Precipitation δ 18O at Yushu, eastern Tibetan Plateau, shows strong fluctuation and lack of clear seasonality. The seasonal pattern of precipitation stable isotope at Yushu is apparently different from either that of the southwest monsoon region to the south or that of the inland region to the north. This different seasonal pattern probably reflects the shift of different moisture sources. In this paper, we present the spatial comparison of the seasonal patterns of precipitation δ 18O, and calculate the moisture transport flux by using the NCAR/NCEP reanalysis data. This allows us to discuss the relation between moisture transport flux and precipitation δ 18O. This study shows that both the southwest monsoon from south and inland air mass transport from north affected the seasonal precipitation δ 18O at Yushu, eastern Tibetan Plateau. Southwest monsoon brings the main part of the moisture, but southwest transport flux is weaker than in the southern part of the Tibetan Plateau. However, contribution of the inland moisture from north or local evaporation moisture is enhanced. The combined effect is the strong fluctuation of summer precipitation δ 18O at Yushu and comparatively poor seasonality.
As a major alkaline gas in the atmosphere, ammonia (NH3) plays an important role in atmospheric chemistry. However, there is little knowledge about NH3 variations in the Central Asia. Here we ana- lyzed the ammonium (NH+4) history recorded in an ice core from the East Pamir in Central Asia, which was drilled on the Mt. Muztagata at the elevation of 7010 m a.s.l. in 2003. The core was carefully dated and NH4+ concentration history during 1907―2002 was reconstructed. The result shows that NH4+ con- centration remained approximately constant until the 1930s after a sudden decrease at the very begin- ning of the 20th century, followed by a minimum in 1940 before increasing steadily to the peak at the end of 1990s. It is found that the annual mean NH4+ concentration was strongly associated with the Northern Hemisphere temperature, suggesting the impact of temperature on NH3 emissions in the Central Asia. Moreover, an increase of NH+4 concentration after 1940 also reflects the enhancement of NH3 emissions from anthropogenic sources such as fertilizer applications and livestock wastes in the 20th century.
The total activity variation with depth from a 41.6 m Muztagata ice core drilled at 7010 m, recorded not only the 1963 radioactive layer due to the thermonuclear test, but also clearly the radioactive peak released by the Chernobyl accident in 1986. This finding indicates that the Chernobyl nuclear accident was clearly recorded in alpine glaciers in the Pamirs of west China, and the layer can be potentially used for ice core dating in other high alpine glaciers in the surrounding regions.
The δ 18O variation in precipitation acquired from 28 stations within the network of Tibetan Observation and Research Platform(TORP)is studied, with the focus on the altitude effect of δ 18O in river water during monsoon precipitation in an effort to understand the monsoon influence on isotopic composition in annual river water. It is found that δ 18O in precipitation on the Plateau is influenced by different moisture sources, with significant Indian monsoon influence on δ 18O composition in plateau precipitation and river water. The δ 18O of water bodies in the monsoon domain is generally more depleted than that in the westerly domain, suggesting gradual rainout of southwesterly borne marine moisture in the course of long-distance transportation and lifting over the Himalayas. The lapse rate of δ 18O in river water with altitude is the largest during monsoon precipitation, due to the increased temperature vertical gradient over the southern Plateau region controlled by monsoon circulation. The combination of δ 18O in river water in monsoon (wet) and non-monsoon (dry) seasons shows a larger lapse rate than that in non-monsoon (dry) season alone. As the altitude effect of δ 18O in precipitation and river water on the Tibetan Plateau results from the combined effect of monsoon moisture supply and westerly moisture supply, the δ 18O composition and its altitude effect on the Plateau during monsoon seasons should be considered in the reconstruction of paleoelevation of the Tibetan Plateau.
YAO TanDong1,2, ZHOU Hang1,3 & YANG XiaoXin1,3 1 Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
Seasonal δ 18O variation in water on the southeast Tibetan Plateau has been studied, showing the consistent variation pattern of δ 18O with altitude indicative of relevant atmospheric circulation processes. Study shows a similar variation pattern of fixed-site river water δ 18O with that of the precipitation δ 18O in southeast Tibet. δ 18O in regional rivers in southeast Tibet demonstrates a gradual depletion with increasing altitude, though the rates vary seasonally. The most depleted river 18O occurs during the monsoon period, with the lowest δ 18O/altitude lapse rate. The river 18O during the westerly period is also depleted, together with low δ 18O/altitude lapse rate. The pre-monsoon rivers witness the most enriched 18O with least significant correlation coefficient with the linear regression, whilst the postmonsoon rivers witness the largest δ 18O/altitude lapse rate. Different coherence of seasonal δ 18O variation with the altitude effect is attributed to different moisture supplies. Though sampling numbers vary with seasons, the δ 18O-H linear correlation coefficients all reach the 0.05 confidence level, thus witnessing the variation features of δ 18O in seasonal river water due to the influence of atmospheric general circulation and land surface processes revealed from the altitudinal lapse rates.
YANG XiaoXinXU BaiQingYANG WeiQU DongMeiLIN Ping-Nan
