Hydrology and Earth System Sciences www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net 1027-5606 1607-7938 11 2 2007 10.5194/hess-11-785-2007 http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/11/785/2007/ http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/11/785/2007/hess-11-785-2007.html http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/11/785/2007/hess-11-785-2007.pdf 785 791 2007-01-26 Footprints of climate in groundwater and precipitation A. Liebminger a.liebminger@tele2.at G. Haberhauer W. Papesch G. Heiss Biogenetics – Natural Resources, Austrian Research Centers Seibersdorf, A-2444 Seibersdorf, Austria In the last decades, the ¹⁸O/¹⁶O signature of meteoric water became a key tracer intensively used both in hydrology and in paleoclimatology, based primarily on the correlation of the ¹⁸O/¹⁶O ratio in precipitation with temperature. This correlation with temperature is generally well understood as a result of Rayleigh processes of atmospheric vapour during the formation of precipitation. The resulting isotopic signals in precipitation are also transferred into the groundwater body since the isotopic composition of groundwater is determined by the precipitation infiltrating into the ground. However, the whole variability of the ¹⁸O/¹⁶O ratio especially in temporal data series of precipitation and groundwater can not be explained with temperature alone. Here we show that certain interactions between different climate induced changes in local parameters prevailing during precipitation events are able to explain a significant part of the observed deviation. These effects are superimposed by an overall isotopic pattern representing the large scale climate input primarily based on temperature. The intense variability of isotopes due to the particular topography of Austria recorded over a time period of 40 years provides an unique possibility to uncover this hidden information contributed by relative humidity and type of precipitation. Since there is a growing need to predict the variation of climate together with its associated potential hazards like floods and dry periods the results of this work are contributing to a better overall understanding of the complex interaction of climate with the corresponding water cycle. Auer, I., Böhm, R., and Schöner, W.: Austrian long-term Climate 1767–2000, Österr. Beiträge zu Meteorologie und Geophysik, Heft 25. Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics, Vienna, 2001. Auer, I., Böhm, R., Jurkovic, A., Lipa, W., Orlik, A., Potzmann, R., Schöner, W., Ungersböck, M., Matulla, C., Briffa, K., Jones, P., Efthymiadis, D., Bruntetti, M., Nanni, T., Maugeri, M., Mercalli, L., Mestre, O., Moisselin, J. M., Begert, M., Müllerwestermeier, G., Kveton, V., Bochnicek, O., Stastny, P., Lapin, M., Szalai, S., Szentimrey, T., Cegnar, T., Dolinar, M., Gajic-Capka, M., Zaninovic, K., Majstorovic, Z., Nieplov, E.: HISTALP – Historical Instrumental Climatological Surface Time Series of the Greater Alpine Region 1760–2003, Intern. J. Climat., 27(1), 17–46, 2007. Clark, I. and Fritz, P.: Environmental Isotopes in Hydrogeology, Lewis Publishers, New York, pp. 328, 1997. Dansgaard, W.: Stable isotopes in precipitation, Tellus, 16, 436–468, 1964. Edwards, T. W. D. and Wolfe, B. B.: Influence of Changing Atmospheric Circulation on Precipitation $\delta ^18$O – Temperature Relations in Canada during the Holocene, \textitQuarterny Research, 46, 211–218, 1996. Formayer, H., Eitzinger, S., Nefzger, H., Simic, S., Kromp-Kolb, H. Auswirkungen einer Klimaveränderung in Österreich: Was aus bisherigen Untersuchungen ableitbar ist, Report (Institut für Meteorologie und Physik Universität für Bodenkultur); http://www.accc.gv.at/pdf/global2000.pdf, 2001. Grabczak, J., Maloszewski, P., Rozanski, K., and Zuber, A.: Estimation of the tritium input function with the aid of stable isotopes, Catena, 11, 105–144, 1984. Huntington,~T. G., Hodgkins,~G. A., Keim,~B. D., and Dudley,~R. W.: Changes in the Proportion of Precipitation Occurring as Snow in New England (1949–2000), J. Climate, 17, 2626–2636, 2004. Hurrell, J. W., Kushnir, Y., Ottersen, G., and Visbeck, M.: An Overview of the North Atlantic Oscillation, in: The North Atlantic Oscillation: climatic signifcance and environmental impact, edited by: Hurrell, J. W., Kushnir, Y., Ottersen, G., and Visbeck, M., Geophys. Monograph, 134, 1–35, 2003. Jouzel, J., Koster, R. D., Hoffmann, G., and Armengaud, A.: Model evaluations of the water isotope-climate relationships used in reconstructing paleotemperatures, Proc. Int. Symp. on Isotope Techniques in the Study of Environmental Change. Proceedings of a Symposium, Vienna, IAEA-SM 349/34P, IAEA-Keynote address, 485–502, 1997. Liebminger, A., Haberhauer, G., Papesch, W., and Heiss G.: Correlation of the isotopic Composition in Precipitation with local Conditions in alpine Regions, J. Geophys. Res., 11, D05104, doi:10.1029/2005JD006258, 2006a. Liebminger, A., Haberhauer, Varmuza, K. G., Papesch, W., and Heiss, G.: Modeling the Oxygen 18 Concentration in Precipitation~with Ambient~Climatic and Geographic Parameters, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L05808, doi:10.1029/2005GL025049, 2006b. Maloszewski, P. and Zuber, A.: Lumped Parameter Models for the Interpretation of Environmental Tracer Data, Manual on Mathematical Models in Isotope Hydrology. International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria, 9–58, 1996. McGuire, K. J., DeWalle, D. R., and Gburek, W. J.: Evaluation of mean residence time in subsurface waters using oxygen-18 fluctuations during drought conditions in the mid-Appalachians, J. Hydrol., 261, 132–149, 2002. Noone, D. and Simmonds, I.: Associations between $\delta ^18$O of Water and Climate Parameters in a Simulation of Atmospheric Circulation for 1979–95, J. Climate, 15, 3150–3169, 2002. Schöner, W.: The 2004-08 release of the HISTALP precipitation dataset in grid mode 1, Internal project working paper of EC-project ALP-IMP, Available on demand via the project website http://www.zamg.ac.at/ALP-IMP, 2004. Siegenthaler, U. and Oeschger, H.: Correlation of $^18$O in precipitation with temperature and altitude, Nature, 285, 314–317, 1980.