Stable isotopic composition of water vapor in the tropics

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Read Full Article (file size: 1052946 bytes) Cited by JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 109, D06115, doi:10.1029/2003JD004046, 2004 Stable isotopic composition of water vapor in the tropics James Robert Lawrence Department of Geosciences, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA Stanley David Gedzelman Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Cooperative Remote Sensing Science and Technology Center (CREST), City College of New York, New York, New York, USA Darielle Dexheimer Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA Hye-Khung Cho Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA Gordon D. Carrie School of Meteorology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA Robert Gasparini Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA Casey R. Anderson URS Corporation, Dallas, Texas, USA Kenneth P. Bowman Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA Mike I. Biggerstaff School of Meteorology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA Abstract Water vapor samples collected during tropical field experiments at Puerto Escondido, Mexico, near Kwajalein (KWAJEX), and near Key West, Florida (CAMEX 4), were analyzed for their stable isotope contents, ¹H₂ ¹⁸O:¹H₂ ¹⁶O and ²H¹H¹⁶O:¹H₂ ¹⁶O. Highest δ¹⁸O values approached isotopic equilibrium with seawater during quiescent weather or in regions of isolated or disorganized convection. Lowest δ¹⁸O values occurred in or downwind from regions of organized mesoscale weather disturbances and ranged as low as 15‰ below isotopic equilibrium with seawater. The mean δ¹⁸O value of vapor over the sea surface therefore decreases as storm activity and organization increases. Received 4 August 2003; accepted 9 December 2003; published 27 March 2004. Index Terms: 0368 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Troposphere—constituent transport and chemistry; 1040 Geochemistry: Isotopic composition/chemistry; 1620 Global Change: Climate dynamics (3309); 3374 Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics: Tropical meteorology; 3344 Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics: Paleoclimatology. Read Full Article (file size: 1052946 bytes) Cited by Citation: Lawrence, J. R., S. D. Gedzelman, D. Dexheimer, H.-K. Cho, G. D. Carrie, R. Gasparini, C. R. Anderson, K. P. Bowman, and M. I. Biggerstaff (2004), Stable isotopic composition of water vapor in the tropics, J. Geophys. Res., 109, D06115, doi:10.1029/2003JD004046. Copyright 2004 by the American Geophysical Union.

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