Spatiotemporal variability in tree ring’s δ13C of Picea crassifolia in the Qilian Mountains: climatic significance and responses to rising CO2

The carbon isotopic composition (δ¹³C) of tree rings was used to assess changes in intrinsic water-use efficiency (W_i) to increasing atmospheric CO₂ and climate change during the period of 1891–2003. Five Qinghai spruce (Picea crassifolia) stands were selected in the Qilian Mountains, growing along a precipitation gradient. All five δ¹³C were correlated to each other, but two sites (DDS and CLS), which are far from the main body of the mountains, show relative weak connections to other sites. Although trees at all sites had improved their W_i in response to increasing atmospheric CO₂ concentration, spruce growing in the regions far away from the main body of the mountains were less sensitive to improved W_i than those of other sites. Based on the correlation between carbon isotope discrimination (Δ) and Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), the drought history covering the period of 1891–2003 was reconstructed in the study region. The two most severe drought epochs of the late 1920s and the last decade were caused by reduced precipitation and climate warming, respectively. Our results will be useful in assessing any further spatial climate-related bioclimatic information.     

Amount and temperature effects responsible for ecipitation isotope variation in the southern slope of Himalayas

Seasonal variation of stable isotopes in precipitation of Kathmandu Valley on the southern slope of Himalaya was carried out to understand the controlling mechanism of amount and temperature effect on the basis of one year stable isotope data from 2010 to 2011. Highly depleted isotope values in major rainy period are obtained just after the onset of precipitation in summer, which accounts for "amount effect" due to saturation isotopic compositions in high moisture condition, whereas, the higher values in winter are indicative to regional vapors (temperature effect) recycling of various sources. An abrupt depletion of isotope values in mid- June, indicates the onset date of monsoon precipitation, by the replacement of winter air mass with southern monsoon. Thus, precipitation isotopes are a tool revealing the onset date of summer monsoon and temporal features of variability, in local and regional monsoons precipitations. A comparison of long term monthly values of δ¹⁸O, temperature, and precipitation with GNIP δ¹⁸O data shows the temporal variations of stable isotopes are mostly controlled by amount and temperature effects. During summer monsoon, the amount effects are stronger for high values of precipitation (R=0.7) and altitude effect appears for low moisture in late rainy season, thus from December to June (winter to pre-monsoon) the controlling features of isotopes remains under the temperature effect. A temporal rate of temperature effect is derived as 0.04‰ per year which indicates a dry signal of atmospheric condition and a temperature relation δ¹⁸O=(0.371±0.08)T+(0.156±0.05) is obtained from this analysis. The meteoric water lines of Kathmandu before and after monsoon onset of 2011, are found as δD=(4.36±0.3)δ¹⁸O+(15.66±1.2) and δD=(6.91±0.2)δ¹⁸O?(7.92±2.26) from lab samples result, and δD=9.2δ¹⁸O+11.725 and δD=8.53δ18O+16.65 from GNIP data, which lacks the consistency both for slopes and intercepts values for the study period. The mean lapse rate values of δ¹⁸O and δD from GNIP data are obtained as ?0.002‰/m and ?0.015 ‰/m, which indicate the altitudinal effects in regional precipitation of the southern slope of Himalayas. This study estimates new stable isotopes data in recent precipitation using simple methodology which can be important for regional precipitation monitoring systems, environmental change and paleo-climatic studies.     

Relationship between pollen assemblages and organic geochemical proxies and the response to climate change in the Zhuye Lake sediments

This paper examines the relationship among organic geochemical proxies (TOC, C/N ratio and δ¹³C) and pollen assemblages in Zhuye Lake sediments since the Late Glacial. Results show that the reaction extent of organic geochemical proxies and pollen assemblages to environment changes are different. Organic geochemical proxies are sensitive to overall environmental change, while pollen assemblages indicate detailed information of environmental change. For the entire sedimentary section (except the sand layer from the bottom of the section), when values of TOC, C/N ratio and total pollen concentrations are high, δ¹³C values are low, and vice versa. The different responses of organic geochemical proxies and pollen records in Zhuye Lake are mainly due to their different sensitivity and diverse influencing factors in different environmental conditions.     

