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Stable isotope compositions of precipitation from Gunnison, Colorado 2007–2016: implications for the climatology of a high-elevation valley
Stable isotope compositions of precipitation from Gunnison, Colorado 2007–2016: implications for the climatology of a high-elevation valley
- Source :
- Heliyon, Heliyon, Vol 5, Iss 7, Pp e02120-(2019)
- Publication Year :
- 2019
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2019.
-
Abstract
- Stable isotope ratios of precipitation are useful tracers of climatic and hydrological processes. To better understand the isotope hydro-climatology of a high-elevation Rocky Mountain valley we collected meteoric water samples from Gunnison, Colorado, USA and determined stable isotope values for 239 individual precipitation events over a nine year period. Annual precipitation in Gunnison is moderately bi-modal with significant winter snowfall and convective summer thunderstorms associated with the North American Monsoon. Stable isotope values of precipitation span a large range, with summer rains as high as δ2H = +19‰ and δ18O = +4.8‰ (relative to V-SMOW) and winter snowfall as low as δ2H = -286‰ and δ18O = -36.7‰. These data define a local meteoric water line for Gunnison of δ2H = 7.2 δ18O – 4.2. Monthly meteoric water lines have slopes similar to the Global Meteoric Water Line (∼8) for winter months and more evaporated slopes (∼6) during the summer. Monthly mean temperature most strongly controls the monthly isotopic composition of precipitation (m = 0.61–0.64 ‰/°C); the slope of the isotope/temperature relationship is steeper in summer than winter.
- Subjects :
- 0301 basic medicine
Global meteoric water line
δ18O
Precipitation
Atmospheric sciences
Article
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Earth-surface processes
Atmospheric science
lcsh:Social sciences (General)
lcsh:Science (General)
Stable isotopes
Climatology
Multidisciplinary
Stable isotope ratio
North American Monsoon
Snow
Geochemistry
030104 developmental biology
Environmental chemistry
Thunderstorm
Meteoric water
Environmental science
lcsh:H1-99
Rocky Mountains
Hydrology
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
lcsh:Q1-390
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 24058440
- Volume :
- 5
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Heliyon
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....009a1e070257d714d3a4e244af87a87f
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02120