Underlying Climate Controls in Triple Oxygen (16O, 17O, 18O) and Hydrogen (1H, 2H) Isotopes Composition of Rainfall (Central Pyrenees)

Año Publicación:  2021
detalles
Responsable: R. Giménez et al.
Journal, Volumen y páginas:
Frontiers in Earth Science 9

Autores

R. Giménez, M. Bartolomé, F. Gázquez, M. Iglesias & A. Moreno

Abstract

Studies of rainfall isotopic composition in the Iberian Peninsula are scarce, and to date, none of them have provided analyses of the triple oxygen isotopes, preventing from the complete understanding of current atmospheric processes in this region. We investigate the rainwater δ ¹⁷ O, δ ¹⁸ O, and δD and derived parameters ¹⁷ O-excess and d-excess in a mountain site in the Central South Pyrenees (Villanúa, Huesca, Spain) to identify the main factors (regional and local) controlling the isotopic composition of precipitation at event scale. The samples were collected on a rainfall-event basis during 2 years (from July 2017 to June 2019), and meteorological variables [temperature, relative humidity (RH), and rainfall amount] were monitored at the sampling site. The δ ¹⁷ O, δ ¹⁸ O, and δD values were higher during summer and lower during the rest of the year. In contrast, the ¹⁷ O-excess and d-excess were lower during summer and higher during the remaining months. We found that the isotopic parameters are weakly correlated with rainfall amount during each event, but they strongly depend on changes in air temperature and moderately on RH. We consider other factors affecting the isotopic composition of rainfall events that resulted to have an important role, such as the influence of the moisture source and trajectory throughout the variations in the synoptic pattern during rainfall events. This dataset can be useful for further comprehensive atmospheric and hydrological studies, with application to paleoclimatic investigations.

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