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Quantitatively assessing the evaporation‐caused stable water isotope fractionation in precipitation below the cloud base is of great significance to understand the modern hydrological circulation especially in a plateau climate. Based on the hourly meteorological data at eight meteorological stations of the Gannan Plateau at the eastern margin of Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau in 2020, we examined the spatial and temporal variations of below‐cloud evaporation effect on precipitation isotopes, and then discussed the factors influencing the below‐cloud evaporation across the Gannan Plateau. The contemporary observation of precipitation isotopes at one site in the Gannan Plateau is also applied to understand the local meteoric water line associated with the below‐cloud evaporation. From 9:00 to 21:00 Beijing Time, the impact of below‐cloud evaporation is greater than that during the rest periods. Within the study region, the below‐cloud evaporation in the central area is usually stronger than that of the surrounding area. The diurnal and monthly variability of relative humidity is highly consistent with that of the remaining raindrop mass fraction after evaporation as well as the isotope variation in raindrop below the cloud base. When the relative humidity is greater than 95%, there is a linear relationship between the remaining raindrop mass fraction and the below‐cloud deuterium‐excess variation of approximate 1.1‰/%. Global warming will increase the below‐cloud evaporation effect across the Gannan Plateau. The findings are useful to understand the below‐cloud evaporation and isotope fractionation under a plateau climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on daily meteorological records for 651 sites across China during the period 1960–2018, we estimated the changes in isotopic variations in raindrops as they descend from cloud base to ground over past decades, and tested the sensitivity of isotopic variations to climate parameters like air temperature and relative humidity. Air temperature correlates positively and relative humidity correlates negatively with below‐cloud isotopic variation. Generally, the below‐cloud evaporation effect on precipitation isotopes in the arid and semi‐arid regions of China is much greater than that in the humid and semi‐humid regions, although the impact might be reduced under cold‐arid or hot‐humid conditions. With aridity increasing with distance from the coast, the continental effect of precipitation isotopes is modified due to the below‐cloud evaporation. The seasonal pattern of the measured isotopic composition in precipitation near the ground and estimated at cloud base, is still similar in most regions, although the seasonal range is higher at the ground. During the last five decades, the below‐cloud evaporation effect has enhanced for the cold and arid regions of China especially across Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau and Inner Mongolia, due to combined effects of increasing air temperature and decreasing relative humidity. Although the below‐cloud evaporation effect is not always the dominant factor influencing the variability of stable isotopes, it needs to be considered as one of the contributing factors. This enhanced effect may impact the interpretation of past climate based on stable water isotopes, particularly in paleoclimate studies using speleothems and tree rings. Key Points: Below‐cloud evaporation effect on precipitation isotopes is assessed nationwideThe variability of below‐cloud evaporation effect is controlled by the warming climateEnhanced below‐cloud evaporation may affect interpretation of long‐term isotope records [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The local meteoric water lines (LMWLs) reflect water sources and the degree of sub-cloud evaporation at a specific location. Lanzhou is a semi-arid city located at the margin of the Asian monsoon, and the isotope composition in precipitation around this region has aroused attention in hydrological and paleoclimate studies. Based on an observation network of stable isotopes in precipitation in Lanzhou, LMWLs at four stations (Anning, Yuzhong, Gaolan and Yongdeng) are calculated using the event-based/monthly data and six regression methods (i.e., ordinary least squares, reduced major axis, major axis regressions, and their counterparts weighted using precipitation amount). Compared with the global meteoric water line, the slope and intercept of LMWL in Lanzhou are smaller. The slopes and intercepts calculated using different methods are slightly different. Among these methods, precipitation-weighted least squares regression (PWLSR) usually had the minimum average value of root mean sum of squared error (rmSSEav), indicating that the result of the precipitation weighted method is relatively stable. Higher precipitation amount and lower air temperature result in larger slopes and intercepts on an annual scale, which is out of accordance with the summertime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deuterium excess and stable oxygen isotopes in precipitation have been widely applied to trace the source of water vapor. In this study, hydrogen and oxygen isotope analyses of samples were collected on seven sampling stations in Dingxi area from April 2019 to April 2020. The seasonal variation of hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopes as well as the d-excess indicate that the source of water vapor in Dingxi area is mostly from a single source. However, there are different sources of water vapor in the summer. Meanwhile, water vapor sources were analyzed using the Lagrange algorithm, indicating two different principal water vapor sources for precipitation in the area: some locally recycled water vapor in summer