Abstract
The stable isotope has been extensively applied as an effective tracer especially in precipitation. In glacierized area of arid northwest China, temperature is widely considered to be a major factor affecting isotopes in precipitation, while the influences of precipitation amount, relative humidity and other meteorological parameters are still not clear. Based on analyses on stable isotope values of water samples and NCEP/NCAR (National Centers of Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research, USA) re-analysis data, the moisture source and characteristics of isotopes in the precipitation, meltwater and river water isotopes at Urumqi Glacier No.1 of the upstream Urumqi River Basin, eastern Tianshan Mountains from spring to autumn during four years (from 2008 to 2011) was studied. Results indicated that meltwater are the main source of water for the upper Urumqi River. Seasonal variation of δ18O in precipitation demonstrated that δ18O was more enriched in summer and depleted in spring and autumn. Temperature was positively correlated with isotopes, while precipitation amount and relative humidity was negatively correlated with isotopes. The water vapor was affected by westerly air mass and regional water vapor cycle. Meanwhile, back trajectory clustering analyses showed that the moisture mainly from Europe and central Asia. The moisture was more likely to be locally sourced with the ratio was 46.8%~52.1%.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the scientific investigation team of Tianshan Glaciological Station for helping in sample collection, and Daxigou Meteorological Station for supplying the meteorological data. We also thank engineer Yuman Zhu of Tianshan Glaciological Station for helping in chemical analysis. This research is supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA20020102; XDA20060201), National Natural Science Foundation of China (International (regional) cooperation and exchange projects) (41761134093), National Natural Science Foundation of China (41471058; 41771077).
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Song, My., Li, Zq., Xia, Ds. et al. Isotopic evidence for the moisture origin and influencing factors at Urumqi Glacier No.1 in upstream Urumqi River Basin, eastern Tianshan Mountains. J. Mt. Sci. 16, 1802–1815 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-018-5348-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-018-5348-9