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Evaluating the water balance of inland seas using isotopic tracers: the Caspian Sea experience
Author(s) -
Froehlich K
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
hydrological processes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.222
H-Index - 161
eISSN - 1099-1085
pISSN - 0885-6087
DOI - 10.1002/1099-1085(20000615)14:8<1371::aid-hyp141>3.0.co;2-t
Subject(s) - evaporation , environmental science , isotope , hydrology (agriculture) , stable isotope ratio , deuterium , surface water , isotope analysis , seawater , geology , oceanography , meteorology , environmental engineering , geography , physics , geotechnical engineering , quantum mechanics
Natural variations of the stable isotopes oxygen‐18 and deuterium in lakes and seas can be used in studies of their hydrological regime and hydroclimatic changes of their environment, as demonstrated by recent Caspian Sea isotopic investigations. Practical applications of this technique are often hampered by difficulties inherent in the determination of parameters defining the isotopic enrichment during the evaporation of the lake/sea surface water. Conventional evaporation pan experiments carried out to estimate these parameters often fail to arrive at sufficiently accurate values. A new approach in evaluating drying evaporation pan experiments is presented here based on the determination of the initial slope of the curves describing the enrichment of the heavy isotopes in the evaporation pan. This approach in connection with the use of ‘in‐lake’ evaporation pans can lead to a substantial reduction of uncertainties of isotope‐based lake investigations. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.