Variability in observed stable water isotopes in snowpack across a mountainous watershed in Colorado

Carroll, Rosemary W. H.; Deems, Jeffery; Maxwell, Reed; Sprenger, Matthias; Brown, Wendy; Newman, Alexander; Beutler, Curtis; Bill, Markus; Hubbard, Susan S.; Williams, Kenneth H.

doi:10.1002/hyp.14653

Variability in observed stable water isotopes in snowpack across a mountainous watershed in Colorado

Journal Article · Tue Jul 26 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · Hydrological Processes

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14653· OSTI ID:1884783

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Desert Research Inst. (DRI), Reno, NV (United States)
National Snow and Ice Data Center, Boulder, CO (United States)
Princeton Univ., NJ (United States)
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Rocky Mountain Biological Lab., Gothic, CO (United States)

In this study, isotopic information from 81 snowpits was collected over a 5-year period in a large, Colorado watershed. Data spans gradients in elevation, aspect, vegetation, and seasonal climate. They are combined with overlapping campaigns for water isotopes in precipitation and snowmelt, and a land-surface model for detailed estimates of snowfall and climate at sample locations. Snowfall isotopic inputs, describe the majority of δ18O snowpack variability. Aspect is a secondary control, with slightly more enriched conditions on east and north facing slopes. This is attributed to preservation of seasonally enriched snowfall and vapour loss in the early winter. Sublimation, expressed by decreases in snowpack d-excess in comparison to snowfall contributions, increases at low elevation and when seasonal temperature and solar radiation are high. At peak snow accumulation, post-depositional fractionation appears to occur in the top 25 ± 14% of the snowpack due to melt-freeze redistribution of lighter isotopes deeper into the snowpack and vapour loss to the atmosphere during intermittent periods of low relative humidity and high windspeed. Relative depth of fractionation increases when winter daytime temperatures are high and winter precipitation is low. Once isothermal, snowpack isotopic homogenization and enrichment was observed with initial snowmelt isotopically depleted in comparison to snowpack and enriching over time. The rate of δ18O increase (d-excess decrease) in snowmelt was 0.02‰ per day per 100-m elevation loss. Isotopic data suggests elevation dictates snowpack and snowmelt evolution by controlling early snow persistence (or absence), isotopic lapse rates in precipitation and the ratio of energy to snow availability. Hydrologic tracer studies using stable water isotopes in basins of large topographic relief will require adjustment for these elevational controls to properly constrain stream water sourcing from snowmelt.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231

OSTI ID:: 1884783

Journal Information:: Hydrological Processes, Journal Name: Hydrological Processes Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 36; ISSN 0885-6087

Publisher:: WileyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Variability in observed stable water isotopes in snowpack across a mountainous watershed in Colorado

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