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Stable isotopes in precipitation in Xilin River Basin, northern China and their implications

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Abstract

Under the increasing pressure of water shortage and steppe degradation, information on the hydrological cycle in steppe region in Inner Mongolia, China is urgently needed. An intensive investigation of the temporal variations of δD and δ18O in precipitation was conducted in 2007–2008 in the Xilin River Basin, Inner Mongolia in the northern China. The δD and δ18O values for 54 precipitation samples range from +1.1‰ to −34.7‰ and −3.0‰ to −269‰, respectively. This wide range indicates that stable isotopes in precipitation are primarily controlled by different condensation mechanisms as a function of air temperature and varying sources of vapor. The relationship between δD and δ18O defined a well constrained line given by δD = 7.89 δ 18 O + 9.5, which is nearly identical to the Meteoric Water Line in the northern China. The temperature effect is clearly displayed in this area. The results of backward trajectory of each precipitation day show that the vapor of the precipitation in cold season (October to March) mainly originates from the west while the moisture source is more complicated in warm season (April to September). A light precipitation amount effect existes at the precipitation event scale in this area. The vapor source of precipitation with higher d-excesses are mainly from the west wind or neighboring inland area and precipitation with lower d-excesses from a monsoon source from the southeastern China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Watershed Hydrology and Ecology, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Jinkui Wu, Yongjian Ding & Qiyue Yang

  2. Qilian Shan Station of Glaciology and Ecologic Environment, State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Jinkui Wu, Baisheng Ye & Dianjiong Hou

  3. Institute for Landscape Ecology and Resources Management, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Giessen, 35392, Germany

    Jinkui Wu

  4. Gansu Province Exploration Institute of Coal Geology, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Dianjiong Hou

  5. College of Earth and Environmental Science, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Liyang Xue

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  1. Jinkui Wu
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  2. Yongjian Ding
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  4. Qiyue Yang
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  5. Dianjiong Hou
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Correspondence to Jinkui Wu.

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Foundation item: Under the auspices of Nation Basic Research Program of China (No. 2007CB411502), German Science Foundation (Research Unit 536), Independent Research Project from State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science (No. SKLCS-ZZ-2010-02)

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Wu, J., Ding, Y., Ye, B. et al. Stable isotopes in precipitation in Xilin River Basin, northern China and their implications. Chin. Geogr. Sci. 22, 531–540 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-012-0543-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-012-0543-z

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