and autumn, and most water vapor from the westerly belt. Further studies using the PSCF and CWT analysis methods show that the locally recycled water vapor contributes more to its precipitation in the northwest of Dingxi area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proportional contribution of recycled moisture to local precipitation is a geographically dependent parameter that cannot be ignored in water budgets. Stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopes are sensitive to environmental changes and can be applied to investigate the modern water cycle. In this study, a three-component mixing model is used to calculate the contribution of different water vapors (advection, evaporation and transpiration) to summer precipitation in Lanzhou city, Northwest China. The results show that for all sampling sites in Lanzhou, the contribution of advection vapor to precipitation is the largest, followed by the plant transpiration vapor, and the contribution of surface evaporation water vapor is usually the least, with the average values of 87.96%, 9.1% and 2.9%, respectively. The spatial differences of plant transpiration vapor are generally larger than those of advection vapor and surface evaporation vapor, and the high values appear in Yongdeng, Daheng and Gaolan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deuterium excess in precipitation is an effective indicator to assess the existence of sub-cloud evaporation of raindrops. Based on the synchronous measurements of stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen (δ2H and δ18O) in precipitation for several sites in Lanzhou, western China, spanning for approximately four years, the variations of deuterium excess between the ground and the cloud base are evaluated by using a one-box Stewart model. The deuterium excess difference below the cloud base during summer (−17.82‰ in Anning, −11.76‰ in Yuzhong, −21.18‰ in Gaolan and −12.41‰ in Yongdeng) is greater than that in other seasons, and difference in winter is weak due to the low temperature. The variations of deuterium excess in precipitation due to below-cloud evaporation are examined for each sampling site and year. The results are useful to understand the modification of raindrop isotope composition below the cloud base at a city scale, and the quantitative methods provide a case study for a semi-arid region at the monsoon margin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stable isotopes in precipitation provide a new understanding for the mechanism study of water cycles in the Loess Plateau. However, there has never been an introduction for the Tianshui area, which is transitioning from semi-humid to semi-arid. We analyzed the time series changes of stable isotopes in precipitation at seven sampling points during pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon periods (April to October) in the Tianshui area. The results show that the temperature effect not only shows spatial differences but also seasonal changes and a weak precipitation effect is only found during the monsoon period. At the same time, the variation characteristics of precipitation isotopes before and after the monsoon clearly record the advancing and retreating time of the monsoon. We captured this important time node around 7 May and 21 September. Due to the influence of the regional microclimate formed by different natural conditions, the kinetic fractionation effect of isotopes in precipitation cause obvious differences in the slope and intercept of the meteoric water line in different natural regions, which shows that the stable isotopes in precipitation with high-resolution changes in a short period of time are of great significance to deeply explore the hydrological process of regional microclimates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stable isotopes (e.g., δ2H and δ18O) in tap water are important tools to understand the local climate or environment background, water sources and the state of regional water supply. Based on 242 tap water samples, 35 precipitation samples and 24 surface water samples gathered in the urban area of Lanzhou, the basic spatiotemporal characteristics of isotopes in tap water, their connection with isotopes in other water bodies and change during the process from raw water to tap water are discussed in detail, combining the information of local tap water supply and water source. It can provide reliable help for understanding the isotope characteristics of local tap water, regional water supply management and determination of tap water source of in a small area. Except for the establishment of a new data set of isotopes in tap water with complete time series and uniform spatial distribution of sampling sites, other results show that: (1) The Local Tap Water Line (LTWL) of Lanzhou is δ2H = (6.03 ± 0.57) δ18O + (−8.63 ± 5.44) (r2 = 0.41, p < 0.01). (2) For seasonal variations, δ2H and δ18O in tap water both are higher in autumn and lower in spring. The diurnal and daily variations of isotopes in tap water are not large. As for spatial variations, the monthly mean values of δ2H and δ18O in tap water at each sampling site show little difference. The isotopes in tap water collected from one single sampling site can be considered as a representative for isotopes in tap water in the area with a single tap water source. (3) Isotopes in tap water show weak connection with precipitation isotopes, but exhibit good connection (consistent seasonal variation, similar numerical range, small numerical difference and high correlation) with isotopes in surface water, which is the direct water source. Isotopes in water change little from raw water to tap water. Isotopic composition of tap water in Lanzhou can be used as a representative of isotopes in surface water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]