Isotope hydrology : a study of the water cycle / Joel R. Gat.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gat, Joel, 1926-

Contributor:

Class of 1891 Department of Arts Fund.

Series:

Series on environmental science and management ; 6.

Series on environmental science and management ; 66.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Radioisotopes in hydrology.

Hydrologic cycle.

Stable isotopes.

Physical Description:

vii, 189 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

London : : Imperial College Press, [2010]

Summary:

Within the realm of the newly evolving discipline of environmental sciences, the stable-isotope methodology is being used to an ever-increasing extent, especially in the study of the water cycle and of paleo-climatology. This book introduces the rules of the game, by reviewing the natural variability of stable isotopes in the hydrosphere, describing the physico-chemical basis of isotope fractionation, and applying this knowledge to natural waters as they move through the hydrologic cycle from the ocean to the atmosphere, the biosphere and the lithosphere. There is a special focus on the processes at the land-biosphere-atmosphere interfaces, since these arc the sites of major changes in isotope composition. In response to the increasing awareness of our changing climate, a discussion on the global view of the changing water cycle, in the past and future, winds up the presentation. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 The Hydrosphere - An Overview 1

2 The Isotopes of Hydrogen and Oxygen 9

2.1 Measurement techniques 11

2.2 The natural abundance of isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen 19

3 Isotope Fractionation 22

3.1 Isotope fractionation under equilibrium conditions (Thermodynamic fractionation processes) 23

3.2 Isotope fractionation accompanying transport processes 26

4 Models of Isotopic Change in the Water Cycle 28

4.1 Closed equilibrium system 28

4.2 Open equilibrium systems-the Rayleigh Equation 29

4.2.1 Systems without inflow 30

4.2.2 Systems with both in- and outflow 30

4.3 Evaporation under natural conditions 32

4.3.1 Isotope composition of the evaporation flux-8E 36

4.3.2 Postscript 37

4.4 The "Isotope Transfer Function" (ITF) 37

5 The Ocean System and the Marine Atmosphere 39

5.1 Isotope composition of the ocean waters 39

5.2 Water in the marine atmosphere 42

5.2.1 Isotopic composition of marine vapour 42

5.2.2 Precipitation over the oceans 47

6 Clouds and Precipitation 51

6.1 The isotopic composition of the precipitation 52

6.1.1 Snow, hail and other solid phase precipitation 57

6.1.2 Precipitation over the continents 58

6.1.3 The Local Meteoric Water Lines (LMWL) 63

6.2 The isotope composition of the atmospheric moisture 65

7 Snow and Snowmelt Processes 67

7.1 Solid precipitation elements 67

7.2 Snow accumulation and changes in the snowpack 68

7.3 The snowmelt process 69

8 The Land-Biosphere-Atmosphere Interface 70

8.1 Isotope change in the land-biosphere-atmosphere interface. 71

8.1.1 Above-surface processes 75

8.1.2 Local surface runoff 78

8.1.3 The local percolation flux 79

9 Surface Waters 81

9.1 The surface runoff 81

9.2 Isotopic hydrograph separation 82

9.3 River systems and the "Isotopic River Continuum Model" 83

9.4 Open waters (ponds to lakes) 86

9.4.1 The Index-Lake concept 93

9.4.2 Vertical mixing in lakes 94

9.4.3 Ice covered lakes 96

9.4.4 Lakes without surface outflow 99

9.5 Coupled and complex evaporative systems 100

10 Water in Soils and Plants 106

10.1 Infiltration, percolation and interflow 106

10.2 Evaporation from within the soil 109

10.2.1 The soil-mediated recharge flux 112

10.3 Water uptake by plants 112

10.4 Water in the plant tissues 116

11 Saline Waters 122

11.1 Sources of salinity in the hydrologic cycle 124

11.2 Salinisation mechanisms and their isotopic signature 127

11.2.1 Evaporation of saline waters 129

11.2.2 Freezing of saline solutions 130

11.2.3 Ultrafiltration 131

12 Sub-Surface Waters 132

12.1 Circulating (meteoric) groundwater 133

12.2 Paleowaters 134

12.3 Geothermal systems 138

12.4 Formation water 140

13 The Continental Scale Water Balance and Its Isotopic Signature 144

13.1 Water isotopes on the continental lee-side 150

13.2 Isotope aided GCMs 150

14 Isotopes and Climate Change 152

14.1 Oxygen and Hydrogen isotope composition of proxy materials as tools in paleo-climate research 152

14.1.1 Glaciers 154

14.1.2 Ocean and lake sediments 155

14.2 Effect of climate change on the isotope signature in the hydrologic cycle 156.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Class of 1891 Department of Arts Fund.

ISBN:

9781860940354

1860940358

OCLC:

535526402