New Zealand chironomids as proxies for human-induced and natural environmental change: Transfer functions for temperature and lake production (chlorophyll a)

The analysis of chironomid taxa and environmental datasets from 46 New Zealand lakes identified temperature (February mean air temperature) and lake production (chlorophyll a (Chl a)) as the main drivers of chironomid distribution. Temperature was the strongest driver of chironomid distribution and consequently produced the most robust inference models. We present two possible temperature transfer functions from this dataset. The most robust model (weighted averaging-partial least squares (WA-PLS), n = 36) was based on a dataset with the most productive (Chl a > 10 μg l⁻¹) lakes removed. This model produced a coefficient of determination () of 0.77, and a root mean squared error of prediction (RMSEP_jack) of 1.31°C. The Chl a transfer function (partial least squares (PLS), n = 37) was far less reliable, with an of 0.49 and an RMSEP_jack of 0.46 Log₁₀μg l⁻¹. Both of these transfer functions could be improved by a revision of the taxonomy for the New Zealand chironomid taxa, particularly the genus Chironomus. The Chironomus morphotype was common in high altitude, cool, oligotrophic lakes and lowland, warm, eutrophic lakes. This could reflect the widespread distribution of one eurythermic species, or the collective distribution of a number of different Chironomus species with more limited tolerances. The Chl a transfer function could also be improved by inputting mean Chl a values into the inference model rather than the spot measurements that were available for this study.     

Effect of exogenous application of salicylic acid on the drought stress responses of Gardenia jasminoides

The alleviative effects of exogenous salicylic acid(SA) on plants against drought stress were assessed in Gardenia jasminoides seedlings treated with different concentrations of SA.Drought stress was simulated to a moderate level by 15% polyethylene glycol(PEG) 6000 treatment.Seedlings exposed to 15% PEG for 14 days exhibited a decrease in aboveground and underground dry mass,seedling height,root length,relative water content,photosynthetic pigment content,net photosynthetic rate(Pn),transpiration rate(Tr),stomatal conductance(Gs),and water use efficiency.In PEG-stressed plants,the levels of proline,malondialdehyde(MDA),hydrogen peroxide(H_2O_2),and electrolyte leakage rose significantly,whereas antioxidative activity,including superoxide,peroxidase,and catalase activities,declined in leaves.However,the presence of SA provided an effective method of mitigating PEG-caused physiological stresses on G.jasminoides seedlings,which depended on SA levels.PEG-treated plants exposed to SA at 0.5–1.0 mmol/L significantly eased PEG-induced growth inhibition.Application of SA,especially at concentrations of 0.5–1.0 mmol/L,considerably improved photosynthetic pigments,photosynthesis,antioxidative activity,relative water content,and proline accumulation,and decreased MDA content,H_2O_2 content,and electrolyte leakage.By contrast,the positive effects were not evident,or even more severe,in PEG+SA4 treatment.Based on these physiological and biochemical data,a suitable concentration of SA,potential growth regulators,could be applied to enhance the drought tolerance of G.jasminoides.     

The efficacy of Kriging spatial interpolation for filling temporal gaps in daily air temperature data: A case study in northeast China

