Open AccessOxygen isotopes improve weather predictability in Niger
Author(s) -
Schultz Colin
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/2012eo260019
Subject(s) - precipitation , isotopes of oxygen , δ18o , environmental science , stable isotope ratio , climatology , oxygen , predictability , water vapor , oxygen isotope ratio cycle , atmospheric sciences , chemistry , meteorology , geology , geography , physics , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , nuclear chemistry
For the African nation of Niger, the effect of seasonal atmospheric variability on the weather is poorly understood. Because most residents rely on local agriculture, improving the predictability of seasonal weather and precipitation availability is crucial. In summer 2006, researchers measured the oxygen isotope ratio of rainwater collected in the nation's capital, Niamey, to determine the connection between intraseasonal atmospheric variability and precipitation. Water containing the heavier oxygen‐18 isotope rains preferentially over the lighter oxygen‐16 version, lighter water evaporates preferentially over the heavier molecule, and the oxygen isotope ratio decreases from the equator to the poles. Thus, the oxygen isotope ratio found in a water sample can indicate the water's history. Previous research found that precipitation oxygen isotope ratios could be used to understand convective processes, but to develop a more nuanced and continuous interpretation researchers need to understand the seasonal shifts in the background atmospheric water vapor ratio.