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Extreme Short-Term Stable Isotope Variability Revealed by Continuous Rainwater Analysis 

Literature Reference
Peer Reviewed Literature
Authors

N.C. Munksgaard, C.M. Wurster, A. Bass, M.I. Bird

Abstract

Continuous real-time analysis, at 30 sec intervals, of precipitation at an Australian tropical location revealed extreme and rapidly changing δ18O and δD values related to variations in moisture source areas, transport paths and precipitation histories. The range of δ18O (−19.6 to +2.6 ‰) and δD (−140 to +13 ‰) values from 5948 measurements of nine rain events over 15 days during an 8 month period at a single location was comparable to the range measured in 1532 monthly samples from all seven Australian GNIP stations from 1962–2002. Extreme variations in δ18O (−8.7 to −19.6 ‰) and δD (−54 to −140 ‰) were recorded within a single four-hour period.

Real-time stable isotope monitoring of precipitation at a high temporal resolution enables new and powerful tracer applications in climatology, hydrology, ecophysiology and palaeoclimatology. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.