Quality-controlled and serially complete daily air temperature data are essential to evaluating and modelling the influences of climate change on the permafrost in cold regions. Due to malfunctions and location changes of observing stations, temporal gaps (i.e., missing data) are common in collected datasets. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of Kriging spatial interpolation for estimating missing data to fill the temporal gaps in daily air temperature data in northeast China. A cross-validation experiment was conducted. Daily air temperature series from 1960 to 2012 at each station were estimated by using the universal Kriging (UK) and Kriging with an external drift (KED), as appropriate, as if all the observations at a given station were completely missing. The temporal and spatial variation patterns of estimation uncertainties were also checked. Results showed that Kriging spatial interpolation was generally desirable for estimating missing data in daily air temperature, and in this study KED performed slightly better than UK. At most stations the correlation coefficients (R²) between the observed and estimated daily series were >0.98, and root mean square errors (RMSEs) of the estimated daily mean (T_mean), maximum (T_max), and minimum (T_min) of air temperature were <3℃. However, the estimation quality was strongly affected by seasonality and had spatial variation. In general, estimation uncertainties were small in summer and large in winter. On average, the RMSE in winter was approximately 1℃ higher than that in summer. In addition, estimation uncertainties in mountainous areas with complex terrain were significantly larger than those in plain areas.     

大气水汽同位素组成的短期变异特征

Stable isotopes of atmospheric water vapor reveal rich information on water movement and phase changes in the atmosphere. Here we presented two nearly continuous time-series of δD and δ18O of atmospheric water vapor (δv) measured at hourly intervals in surface air in Beijing and above a winter wheat canopy in Shijiazhuang using in-situ meas-urement technique. During the precipitation events, the δv values in both Beijing and Shiji-azhuang were in the state of equilibrium with precipitation water, revealing the influence of precipitation processes. However, the δv departures from the equilibrium state were positively correlated with local relative humidity. Note that the δv tended to enrich in Beijing, but deplete in Shijiazhuang during the precipitation events, which mainly resulted from the influence of transpiration processes that enriched the δv in Shijiazhuang. On seasonal time-scale, the δv values were log-linear functions of water vapor mixing ratios in both Beijing and Shijiazhuang. The water vapor mixing ratio was an excellent predictor of the δv by the Rayleigh distillation mechanisms, indicating that air mass advection could also play an important role in deter-mining the δv. On a diurnal time-scale, the δv reached the minimum in the early afternoon hours in Beijing which was closely related to the atmospheric processes of boundary layer entrainment. During the peak of growing season of winter wheat, however, the δv reached the minimum in the early morning, and increased gradually through the daytime, and reached the maximum in the late afternoon, which was responsible by the interaction between boundary layer entrainment and the local atmospheric processes, such as transpiration and dew for-mation. This study has the implications for the important role of vegetation in determining the surface δv and highlights the need to conduct δv measurement on short-term (e.g. diurnal) time scales.     

Response to climate change of different tree species and NDVI variation since 1923 in the middle arid region of Ningxia, China

The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is used extensively to describe vegetation cover and ecological environment change. The purpose of this study was to contrast the response of different tree species growing in the same habitat to climate change and retrieve past NDVI using tree-ring width data from tree cores collected from the transitional zone of Pinus tabulaeformis and Picea crassifolia in the Luoshan Mountains in the middle arid region of Ningxia. Correlation analysis indicated that radial growth of P. tabulaeformis is more sensitive to precipitation and temperature change than that of P. crassifolia. Natural factors such as water availability and heat at this elevation are more suited to the growth of P. crassifolia, and are more advantageous to its renewal and succession. P. crassifolia is probably the better of the two species for protecting the forest ecosystem and conserving water in the Luoshan desertification area. Ring width of P. crassifolia correlates significantly with average NDVI for April–May (r =0.641, p <0.01), and both of them are influenced positively by precipitation in April–May. The reconstructed NDVI for 1923–2007 shows the relatively low vegetation cover occurred in the 1920s–1930s, the 1960s–1970s, and the early 21st century. The reconstructed NDVI better reflected the drought climate in the study area.     

Research advances on drought resistance mechanism of plant species in arid zones of China

Drought and shortage of water resources, which restrict the economy, society development and environmental protection, are key factors in arid zones of China. In the arid zones of Western China, researching plant drought resistance mechanism, selecting plant species with higher drought resistance, and developing water-saving techniques, are important for environmental improvement and economic development. This paper reviews research advances on drought resistance mechanism of plant species, based on research of morphological, physiological, and ecological adaptation mechanism of plant species under drought stress, such as anatomical structure of root systems and leaves, photosynthesis, antioxidant enzyme system, malondialdehyde (MDA), osmotic adjustment, endogenous hormone, drought-induced proteins and δ¹³C. Finally, this paper points out the key field of future research.     

