Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T08:44:07.711Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Hydrogen and oxygen isotope composition of precipitation and stream water on sub-Antarctic Marion Island

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 December 2017

M-J. Stowe ,
Chris Harris ,
David Hedding ,
Frank Eckardt  and
Werner Nel
M-J. Stowe*
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental and Geographical Science, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
Chris Harris
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
David Hedding
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of South Africa, Florida 1710, South Africa
Frank Eckardt
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental and Geographical Science, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
Werner Nel
Affiliation:
Department of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Fort Hare, Alice 5700, South Africa
*
[email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We measured the hydrogen and oxygen isotope composition (δ2H and δ18O) of precipitation and stream water from the Soft Plume River at multiple spatiotemporal scales on sub-Antarctic Marion Island, Indian sector of the Southern Ocean. Monthly precipitation δ2H and δ18O values ranged from -43.7‰ to -14.7‰ and from -7.0‰ to -3.3‰ (n=13), respectively. Stream water values ranged from -48.0‰ to -25.4‰ for δ2H and from -7.6‰ to -4.0‰ for δ18O (n=92). The monthly precipitation data yielded a local meteoric water line with the equation δ2H=8.4δ18O+11.4. There was no clear seasonality in isotope composition present in precipitation and stream water. Along the stream, no significant difference was observed between sites. However, δ2H and δ18O values were lower and more variable at the highest site. This is probably the result of the ‘amount effect’, where more precipitation fell at a higher elevation compared with a downstream site in the catchment. The findings illustrate spatiotemporal patterns in precipitation and stream water isotopes and provide insight into mechanisms affecting their composition on sub-Antarctic Marion Island.

