Top

Environmental Earth Sciences

Published in:

01-06-2014 | Original Article

Stable isotopic composition of precipitation in the River Bhagirathi Basin and identification of source vapour

Authors: S. P. Rai, P. Purushothaman, B. Kumar, Noble Jacob, Y. S. Rawat

Published in: Environmental Earth Sciences | Issue 11/2014

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config

AI-assisted search

Off

Abstract

River Ganges one of important rivers in the northern part of India receives water from two of its tributaries, Alaknanda and Bhagirathi. In this present study, we have tried to characterise the precipitation in the Bhagirathi River Basin. The study shows that isotopic composition of precipitation shows depleted nature during monsoon period due to moisture source from the oceanic region and from African region of Indian Ocean and enriched isotopic composition during non-monsoon period due to moisture source from westerlies and local evaporation. The study also shows that temperature and amount show expected positive and negative relationship with individual locations. A positive relationship is exhibited by amount for the entire region due to depleted isotopic composition with increase in altitude. The altitude effect shows that there is a depletion of up to −0.24 to −0.29 ‰ of isotopic composition with an increase in 100 m of elevation.

previous article Geochemical study of pottery sherds from an archaeological site near Mošnje (Slovenia)

next article Application of a hydrometeorological model chain to investigate the effect of global boundaries and downscaling on simulated river discharge

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

über 102.000 Bücher
über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

Automobil + Motoren
Bauwesen + Immobilien
Business IT + Informatik
Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
Finance + Banking
Management + Führung
Marketing + Vertrieb
Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

über 67.000 Bücher
über 390 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

Automobil + Motoren
Bauwesen + Immobilien
Business IT + Informatik
Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Andreo B, Linan C, Carrasco F, de Cisneros CJ, Caballero F, Mudry F (2004) Influence of rainfall quantity on the isotopic composition (¹⁸O and ²H) of water in mountainous areas: application for groundwater research in the Yunquera–Nieves karst aquifers (S Spain). Appl Geochem 19:561–574CrossRef

Araguas–Araguas L, Froehlich K, Rozanski K (2000) Deuterium and oxygen-18 isotope composition of precipitation and atmospheric moisture. Hydrol Process 14:1341–1355CrossRef

Aravena R, Suzuki O, Pefia H, Pollastri A, Fuenzalida H, Grilli A (1999) Isotopic composition and origin of the precipitation in Northern Chile. Appl Geochem 14:411M22CrossRef

Bhattacharya SK, Froehlich K, Aggrawal PK, Kulkarni KM (2003) Isotope variation in Indian monsoon precipitation: records from Bombay and New Delhi. Geophys Res Lett 30:2285. doi:10.1029/2003GL018453 CrossRef

Bowen GJ (2008) Spatial analysis of the intra-annual variation of precipitation isotope ratios and its climatological corollaries. J Geophys Res 113:D05113. doi:10.1029/2007JD009295

Bowen GJ et al (2005) Global application of stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopes to wildlife forensics. Oecologia 143:337–348CrossRef

Bowen GJ, Wilkinson B (2002) Spatial distribution of δ ¹⁸O in meteoric precipitation. Geol 30:315–318CrossRef

Breitenbach SFM, Adkins JF, Meyer H, Marwan N, Kumar KK, Haug GH (2010) Strong influence of water vapor source dynamics on stable isotopes in precipitation observed in Southern Meghalaya, NE India. Earth Planet Sci Lett 292:212–220CrossRef

Brenninkmeijer CAM, Morrison PD (1987) An automated system for isotopic equilibration of CO₂ and H₂O for ¹⁸O analysis of water. Chem Geol 66:21–26

Chakrapani GJ, Saini RK (2009) Influence of monsoon on the variations in water discharge and sediment load in the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers in Himalayas, India. J Asian Earth Sci 35:545–553CrossRef

Chakrapani GJ, Saini RK, Yadav SK (2009) Chemical weathering rates in the Alaknanda–Bhagirathi river basins in Himalayas, India. J Asian Earth Sci 34:347–362CrossRef

Chidambaram S, Prasanna MV, Ramanathan AL, Vasu K, Hameed S, Warrier UK, Srinivasamoorthy K, Manivannan R, Tirumalesh K, Anandhan P, Johnsonbabu G (2009) A study on the factors affecting the stable isotopic composition in precipitation of Tamil Nadu, India. Hydrol Process 23:1792–1800CrossRef

Clark ID, Fritz P (1997) Environmental isotopes in hydrogeology. Lewis, Boca Raton, p 328

Craig H (1961) Standard for reporting concentrations of deuterium and Oxygen-18 in natural water. Science 133:1833–1834CrossRef

Dalai TK, Bhattacharya SK, Krishnaswami S (2002) Stable isotopes in the source waters of the Yamuna and its tributaries: seasonal and altitudinal variations and relation to major cations. Hydrol Process 16:3345–3364CrossRef

