ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Stable Isotope Characteristics for Precipitation
Events and Their Responses to Moisture
and Environmental Changes During the Summer
Monsoon Period in Southwestern China
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1
State Key laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
2
College of Water Resource and Hydropower, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
Submission date: 2019-04-06
Final revision date: 2019-06-19
Acceptance date: 2019-07-02
Online publication date: 2020-02-06
Publication date: 2020-03-31
Corresponding author
Guodong Liu
State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering, Sichuan University, No.24 South Section 1, Yihuan Road, Chengdu , Chin, 610065, Chengdu, China
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2020;29(3):2429-2445
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ABSTRACT
Samples of hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopes in precipitation collected and analyzed during the
summer monsoon in 2017 and 2018 in Chengdu are reported in this paper. Increasing (decreasing) trends
of isotope values (δD and δ18O) occur from May to June (September to October), and the valleys occur
from July to August. The correlation between δD and δ18O for both precipitation events and monthly
average precipitation is significant, with high R2 values (≥0.98). The differences in regression lines may
be due to the comprehensive influence of moisture sources, transport path and sub-cloud processes.
Combining the d-excess values of precipitation and air mass trajectories generated by the HYSPLIT
model, precipitation with a low (high) d-excess value and a more (less) negative δ18O corresponds to
moisture from ocean (inland) sources. The δ18O–temperature (T) and δ18O–precipitation (P) correlations
are not significant and vary greatly among different periods, which may be attributed to the mutual
masking of different effects and the influence of atmospheric circulation processes. The results imply
that the negative values in biological and geological proxies may be related to warmer climate, higher
precipitation and a larger contribution of oceanic monsoon precipitation, but cannot indicate the changes
in temperature and precipitation quantifiably.