Water isotope characteristics of landfalling atmospheric rivers in California

Abstract:

Atmospheric rivers (ARs) are a defining feature of mid-latitude water vapor transport, responsible for 30-50% of the precipitation delivered to the western US on an annual basis. Despite the growing number of intra-event stable isotope studies, water isotope time series has only been examined for a single AR event to date. Here, we present hourly oxygen and hydrogen isotopes in precipitation for two AR events: 1) A December 10-12 event, collected in Santa Clara, CA; and 2) Four precipitation time series collected during the February 6-8 AR event in Cazadero, CA. During the December event, δ¹⁸O values decrease steadily from ~ -2 to ~ -20 ‰, with the exception of the 6 hours leading to the passage of the cold front at the surface. During this period, d-excess values decreases by 10-15 ‰, consistent with a transition between multiple moisture sources. Three of four February precipitation events exhibit V-shapes of up to 6 ‰ in δ¹⁸O values. Such patterns have been observed in a prior AR event as well as other mid-latitude cyclones, and may reflect changes in post-condensation exchange related to cold front passage. Future work will incorporate additional meteorological in-situ and satellite-derived observations in order to gain insight into the atmospheric river dynamics.