Acta Geographica Sinica ›› 2022, Vol. 77 ›› Issue (7): 1745-1761.doi: 10.11821/dlxb202207012

• Climate Change and Planet Geomorphology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Precipitation isotope characteristics and water vapor sources in summer in eastern Loess Plateau

ZHOU Sijie(), SUN Congjian(), CHEN Wei, ZHANG Xin   

  1. College of Geography, Shanxi Normal University, Taiyuan 030031, China
  • Received:2021-10-27 Revised:2022-05-20 Online:2022-07-25 Published:2022-09-13
  • Contact: SUN Congjian E-mail:1720645725@qq.com;suncongjian@sina.com
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(41901022);Basic Research Program of Shanxi Province(20210302123261);Basic Research Program of Shanxi Province(20210302123265)

Abstract:

The composition of hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopes of atmospheric precipitation can indicate the climatic and environmental changes of precipitation process. It is of great significance to analyze and understand the changes of stable isotopes of atmospheric precipitation and examine the hydrological cycle process under current and past climatic conditions. Based on the determination of δ2H and δ18O in 152 precipitation samples collected from 8 stations in the eastern Loess Plateau in the summer of 2019 (April-October), the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of δ2H and δ18O and their relationship with meteorological parameters and sub-cloud evaporation were systematically analyzed. The HYSPLIT model was used to analyze the source and migration path of water vapor. The results show that: (1) δ2H and δ18O of summer precipitation in the study area have obvious seasonal variation, which gradually enriched from May to July and gradually depleted from August to September; the precipitation δ2H and δ18O also showed significant spatial differences, with a gradual increase from southeast to northwest. (2) The results of regional atmospheric precipitation line show that the overall precipitation in this area is significantly affected by the sub-cloud evaporation, but the precipitation process in the basin area (Zhaocheng, Yangquan, and Changzhi) is significantly affected by the local circulation. (3) δ18O in the precipitation of this region did not show significant indigenous temperature effect and precipitation effect. The temperature effect only existed in the Jiexiu station of the Fenhe river basin valley, while the precipitation effect existed at the Jiexiu and Linfen stations. (4) The sub-cloud evaporation has a significant influence on the Yangquan station in the middle of the rocky areas of Taihang Mountains, the Datong station in the north and the Linfen station in the Fenhe river basin valley. The hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopes of the cloud bottom and surface precipitation are significantly different. (5) The results of water vapor source analysis show that the main sources of summer precipitation in the region are near the ground and the Bohai Sea in the southeast direction, and the water vapor content of the western path in the long distance is relatively small. The results of this study are of great significance to improve the understanding of regional water cycle and the rational allocation of water resources.

Key words: precipitation, hydrogen and oxygen isotopes, spatial and temporal distribution, water vapor source, Loess Plateau