Dansgaard W (1964) Stable isotopes in precipitation. Tellus 16:436–468CrossRef

Das PK (2005) The Monsoons. National Book Trust of India, New Delhi

Datta PS, Tyagi SK, Chandrasekharan H (1991) Factors controlling stable isotopic composition of rainfall in New Delhi, India. J Hydrol 128:223–236CrossRef

Epstein S, Mayeda T (1953) Variations of the ¹⁸O/¹⁶O ratio in natural waters. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 4:213–224CrossRef

Ersek V, Mix AC, Clark PU (2010) Variations of δ ¹⁸O in rainwater from southwestern Oregon. J Geophys Res 115:D09109. doi:10.1029/2009JD013345

Froehlich K, Gibson JJ, Aggarwal PK (2002) Deuterium excess in precipitation and its climatological significance. In: Study of environmental change using isotope techniques. Vienna, International Atomic Energy Agency, 54–65

Gimeno L, Drumond A, Nieto R, trigo RM, Stohl A (2010) On the origin of continental precipitation. Geophys Res Lett 37:L13804CrossRef

Gourcy LL, Groening M, Aggarwal PK (2005) Stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopes in precipitation. In: Aggarwal PK, Gat JR, Froehlich KFO (eds) Isotopes in the water cycle: past, present and future of a developing science, pp 39-51

Guan H, Simmons CT, Love AJ (2009) Orographic controls on rain water isotope distribution in the Mount Lofty Ranges of South Australia. J Hydrol 374:255–264CrossRef

Gupta SK, Deshpande RD (2003) Synoptic hydrology of India from the data of isotopes in precipitation. Curr Sci 85:1591–1595

Kang S, Kreutz KJ, Mayewski PA, Qin D, Yao T (2002) Stable- isotope composition of precipitation over the northern slope of the central Himalaya. J Glaciol 48:519–526CrossRef

Kumar B, Athavale RN, Sahay KSN (1982) Stable isotope geohydrology of the Lower Maner Basin, Andhra Pradesh, India. J Hydrol 59:315–330CrossRef

Kumar B, Rai SP, Saravana Kumar U, Verma SK, Garg P, Vijaya Kumar SV, Jaiswal R, Purendra BK, Kumar SR, Pande NG (2010) Isotopic characteristics of Indian precipitation. Water Resour Res 46:W12548

Lawrence JR, Gedzelman SD, Dexheimer D, Cho H-K, Carrie GD, Gasparini R, Anderson CR, Bowman KP, Biggerstaff MI (2004) Stable isotopic composition of water vapor in the tropics. J Geophys Res 109:D06115. doi:10.1029/2003JD004046

Liang X, Liu Y, Wu G (2005) The role of land-sea distribution in the formation of the Asian summer monsoon. Geophys Res Lett 32:L03708

Liu Z, Tian L, Yao T, Gong T, Yin C (2008) Influence of moisture transport on stable isotope in precipitation in Yarlungzangbo River basin. Front Earth Sci China 2:49–57CrossRef

Longinelli A, Anglesio E, Flora O, Iacumin P, Selmo E (2006) Isotopic composition of precipitation in Northern Italy: reverse effect of anomalous climatic events. J Hydrol 329:471–476CrossRef

Lutz A, Thomas JM, Panorska A (2011) Environmental controls on stable isotope precipitation values over Mali and Niger, West Africa. Environ Earth Sci 62:1749–1759CrossRef

Mukherjee TK, Chandrasekharan H (1993) Environmental stable isotopes of rainfall over Delhi and Bombay: some observations. J Nucl Agric Bio 22:34–41

Pande K, Padia JT, Ramesh R, Sharma KK (2000) Stable isotope systematics of surface water bodies in the Himalayan and Trans-Himalayan (Kashmir) region. Earth Planet Sci 109:109–115

Pang H, He Y, Lu A, Zhao J, Ning B, Yuan L, Song B (2006) Synoptic-scale variation of δ ¹⁸O in summer monsoon rainfall at Lijiang, China. China Sci Bull 51:2897–2904CrossRef

Poage MA, Chamberlain CP (2001) Empirical relationships between elevation and the stable isotope composition of precipitation and surface waters: considerations for studies of paleoelevation change. Am J Sci 301:1–15CrossRef

Price RM, Swart PK, Willoughby HE (2008) Seasonal and spatial variation in the stable isotopic composition (δ ¹⁸O and δD) of precipitation in south Florida. J Hydrol 358:193–205CrossRef

Rajan CK (1988) Studies on some characteristics of Indian rainfall. Ph.D. thesis, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin, India

Ramesh R, Sarin MM (1992) Stable isotope study of Ganga (Ganges) river system. J Hydrol 139:49–62CrossRef

Rao YP (1976) Southwest monsoon. Meteorological Monograph, Synoptic Meteorology 1/1976, 367 pp., Indian Meteorological Department Monograph, New Delhi

