Precipitation in the mountains of Central Asia: isotopic composition and source regions
Saidaliyeva Z. Shahgedanova M. Yapiyev V. Wade A.J. Akbarov F. Uulu M.E. Kalashnikova O. Kapitsa V. Kasatkin N. Rakhimov I. Satylkanov R. Sayakbaev D. Semakova E. Severskiy I. Petrov M. Umirzakov G. Usubaliev R.
4 November 2024Copernicus Publications
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
2024#24Issue 2112203 - 12224 pp.
Over 900 event-based precipitation samples were collected in 2019–2021 in the Tien Shan and its foothills and analysed using cavity ring-down spectroscopy. δD and δ18O values were highest in summer and lowest in winter, and annual cycles of deuterium excess (d-excess) varied between sites, reflecting local conditions. The δ18O and δD values increased from north to south in all seasons except autumn, and latitude was a statistically significant predictor of δ18O and δD in the overall data set, along with elevation in winter and elevation and longitude in autumn. Elevation was a significant predictor of d-excess in all seasons, and local air temperature was a more important control over δ18O and δD than precipitation depth. Local meteoric water lines were derived using seven regression methods applied to non-weighted and weighted precipitation. Non-weighted ordinary least squares regression and reduced major axis regression methods are recommended overall, except for summer when the precipitation-weighted least squares regression should be used, particularly in the south. Atmospheric back-trajectory and mixing-model analyses were applied in combination to identify air mass source regions and their relative contribution to precipitation. Recycled moisture from irrigated land in the Amu Darya and Syr Darya basins and from the study catchments accounted for 29 %–71 % of precipitation, depending on the site and season. In the Chon Kyzyl-Suu catchment, local re-evaporation from Issyk-Kul accounted for up to 85 % of precipitation. These findings highlight the importance of moisture from terrestrial sources, especially irrigated land, for the formation of precipitation in the Tien Shan.
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Department of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6AB, United Kingdom
School of Mining and Geosciences, Nazarbayev University, Astana, 010000, Kazakhstan
Centre of Glacial Geology, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Tashkent, 100164, Uzbekistan
Central Asian Institute for Applied Geosciences, Bishkek, 720027, Kyrgyzstan
Central Asian Regional Glaciological Centre under the auspices of UNESCO, Almaty, 050010, Kazakhstan
Institute of Water Problems, Hydropower and Ecology, Dushanbe, 734025, Tajikistan
Tien Shan High Mountain Research Center, Bishkek, 720033, Kyrgyzstan
Ulugh Beg Astronomical Institute, Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, 100052, Uzbekistan
National University of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, 100174, Uzbekistan
Hydrometeorological Research Institute, Tashkent, 100052, Uzbekistan
Department of Geography and Environmental Science
School of Mining and Geosciences
Centre of Glacial Geology
Central Asian Institute for Applied Geosciences
Central Asian Regional Glaciological Centre under the auspices of UNESCO
Institute of Water Problems
Tien Shan High Mountain Research Center
Ulugh Beg Astronomical Institute
National University of Uzbekistan
Hydrometeorological Research Institute
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