Impact of global warming on drought in China

Spatial and temporal change patterns of air temperature (T), precipitation (P), relative humidity (RH), lower vapor pressure (VP), potential evapotranspiration (PET) and drought situation of 690 meteorological stations for all of China were evaluated in this study to understand the effects of warming on regional drought and hydrological processes. Here, the drought extent is expressed by aridity index (AI), which is the ratio of precipitation and reference crop evapotranspiration (ET₀) calculated by FAO Penman-Monteith equation, taking into account air temperature, atmospheric humidity, solar radiation, and wind. Our results indicate that there are different patterns of climate change from 1961 to 2008 and from 1981 to 2008. Little precipitation change occurred in China and ET₀ decreased from 1961 to 2008. But, the warming trend has intensified and the area with significant increasing precipitation has reduced since the early 1980’s and ET₀ has increased in most areas of China from 1981 to 2008 and decreased from 1961 to 2008. The areas affected by drought have shifted from North China and Northeast China to East China and South China since 1981. It is speculated that the increasing warming intensity after 1981 possibly strengthened the power of potential evapotranspiration and resulted in drought in most areas of Northeast China, North China, eastern Southwest China, and especially in East China and South China.     

The aboveground biomass of desert steppe and its spatiotemporal variation in western Inner Mongolia

A precise understanding of the aboveground biomass of desert steppe and its spatio-temporal variation is important to understand how arid ecosystems respond to climate change and to ensure that scarce grassland resources are used rationally. On the basis of 756 ground survey quadrats sampled in western Inner Mongolia steppe in 2005–2011 and remote sensing data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)—the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) dataset for the period of 2001–2011—we developed a statistical model to estimate the aboveground biomass of the desert steppe and further explored the relationships between aboveground biomass and climate factors. The conclusions are as follows: (1) the aboveground biomass of the steppe in the research area was 5.27 Tg (1 Tg=10¹² g) on average over 11 years; between 2001 and 2011, the aboveground biomass of the western Inner Mongolia steppe exhibited fluctuations, with no significant trend over time; (2) the aboveground biomass of the steppe in the research area exhibits distinct spatial variation and generally decreases gradually from southeast to northwest; and (3) the important factor causing interannual variations in aboveground biomass is precipitation during the period from January to July, but we did not find a significant relationship between the aboveground biomass and the corresponding temperature changes. The precipitation in this period is also an important factor influencing the spatial distribution of aboveground biomass (R²=0.39, P<0.001), while the temperature might be a minor factor (R²=0.12, P<0.01). The uncertainties in our estimate are primarily due to uncertainty in converting the fresh grass yield estimates to dry weight, underestimates of the biomass of shrubs, and error in remote sensing dataset.     

Fourier transform–infrared studies on the effects of salt and drought stress on the chemical composition and protein conformation changes in Arabidopsis leaves

We examined the changes of chemical composition and protein conformation in Arabidopsis leaves by Fourier transform–infrared (FT-IR) spectrometry Arabidopsis under 50 mmol/L NaCl salt and ?0.5 mPa polyethylene glycols 8000 (PEG 8000) drought stress during the early stages of growth. We primarily analyzed the absorption band areas in the 1,745 cm^-1 (ester), 1,600–1,700 cm^-1 (amide I), and 1,100 cm^-1 (carbohydrate) changes under salt stress and drought stress within 24 hours. The results showed that ester content declined at the beginning and then increased steadily during 24 hours of drought stress. But under salt stress, it declined steadily, and it was about 40 percent of the control after 24 hours. The protein synthesis increased by 25 percent after one hour of salt stress and then reached about 85 percent of the control after 24 hours. Under drought stress, the protein synthesis decreased and reached a minimal level at the 4-hr time point; it then recovered to the control level at the 24-hr point. The patterns of the accumulation of carbohydrates in the 1,100 cm^-1 band areas resembled that of amide I band changes under drought stress and salt stress. Analyzing the ratio A_1,627cm-1/A_1,658cm-1 under drought stress revealed that the leaves’ entire protein structure maintained a higher-level ordered form than did those under salt stress. Thus our results indicate the existence of different strategies of the Arabidopsis adaptation to salt stress and drought stress.     

