Open AccessPossible changes of δ 18 O in precipitation caused by a meltwater event in the North Atlantic
Author(s) -
Werner Martin,
Mikolajewicz Uwe,
Hoffmann Georg,
Heimann Martin
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/1999jd901196
Subject(s) - meltwater , northern hemisphere , precipitation , geology , stable isotope ratio , climatology , isotope , atmosphere (unit) , atmospheric sciences , oceanography , environmental science , glacial period , meteorology , geomorphology , physics , quantum mechanics
The Hamburg atmosphere general circulation model ECHAM‐4 is used to investigate how a meltwater event in the North Atlantic might alter the signal of stable water isotopes (H 2 18 O, HDO) in precipitation. Our results show that such a meltwater event will cause significant changes in the isotopic composition of the precipitation over many parts of the Northern Hemisphere, but also in the tropical Atlantic region. Model simulations suggest that for such a scenario isotope anomalies are not only related to temperature changes, but also to changes in the seasonality of precipitation or the precipitation amount. A changed isotopic composition of evaporating ocean surface waters (caused by a massive meltwater input into the North Atlantic) causes temperature‐independent isotope anomalies, too. Changes of the deuterium excess are even more affected by the imposed oceanic isotope anomaly due to the nonlinearity of the evaporation process.