Assessing moisture sources of precipitation in the Western Pamir Mountains (Tajikistan, Central Asia) using deuterium excess
Air moisture of oceanic origin can be subject to long-range transport and could contribute to precipitation at distant places. With ongoing climate change the relationship between water vapour sources and sinks is under constant evolution and plays an important role for water budget assessments. Thi...
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doaj-ff918520c154440b9f2a9196bd28949b2020-11-25T02:17:50ZengTaylor & Francis GroupTellus: Series B, Chemical and Physical Meteorology1600-08892019-01-0171110.1080/16000889.2019.16019871601987Assessing moisture sources of precipitation in the Western Pamir Mountains (Tajikistan, Central Asia) using deuterium excessTobias R. Juhlke0Christiane Meier1Robert van Geldern2Kim A. Vanselow3Jakob Wernicke4Jamila Baidulloeva5Johannes A.C. Barth6Stephan M. Weise7Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-NürnbergUFZ Helmholtz Centre for Environmental ResearchFriedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-NürnbergFriedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-NürnbergFriedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-NürnbergTajikistan National Agency for HydrometeorologyFriedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-NürnbergUFZ Helmholtz Centre for Environmental ResearchAir moisture of oceanic origin can be subject to long-range transport and could contribute to precipitation at distant places. With ongoing climate change the relationship between water vapour sources and sinks is under constant evolution and plays an important role for water budget assessments. This study analysed monthly integrated and event-based precipitation samples from two field sites in the Western Pamir Mountains (Tajikistan) for stable isotope compositions of oxygen (δ18O) and hydrogen (δ2H) of water. The aim was to investigate water vapour sources and, in particular, to evaluate contributions of water vapour from the Mediterranean region. The latter has been often postulated as a potential moisture source region for Central Asia. Deuterium excess values (d), that serve as a fingerprint of moisture origin, were below 13‰ in monthly integrated samples, for most of the year. This indicates a smaller contribution of high Mediterranean moisture (∼20‰) to the Western Pamir Mountains than originally expected. A maximum d value of 19‰ was observed in March, which is not in agreement with the common observation of increased Mediterranean contribution during winter (DJF). A Lagrangian backward trajectory model (HYSPLIT) was applied to infer the general air mass origin for sampled precipitation events. A maximum contribution of ‘western’ moisture of 40% was also detected in March, while 40%–60% of moisture that contributed to precipitation events in winter was transported by trajectories that originated from the Northern Indian Ocean.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16000889.2019.1601987deuterium excessmediterraneanmoisture sourceswestern pamirstable isotopes |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Tobias R. Juhlke Christiane Meier Robert van Geldern Kim A. Vanselow Jakob Wernicke Jamila Baidulloeva Johannes A.C. Barth Stephan M. Weise |
spellingShingle |
Tobias R. Juhlke Christiane Meier Robert van Geldern Kim A. Vanselow Jakob Wernicke Jamila Baidulloeva Johannes A.C. Barth Stephan M. Weise Assessing moisture sources of precipitation in the Western Pamir Mountains (Tajikistan, Central Asia) using deuterium excess Tellus: Series B, Chemical and Physical Meteorology deuterium excess mediterranean moisture sources western pamir stable isotopes |
author_facet |
Tobias R. Juhlke Christiane Meier Robert van Geldern Kim A. Vanselow Jakob Wernicke Jamila Baidulloeva Johannes A.C. Barth Stephan M. Weise |
author_sort |
Tobias R. Juhlke |
title |
Assessing moisture sources of precipitation in the Western Pamir Mountains (Tajikistan, Central Asia) using deuterium excess |
title_short |
Assessing moisture sources of precipitation in the Western Pamir Mountains (Tajikistan, Central Asia) using deuterium excess |
title_full |
Assessing moisture sources of precipitation in the Western Pamir Mountains (Tajikistan, Central Asia) using deuterium excess |
title_fullStr |
Assessing moisture sources of precipitation in the Western Pamir Mountains (Tajikistan, Central Asia) using deuterium excess |
title_full_unstemmed |
Assessing moisture sources of precipitation in the Western Pamir Mountains (Tajikistan, Central Asia) using deuterium excess |
title_sort |
assessing moisture sources of precipitation in the western pamir mountains (tajikistan, central asia) using deuterium excess |
publisher |
Taylor & Francis Group |
series |
Tellus: Series B, Chemical and Physical Meteorology |
issn |
1600-0889 |
publishDate |
2019-01-01 |
description |
Air moisture of oceanic origin can be subject to long-range transport and could contribute to precipitation at distant places. With ongoing climate change the relationship between water vapour sources and sinks is under constant evolution and plays an important role for water budget assessments. This study analysed monthly integrated and event-based precipitation samples from two field sites in the Western Pamir Mountains (Tajikistan) for stable isotope compositions of oxygen (δ18O) and hydrogen (δ2H) of water. The aim was to investigate water vapour sources and, in particular, to evaluate contributions of water vapour from the Mediterranean region. The latter has been often postulated as a potential moisture source region for Central Asia. Deuterium excess values (d), that serve as a fingerprint of moisture origin, were below 13‰ in monthly integrated samples, for most of the year. This indicates a smaller contribution of high Mediterranean moisture (∼20‰) to the Western Pamir Mountains than originally expected. A maximum d value of 19‰ was observed in March, which is not in agreement with the common observation of increased Mediterranean contribution during winter (DJF). A Lagrangian backward trajectory model (HYSPLIT) was applied to infer the general air mass origin for sampled precipitation events. A maximum contribution of ‘western’ moisture of 40% was also detected in March, while 40%–60% of moisture that contributed to precipitation events in winter was transported by trajectories that originated from the Northern Indian Ocean. |
topic |
deuterium excess mediterranean moisture sources western pamir stable isotopes |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16000889.2019.1601987 |
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