Risi C, Bony S, Vimeux F (2008) Influence of convective processes on the isotopic composition (δ ¹⁸O and δD) of precipitation and water vapor in the tropics: 2. Physical interpretation of the amount effect. J Geophys Res 113:D19306. doi:10.1029/2008JD009943 CrossRef

Rozanski K, Araguas-Araguas L, Gonfiantini R (1993) Isotopic patterns in modern global precipitation. In: Swart et al (eds) Climate change in continental isotopic records, vol 78. American Geophysical Union, Geophysical Monograph, pp 1–36

Rozanski K, Sonntag C, Munnich KO (1982) Factors controlling stable isotope composition of European precipitation. Tellus 34:142–150CrossRef

Saravana Kumar U, Kumar B, Rai SP, Sharma S (2010) Stable isotope ratios in precipitation and their relationship with meteorological conditions in the Kumaon Himalayas. Indian J Hydrol 391:1–8CrossRef

Sengupta S, Sarkar A (2006) Stable isotope evidence of dual (Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal) vapour sources in monsoonal precipitation over north India. Earth Planet Sci Lett 250:511–521CrossRef

Siegenthaler U, Oeschger H (1980) Correlation of O-18 in precipitation with temperature and altitude. Nature 285:314–317CrossRef

Tian L, Yao T, White JWC, Yu W, Wang N (2005) Westerly moisture transport to the middle of Himalayas revealed from the high deuterium excess. China Sci Bull 50:1026–1030CrossRef

Tian L, Ma L, Yu W, Liu Z, Yin C, Zhao Z, Tang W, Wang Y (2008) Seasonal variations of stable isotope in precipitation and moisture transport at Yushu, eastern Tibetan Plateau. Sci China Ser D-Earth Sci 51:1121–1128CrossRef

van der Ent RJ, Savenije HHG, Schaefli B, Steele-Dunne SC (2010) Origin and fate of atmospheric moisture over continents. Water Resour Res 46:W09525

Vuille M, Bradley RS, Werner M, Healy R, Keimig F (2003) Modeling δ ¹⁸O in precipitation over the tropical Americas: 1 interannual variability and climatic controls. J Geophys Res 108:4174. doi:10.1029/2001JD002038 CrossRef

Warrier CU, Babu MP, Manjula P, Velayudhan KT, Shahul Hameed A, Vasu K (2010) Isotopic characterization of dual monsoon precipitation: evidence from Kerala, India. Curr Sci 98:1487–1495

Welker JM (2000) Isotopic (δ ¹⁸O) characteristics of weekly precipitation collected across the USA: an initial analysis with application to water source studies. Hydrol Process 14:1449–1464CrossRef

Wu J, Ding Y, Ye B, Yang Q, Zhang X, Wang J (2010) Spatio-temporal variation of stable isotopes in precipitation in the Heihe River Basin, Northwestern China. Environ Earth Sci 61:1123–1134CrossRef

Wulf H, Bookhagen B, Scherler D (2010) Seasonal precipitation gradients and their impact on fluvial sediment flux in the Northwest Himalaya. Geomorphology 118:13–21CrossRef

Yadava MG, Ramesh R, Pandarinath K (2007) A positive ‘amount effect’ in the Sahayadri (Western Ghats) rainfall. Curr Sci 93:560–564

Yu W, Yao T, Tian L, Wang Y, Yin C (2005) Isotopic composition of atmospheric water vapour before and after the monsoon’s end in the Nagqu River basin. China Sci Bull 50:2755–2760CrossRef

Yurtsever Y, Gat JR (1981) Atmospheric waters. In: stable isotope hydrology: Deuterium and Oxygen-18 in the water cycle, IAEA, (ed), technical report series no. 210, IAEA, Vienna, 103–142

Zhang X, Liu J, Sun W, Huang Y, Zhang J (2007) Relations between oxygen stavle isotopic ratios in precipitation and relevant meteorological factors in southwest china. Sci China Ser D 50:571–581CrossRef

Title: Stable isotopic composition of precipitation in the River Bhagirathi Basin and identification of source vapour
Authors: S. P. Rai
P. Purushothaman
B. Kumar
Noble Jacob
Y. S. Rawat
Publication date: 01-06-2014
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: Environmental Earth Sciences / Issue 11/2014
Print ISSN: 1866-6280
Electronic ISSN: 1866-6299
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-013-2875-0

Springer Professional

Abstract

Please log in to get access to your license.

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Springer Professional "Technik"

Other articles of this Issue 11/2014

Diagnosis of landslide risk for individual buildings: insights from Prahova Subcarpathians, Romania

Statistical analyses and controls of root-zone soil moisture in a large gully of the Loess Plateau

The occurrence of gypsum in the scaling of stones at the Castle of Chambord (France)

Spatial and seasonal distributions of soil phosphorus in a typical seasonal flooding wetland of the Yellow River Delta, China

Vulnerability, pressures, and protection of karst caves and their speleothems in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Hydrogeochemistry and quality of groundwater of coastal unconfined aquifer in Amol–Ghaemshahr plain, Mazandaran Province, Northern Iran