Effect of sub-cloud evaporation on the δ~(18)O of precipitation in Qilian Mountains and Hexi Corridor,China

The sub-cloud evaporation effect refers to the evaporation process for raindrops that fall from the cloud base to the ground, which is usually accompanied by depleted light isotopes and enriched heavy isotopes in the precipitation. Based on 461 event-based precipitation samples collected from 12 weather stations in the Qilian Mountains and the Hexi Corridor from May to August of 2013, our results indicated that sub-cloud evaporation has a great influence on the δ¹⁸O of precipitation, especially in small-amount precipitation events. In May, June, July, and August the δ¹⁸O composition was enriched by 35%, 26%, 39%, and 41%, respectively, from the cloud base to the ground. This influence clearly strengthened with temperature rise, from the Qilian Mountains to the Hexi Corridor. When falling raindrops are evaporated by 1.0% in the Qilian Mountains and the Hexi Corridor, the composition of δ¹⁸O would be enriched by 1.2% and 2.6%, respectively. Temperature dominated the sub-cloud evaporation in the Qilian Mountains, whereas relative humidity controlled it in the Hexi Corridor. These results provide new proofs of the evolutional process of stable isotopes in precipitation in arid regions.     

Study on the impact of vegetation degeneration to hydrology characteristic of the Alpine soil

Alpine soil infiltration process is an important part of the hydrological characteristics of alpine soil in permafrost. This research is carried out in the source region of the Yellow River where the permafrost is severely degraded, using various methods for choosing typical sample areas, and to experiment, study and simulate the soil water curve, soil saturated hydraulic conductivity, soil infiltration and soil moisture under different characteristics of degraded vegetation. The results indicate that the empirical equation θ=AS^−B, proposed by Gradner and Visser, is very reliable in simulating the soil moisture curve; soil saturated hydraulic conductivity and soil infiltration are significantly different under different vegetation coverage: in the soil surface within 0–10 cm, the saturated hydraulic conductivity and infiltration intensity of Black Beach are the strongest; respectively, in soil layers below 30 cm, vegetation has almost no impacts on the saturated hydraulic conductivity, infiltration intensity and soil moisture content. Significant reduction of soil moisture occurs in soil surfaces with degraded vegetation. The more serious the degradation, the more water loss, and it can be up to 38.6% in the worst situation. Soil moisture of developed vegetation root systems in depths within 10–20 cm has the greatest impact on the soil environment, and the loss of moisture induces difficulty in the restoration of degraded meadows. Through a comparative study, the Kostiakov infiltration equation f(t) = at^−b is more applicable for studies on the process of soil moisture infiltration of the alpine meadow in the source region of the Yellow River.     

Intercomparison of stable isotopes in precipitation simulated by GCMs with GNIP survey over East Asia

