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High‐frequency field‐deployable isotope analyzer for hydrological applications
Author(s) -
Berman Elena S. F.,
Gupta Manish,
Gabrielli Chris,
Garland Tina,
McDonnell Jeffrey J.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/2009wr008265
Subject(s) - spectrum analyzer , snow , environmental science , precipitation , storm , hydrology (agriculture) , snowflake , sampling (signal processing) , rain and snow mixed , streams , tracer , winter storm , stable isotope ratio , isotope , mixing (physics) , atmospheric sciences , remote sensing , meteorology , geology , engineering , geotechnical engineering , geography , nuclear physics , computer network , physics , filter (signal processing) , quantum mechanics , computer science , electrical engineering
A high‐frequency, field‐deployable liquid water isotope analyzer was developed that is capable of quantifying δ 18 O and δ 2 H to better than ±0.17 and ±0.32‰, respectively, on over 90 samples/d. The instrument was deployed for 4 contiguous weeks in the H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest Long‐term Ecological Research site in western Oregon, where it was used for real‐time measurement of the isotope ratios of precipitation and stream water during three large storm events. We were able to document fine‐scale changes in rainfall composition and damping effects in the stream channel continuously through these periods. We also performed a rain‐on‐snow experiment where we sampled leachate from a melting snow core continuously at 2 min intervals for 5 h. These data show remarkable fine‐scale patterns of internal rain‐snow mixing, patterns that would not have been detected without such high‐frequency sampling. These two preliminary applications show proof of concept of the new field analyzer, a device that will ultimately provide hydrologists with insight into water flow dynamics with unprecedented frequency over long time scales.