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An investigation of the controls on Irish precipitation δ18O values on monthly and event timescales

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Abstract

This two-year study investigates the relative influence of meteorological variables (precipitation amount and temperature), atmospheric circulation, air mass history, and moisture source region on Irish precipitation oxygen isotopes (δ18Op) on event and monthly timescales. Single predictor correlations reveal that on the event scale, 20% of δ18Op variability is attributable to the amount effect and 7% to the temperature effect while on the monthly timescale the North Atlantic Oscillation accounts for up to 20% of δ18Op variability and the amount and temperature effects are not significant. In comparison, multivariate linear regression reveals that the interaction of temperature and precipitation amount explains up to 40% of δ18Op variance at event and monthly timescales. Five-day kinematic back trajectories suggest that the amount-weighted mean δ18Op value of southerly- and northerly-derived events are lower by 2‰ relative to events derived from the west. Because air mass history and atmospheric circulation appear to influence δ18Op in Ireland, Irish paleo-δ18Op proxy records are best interpreted as reflecting a combination of parameters, not just paleotemperature or paleorainfall.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the NOAA Air Resources Laboratory (ARL) for the provision of the HYSPLIT transport and dispersion model used in this study. Met Éireann is thanked for their early assistance with back trajectory modeling. The authors are appreciative of Dr Simon Poulson and the UNR isotope laboratory for analyzing our water samples. This manuscript benefited considerably from the thoughtful suggestions of the reviewers and early discussions with Dr Harald Sodemann. The authors are also grateful to Dr Susanna Corti, for her editorial guidance and support throughout the review process. This research was funded by Science Foundation Ireland and a University College Dublin (UCD) Seed Funding grant while LB was a graduate student at UCD.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University, Science Labs, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK

    Lisa M. Baldini & James U. L. Baldini

  2. UCD School of Geological Sciences, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland

    Frank McDermott & Martin Möllhoff

  3. Institute for Environmental Research, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Menai, NSW, 2234, Australia

    Matthew J. Fischer

Authors
  1. Lisa M. Baldini
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  2. Frank McDermott
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  3. James U. L. Baldini
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  4. Matthew J. Fischer
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  5. Martin Möllhoff
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lisa M. Baldini.

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Baldini, L.M., McDermott, F., Baldini, J.U.L. et al. An investigation of the controls on Irish precipitation δ18O values on monthly and event timescales. Clim Dyn 35, 977–993 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-010-0774-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-010-0774-6

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