Using the isotope enabled ECHAM4, GISS E and HadCM3 GCMs, the spatial distribution of mean δ¹⁸O in precipitation, mean seasonality and the correlations of δ¹⁸O in precipitation with temperature and precipitation amount are analyzed. The simulated results are in agreement with stable isotopic features by GNIP observations. Over East Asia, the distribution of δ¹⁸O in precipitation is of marked latitude effect and altitude effect. The latitude effect is covered by the continent effect in some regions. The largest seasonality of δ¹⁸O in precipitation appears in eastern Siberia controlled by cold high pressure, and the smallest seasonality is in the western Pacific controlled by the subtropical high. Relatively weak seasonality appears in middle latitudes where oceanic and continental air masses frequently interact. However, three GCMs show significant systematic lower δ¹⁸O for inland mid-high latitudes than GNIP data, which is related to the used isotopic scheme in GCMs. Temperature effect occurs mainly in inland mid-high latitudes. The higher the latitude and the closer the distance to inland is, then the stronger the temperature effect. Amount effect occurs mainly in low-mid latitudes and monsoon areas, with the strongest effect in low-latitude coasts or islands. However, three GCMs provide virtually non-existent amount effect in arid regions over Central Asia. The enrichment action of stable isotopes in falling raindrops under a cloud base, which is enlarged by these modes, is responsible for such a result. A significant difference between spatial distributions of δ¹⁸O statistics by GCMs simulations and by GNIP observations is that the standard deviation of GCMs statistics is greater than that of GNIP statistics. In contrast, by comparing parallel time series at a single station, the standard deviations of GCMs simulations are smaller than that of GNIP observations.     

Lake Area Changes and the main causes in the hinterland of Badain Jaran Desert during 1973–2010, China

Lake area information in the Badain Jaran Desert in 1973, 1990, 2000, and 2010 was obtained by visual interpretation and water index analysis of remote sensing images, based on the spatial and temporal characteristics of lake area changes during 37 years. Results indicated that the number of lakes declined from 94 to 82 and the total surface area was reduced by 3.69 km² during 1973–2010. The desert lake area reduced by different degrees in different periods, but this occurred most rapidly during 1973–1990. According to the statistics of lake area changes, lake area decreases mainly occurred in the lakes with areas less than 0.2 km², while the areas of lakes greater than 0.9 km² only fluctuated. The changes of lake areas were probably due to changes in the quantity of underground water supplies rather than the effects of local climate change or human factors.     

Human impacts and eutrophication patterns during the past ~200 years at Lago Grande di Avigliana (N. Italy)

A short sediment core from Lago Grande di Avigliana (Piedmont, Italy), the second most eutrophied lake in Italy, was analysed for pollen and diatoms to reconstruct land-use changes and to estimate baseline conditions for total phosphorus (TP) in the water column. Varve counts on sediment thin-sections and ²¹⁰Pb, ²²⁶Ra, and ¹³⁷Cs dating provided a reliable chronology for the past ~200 years. The main pollen-inferred land-use changes showed a sharp decrease of hemp retting around AD 1900, as well as a gradual change to less intensive agriculture and increasing abundance of exotic plants since AD ~1970. Diatom-inferred TP reconstructions indicated stable TP concentrations until AD ~1950, revealing baseline mesotrophic conditions (TP <25 μg l⁻¹). After AD ~1950, TP values increased distinctly and continuously, culminating in the late 1960s with concentrations of 150 μg l⁻¹. Subsequently, diatoms implied a linear decrease of TP, with an inferred value of 40 μg l⁻¹ in the surface sediment sample. Comparison with instrumental TP measurements from the water column since AD 1980 showed a rapid recovery and allowed a direct validation of the diatom TP inference. However, although the TP concentration has decreased considerably, baseline conditions have not yet been reached. When compared to the limnological effects of sewage discharges on inferred-TP concentration, our results indicated that agricultural land use played a minor role in the lake’s eutrophication.     

Spatiotemporal variability of permafrost degradation on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Based on data from six meteorological stations in the permafrost regions, 60 boreholes for long-term monitoring of permafrost temperatures, and 710 hand-dug pits and shallow boreholes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), the spatiotemporal variability of permafrost degradation was closely examined in relation to the rates of changes in air, surface, and ground temperatures. The decadal averages and increases in the mean annual air temperatures (MAATs) from 1961–2010 were the largest and most persistent during the last century. MAATs rose by 1.3 °C, with an average increase rate of 0.03 °C/yr. The average of mean annual ground surface temperatures (MAGSTs) increased by 1.3 °C at an average rate of 0.03 °C/yr. The rates of changes in ground temperatures were ?0.01 to 0.07 °C/yr. The rates of changes in the depths of the permafrost table were ?1 to +10 cm/yr. The areal extent of permafrost on the QTP shrank from about 1.50×10⁶ km² in 1975 to about 1.26×10⁶ km² in 2006. About 60% of the shrinkage in area of permafrost occurred during the period from 1996 to 2006. Due to increasing air temperature since the late 1980s, warm (>?1 °C) permafrost has started to degrade, and the degradation has gradually expanded to the zones of transitory (?1 to ?2 °C) and cold (相似文献   

