stations across the world from 2000 to 2017, local meteoric water lines were calculated using daily (or event-based) precipitation data (n=9354) and corresponding monthly data (n=1895), respectively; multiple regression methods were used, including ordinary least squares, reduced major axis and major axis regressions as well as their precipitation-weighted counterparts. The global meteoric water line from daily data is δ2H = (7.72 ± 0.02) δ18O + (6.84 ± 0.15) (n=9354, r2=0.96) and from monthly data is δ2H = (7.81 ± 0.04) δ18O+(7.61 ± 0.32) (n=1895, r2=0.96). The stations used in this study were grouped into five climate types, according to the Köppen Climate classification. The precipitation-weighted regression may increase the long-term receptiveness of LMWL using daily-based (or event-based) samples, not only for arid regions, but also for cold regions. When only relatively short-term isotopic records in event-based precipitation samples are available, which is usual in modern hydrological studies, the weighted regression (especially precipitation weighted ordinary least squares regression, PWLSR) is helpful to create a respective local meteoric water line.


2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (7) ◽  
pp. 2917-2928 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Mongelli ◽  
S. Monni ◽  
G. Oggiano ◽  
M. Paternoster ◽  
R. Sinisi

Abstract. Throughout the Mediterranean, salinization threatens water quality, especially in coastal areas. This salinization is the result of concomitant processes related to both seawater intrusion and water–rock interaction, which in some cases are virtually indistinguishable. In the Nurra region of northwestern Sardinia, recent salinization related to marine water intrusion has been caused by aquifer exploitation. However, the geology of this region records a long history from the Palaeozoic to the Quaternary, and is structurally complex and comprises a wide variety of lithologies, including Triassic evaporites. Determining the origin of the saline component of the Jurassic and Triassic aquifers in the Nurra region may provide a useful and more general model for salinization processes in the Mediterranean area, where the occurrence of evaporitic rocks in coastal aquifers is a common feature. In addition, due to intensive human activity and recent climatic change, the Nurra has become vulnerable to desertification and, in common with other Mediterranean islands, surface water resources periodically suffer from severe shortages. With this in mind, we report new data regarding brackish and surface waters (outcrop and lake samples) of the Na-Cl type from the Nurra region, including major ions and selected trace elements (B, Br, I, and Sr), in addition to isotopic data including δ18O, δD in water, and δ34S and δ18O in dissolved SO4. To identify the origin of the salinity more precisely, we also analysed the mineralogical and isotopic composition of Triassic evaporites. The brackish waters have Cl contents of up to 2025 mg L−1 , and the ratios between dissolved ions and Cl, with the exception of the Br / Cl ratio, are not those expected on the basis of simple mixing between rainwater and seawater. The δ18O and δD data indicate that most of the waters fall between the regional meteoric water line and the global meteoric water line, supporting the conclusion that they are meteoric in origin. A significant consequence of the meteoric origin of the Na-Cl-type water studied here is that the Br / Cl ratio, extensively used to assess the origin of salinity in fresh water, should be used with care in carbonate aquifers that are near the coast. Overall, δ34S and δ18O levels in dissolved SO4 suggest that water–rock interaction is responsible for the Na-Cl brackish composition of the water hosted by the Jurassic and Triassic aquifers of the Nurra, and this is consistent with the geology and lithological features of the study area. Evaporite dissolution may also explain the high Cl content, as halite was detected within the gypsum deposits. Finally, these Na-Cl brackish waters are undersaturated with respect to the more soluble salts, implying that in a climate evolving toward semi-arid conditions, the salinization process could intensify dramatically in the near future.


2012 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 265-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ladislav Holko ◽  
Michal Dóša ◽  
Juraj Michalko ◽  
Martin Šanda

The article synthesizes available information on isotopic composition of precipitation in Slovakia (the Western Carpathians). Monthly δ18O data from eleven stations and period 1988-1997 were used to investigate correlations among the stations, altitude, air temperature and precipitation amount effects. The mean annual altitude and air temperature gradients of δ18O in precipitation were 0.21‰/100 m and 0.36‰/1°C, respectively. Maps of spatial distribution of mean annual δ18O in precipitation based on both gradients were constructed. The two maps do not significantly differ for the majority of Slovakia. δ2H data were available for only three stations. Local meteoric water line derived for the station with the longest data series (δ2H = = 7.86δ18O + 6.99) was close to the Global Meteoric Water line. Its parameters in periods 1991-1993 and 1991-2008 did not change. The study indicates that a more detailed monitoring of isotopic composition of precipitation in mountains should be carried out in the future. The highest station exhibited very small seasonal variability of δ18O in precipitation compared to other Slovak stations. The second highest mountain station had significantly higher deuterium excess than the neighboring stations located in the valley. In some analyses the data from the nearest stations situated abroad (Vienna, Krakow) were used.


1996 ◽  
Vol 271 (2) ◽  
pp. E302-E308 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Ritz ◽  
T. J. Cole ◽  
P. S. Davies ◽  
G. R. Goldberg ◽  
W. A. Coward

Appropriate corrections for 2H and 18O natural abundance are necessary in energy expenditure measurements with the doubly labeled water (DLW) method. The contribution of natural abundance variations to errors in the method is generally ignored if an appropriate dose level is given. Calculation of the appropriate dose level assumes that 2H and 18O natural abundance values are covariant and have a fixed slope. This study has investigated the between- and within-subject natural abundance variations, the latter over periods of time similar to those used in DLW experiment. Although 2H and 18O natural abundance values are covariant between subjects, the slope of their relationship is different from that of the Meteoric Water Line. Within subjects there is no such demonstrable covariance. It is concluded that: 1) the determinants of 2H and 18O natural abundance are different within and between subjects; 2) the concept of an optimal ratio of doses is not valid, and a safer strategy is probably to use a ratio > 10; 3) natural abundance variations may contribute significantly to the magnitude of error in the DLW measurements of energy expenditure.


2015 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 442-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhaofei Liu ◽  
Zhijun Yao ◽  
Rui Wang

The primary objective of this study was to quantify the contribution of glacial melt to total runoff in the Gaerqu River catchment, which is located in the source region of the Yangtze River, China. The isotope hydrograph separation method was used to separate glacier melt runoff from total runoff in the catchment. The degree-day method was used to investigate temporal variations in glacial melt runoff. The results showed that the contribution of glacial melt runoff to total runoff was 15.0%. The uncertainty of the separation was ± 3.7% at the confidence level of 95%. Glacial melt runoff was mainly generated in June, July, and August. The runoff coefficient was 0.23 for the catchment. Precipitation-induced runoff constituted 19.9% of the total precipitation, meaning that precipitation loss was >80% across the study period (a hydrological year). The Local Meteoric Water Line (LMWL) of the catchment was fitted as δ2H = 7.75 δ18O + 5.93. This line has a smaller slope and intercept than the Global Meteoric Water Line. The regression-lines for the δ18O and δ2H values of stream water indicated that evaporation was greater over the entire catchment than it was for the upstream region alone.


2018 ◽  
Vol 123 (11) ◽  
pp. 6259-6266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Li ◽  
Zhonghe Pang ◽  
Yanlong Kong ◽  
Shufang Wang ◽  
Guoying Bai ◽  
...  

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