Linkage between precipitation isotopes and water vapor sources in the monsoon margin: Evidence from arid areas of Northwest China

Abstract

The isotope composition in precipitation has been widely considered as a tracer of monsoon activity. Compared with the coastal region, the monsoon margin usually has limited precipitation with large fluctuation and is usually sensitive to climate change. The water resource management in the monsoon margin should be better planned by understanding the composition of precipitation isotope and its influencing factors. In this study, the precipitation samples were collected at five sampling sites (Baiyin City, Kongtong District, Maqu County, Wudu District, and Yinchuan City) of the monsoon margin in the northwest of China in 2022 to analyze the characteristics of stable hydrogen (δD) and oxygen (δ¹⁸O) isotopes. We analyzed the impact of meteorological factors (temperature, precipitation, and relative humidity) on the composition of precipitation isotope at daily level by regression analysis, utilized the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT)-based backward trajectory model to simulate the air mass trajectory of precipitation events, and adopted the potential source contribution function (PSCF) and concentration weighted trajectory (CWT) to analyze the water vapor sources. The results showed that compared with the global meteoric water line (GMWL), the slope of the local meteoric water line (LMWL; δD=7.34δ¹⁸O−1.16) was lower, indicating the existence of strong regional evaporation in the study area. Temperature significantly contributed to δ¹⁸O value, while relative humidity had a significant negative effect on δ¹⁸O value. Through the backward trajectory analysis, we found eight primary locations that were responsible for the water vapor sources of precipitation in the study area, of which moisture from the Indian Ocean to South China Sea (ITSC) and the western continental (CW) had the greatest influence on precipitation in the study area. The hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in precipitation are significantly influenced by the sources and transportation paths of air mass. In addition, the results of PSCF and CWT analysis showed that the water vapor source areas were primarily distributed in the south and northwest direction of the study area.