Environmental records of snow pits in Yuzhufeng Glacier and Xiao Dongkemadi Glacier in the Tibetan Plateau

The contents and distribution characteristics of ions, n-alkanes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in snow pits on the Yuzhufeng (YZF) Glacier and the Xiao Dongkemadi (XDKMD) Glacier are studied. Parameter characteristics and correlation coefficients between ions and two organic compounds are used to explore the possible sources of these chemical compositions. The results indicated that both glaciers are influenced by west wind circulation, but the contents of ions, n-alkanes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the YZF Glacier are higher than in the XDKMD Glacier because of differences in geographical position. The ratios of ΣnC₂₁^–/ΣnC₂₂⁺ and CPI values (CPI: carbon preference index) indicate that the n-alkanes from natural sources in these two glaciers are mainly derived from higher plants, whereas the contribution from lower organisms was small, also, n-alkanes from anthropogenic sources in the YZF Glacier are higher than in the XDKMD Glacier. The ratios of LPAHs/HPAHs and (Fly+Pyr)/(BghiP+INP) indicate that the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in these two glaciers are mainly derived from low temperature combustion of coal and biomass, and, in the XDKMD Glacier, partially from the vehicle exhaust.     

Amount and temperature effects responsible for precipitation isotope variation in the southern slope of Himalayas

Seasonal variation of stable isotopes in precipitation of Kathmandu Valley on the southern slope of Himalaya was carried out to understand the controlling mechanism of amount and temperature effect on the basis of one year stable isotope data from 2010 to 2011. Highly depleted isotope values in major rainy period are obtained just after the onset of precipitation in summer, which accounts for "amount effect" due to saturation isotopic compositions in high moisture condition, whereas, the higher values in winter are indicative to regional vapors (temperature effect) recycling of various sources. An abrupt depletion of isotope values in mid-June, indicates the onset date of monsoon precipitation, by the replacement of winter air mass with southern monsoon. Thus, precipitation isotopes are a tool revealing the onset date of summer monsoon and temporal features of variability, in local and regional monsoons precipitations. A comparison of long term monthly values of δ 18 O, temperature, and precipitation with GNIP δ 18 O data shows the temporal variations of stable isotopes are mostly controlled by amount and temperature effects. During summer monsoon, the amount effects are stronger for high values of precipitation (R=0.7) and altitude effect appears for low moisture in late rainy season, thus from December to June (winter to pre-monsoon) the controlling features of isotopes remains under the temperature effect. A temporal rate of temperature effect is derived as 0.04‰ per year which indicates a dry signal of atmospheric condition and a temperature relation δ 18 O=(0.371±0.08)T+(0.156±0.05) is obtained from this analysis. The meteoric water lines of Kathmandu before and after monsoon onset of 2011, are found as δD=(4.36±0.3)δ 18 O+(15.66±1.2) and δD=(6.91±0.2)δ 18 O (7.92±2.26) from lab samples result, and δD=9.2δ 18 O+11.725 and δD=8.53δ 18 O+16.65 from GNIP data, which lacks the consistency both for slopes and intercepts values for the study period. The mean lapse rate values of δ 18 O and δD from GNIP data are obtained as 0.002‰/m and 0.015 ‰/m, which indicate the altitudinal effects in regional precipitation of the southern slope of Himalayas. This study estimates new stable isotopes data in recent precipitation using simple methodology which can be important for regional precipitation monitoring systems, environmental change and paleo-climatic studies.