Keywords

amount effectisotope hydrologylocal meteoric water linemaritime island
Type
Biological Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 30 , Issue 2 , April 2018 , pp. 83 - 92
Check for updates
Copyright
© Antarctic Science Ltd 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ambach, W., Dansgaard, W., Eisner, H. & Møller, J. 1968. The altitude effect on the isotopic composition of precipitation and glacier ice in the Alps. Tellus, 20, 595–600.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Amesbury, M.J., Charman, D.J., Newnham, R.M., Loader, N.J., Goodrich, J., Royles, J., Campbell, D.I., Keller, E.D., Baisden, W.T., Roland, T.P. & Gallego-Sala, A.V. 2015. Can oxygen stable isotopes be used to track precipitation moisture source in vascular plant-dominated peatlands? Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 430, 149–159.Google Scholar
Basist, A., Bell, G.D. & Meentemeyer, V. 1994. Statistical relationships between topography and precipitation patterns. Journal of Climate, 7, 1305–1315.Google Scholar
Blake, B.J. 1996. Microclimate and prediction of photosynthesis at Marion Island. M.Sc. thesis, University of the Free State, 1–87. [Unpublished].Google Scholar
Bowen, G.J. 2008. Spatial analysis of the intra‐annual variation of precipitation isotope ratios and its climatological corollaries. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres, 10.1029/2007JD009295. Google Scholar
Coleman, M.L., Shepherd, T.J., Durham, J.J., Rouse, J.E. & Moore, G.R. 1982. Reduction of water with zinc for hydrogen isotope analysis. Analytical Chemistry, 54, 993–995.Google Scholar
Coplen, T.B. 1988. Normalization of oxygen and hydrogen isotope data. Chemical Geology, 72, 293–297.Google Scholar
Craig, H. 1961. Isotopic variations in meteoric waters. Science, 133, 1702–1703.Google Scholar
Crawford, J., Hughes, C.E. & Lykoudis, S. 2014. Alternative least squares methods for determining the meteoric water line, demonstrated using GNIP data. Journal of Hydrology, 519, 2331–2340.Google Scholar
Dansgaard, W. 1964. Stable isotopes in precipitation. Tellus, 16, 436–468.Google Scholar
Dunn, S.M., Bacon, J.R., Soulsby, C., Tetzlaff, D., Stutter, M.I., Waldron, S. & Malcolm, I.A. 2008. Interpretation of homogeneity in δ18O signatures of stream water in a nested sub‐catchment system in north‐east Scotland. Hydrological Processes, 22, 4767–4782.Google Scholar
Dutton, A., Wilkinson, B.H., Welker, J.M., Bowen, G.J. & Lohmann, K.C. 2005. Spatial distribution and seasonal variation in 18O/16O of modern precipitation and river water across the conterminous USA. Hydrological Processes, 19, 4121–4146.Google Scholar
Feng, X., Faiia, A.M. & Posmentier, E.S. 2009. Seasonality of isotopes in precipitation: a global perspective. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres, 10.1029/2008JD011279. Google Scholar
Fischer, B.M., van Meerveld, H.I. & Seibert, J. 2017. Spatial variability in the isotopic composition of rainfall in a small headwater catchment and its effect on hydrograph separation. Journal of Hydrology, 547, 755–769.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grobbelaar, J.U. 1975. The lentic and lotic freshwater types of Marion Island (sub-Antarctic): a limnological study. Verhandlungen Internationale Vereinigung Limnologie, 19, 949–951.Google Scholar
Halder, J., Terzer, S., Wassenaar, L.I., Araguás-Araguás, L.J. & Aggarwal, P.K. 2015. The Global Network of Isotopes in Rivers (GNIR): integration of water isotopes in watershed observation and riverine research. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 19, 3419–3431.Google Scholar
Harris, C., Burgers, C., Miller, J. & Rawoot, F. 2010. O- and H-isotope record of Cape Town rainfall from 1996 to 2008, and its application to recharge studies of Table Mountain groundwater, South Africa. South African Journal of Geology, 113, 33–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hedding, D.W. 2008. Spatial inventory of landforms in the recently exposed central highland of sub-Antarctic Marion Island. South African Geographical Journal, 90, 11–21.Google Scholar
Hughes, C.E. & Crawford, J. 2012. A new precipitation weighted method for determining the meteoric water line for hydrological applications demonstrated using Australian and global GNIP data. Journal of Hydrology, 464, 344–351.Google Scholar
Jones, J.M., Gille, S.T., Goosse, H., Abram, N.J., Canziani, P.O., Charman, D.J., Clem, K.R., Crosta, X., de Lavergne, C., Eisenman, I., England, M.H., Fogt, R.L., Frankcombe, L.M., Marshall, G.J., Masson-Delmotte, V., Morrison, A.K., Orsi, A.J., Raphael, M.N., Renwick, J.A., Schneider, D.P., Simpkins, G.R., Steig, E.J., Stenni, B., Swingedouw, D. & Vance, T.R. 2016. Assessing recent trends in high-latitude Southern Hemisphere surface climate. Nature Climate Change, 6, 917–926.Google Scholar
Kendall, C. & Coplen, T.B. 2001. Distribution of oxygen‐18 and deuterium in river waters across the United States. Hydrological Processes, 15, 1363–1393.Google Scholar
Lachniet, M.S. & Patterson, W.P. 2009. Oxygen isotope values of precipitation and surface waters in northern Central America (Belize and Guatemala) are dominated by temperature and amount effects. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 284, 435–446.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Le Roex, A.P., Chevallier, L., Verwoerd, W.J. & Barends, R. 2012. Petrology and geochemistry of Marion and Prince Edward islands, Southern Ocean: magma chamber processes and source region characteristics. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 223, 11–28.Google Scholar
Le Roux, P.C. & McGeoch, M.A. 2008. Changes in climate extremes, variability and signature on sub-Antarctic Marion Island. Climatic Change, 86, 309–329.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, J.R., Fu, G.B., Song, X.F., Charles, S.P., Zhang, Y.H., Han, D.M. & Wang, S.Q. 2010. Stable isotopic compositions in Australian precipitation. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres, 10.1029/2010jd014403.Google Scholar
Lyons, W.B., Welch, K.A., Welch, S.A., Camacho, A., Rochera, C., Michaud, L., Dewit, R. & Carey, A.E. 2013. Geochemistry of streams from Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island. Antarctic Science, 25, 181–190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Machavaram, M.V., Whittemore, D.O., Conrad, M.E. & Miller, N.L. 2006. Precipitation induced stream flow: an event based chemical and isotopic study of a small stream in the Great Plains region of the USA. Journal of Hydrology, 330, 470–480.Google Scholar
Noone, D. & Simmonds, I. 2002. Annular variations in moisture transport mechanisms and the abundance of δ18O in Antarctic snow. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres, 10.1029/2002jd002262. Google Scholar
Richard, Y., Rouault, M., Pohl, B., Crétat, J., Duclot, I., Taboulot, S., Reason, C.J.C., Macron, C. & Buiron, D. 2013. Temperature changes in the mid‐ and high‐latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere. International Journal of Climatology, 33, 1948–1963.Google Scholar
Rouault, M., Melice, J.-L., Reason, C.J.C. & Lutjeharms, J.R.E. 2005. Climate variability at Marion Island, Southern Ocean, since 1960. Journal of Geophysical Research, 10.1029/2004jc002492. Google Scholar
Rozanski, K., Araguas-Araguas, L. & Gonfiantini, R. 1993. Isotopic patterns in modern global precipitation. In Swart, P.K., McKenzie, K.C.I.J. & Savin, S., eds. Climate change in continental isotopic records. Washington, DC: American Geophysical Union, 1–36.Google Scholar
Schimmelmann, A. & Deniro, M.J. 1993. Preparation of organic and water hydrogen for stable isotope analysis – effects due to reaction vessels and zinc reagent. Analytical Chemistry, 65, 789–792.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Selkirk, P.M. 2007. The nature and importance of the sub-Antarctic. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania, 141, 1–6.Google Scholar
Sieck, L.C., Burges, S.J. & Steiner, M. 2007. Challenges in obtaining reliable measurements of point rainfall. Water Resources Research, 10.1029/2005wr004519. Google Scholar
Socki, R.A., Karlsson, H.R. & Gibson, E.K. 1992. Extraction technique for the determination of oxygen-18 in water using preevacuated glass vials. Analytical Chemistry, 64, 829–831.Google Scholar
Spangenberg, J.E. & Vennemann, T.W. 2008. The stable hydrogen and oxygen isotope variation of water stored in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 22, 672–676.Google Scholar
Thompson, D.W.J. & Wallace, J.M. 2000. Annular modes in the extratropical circulation. Part I: Month-to-month variability. Journal of Climate, 13, 1000–1016.Google Scholar
Treble, P.C., Budd, W.F., Hope, P.K. & Rustomji, P.K. 2005. Synoptic-scale climate patterns associated with rainfall δ18O in southern Australia. Journal of Hydrology, 302, 270–282.Google Scholar
West, A.G., February, E.C. & Bowen, G.J. 2014. Spatial analysis of hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopes (“isoscapes”) in ground water and tap water across South Africa. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 145, 213–222.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Stowe et al supplementary material

Stowe et al supplementary material 1

Download Stowe et al supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 149.1 KB