Modern precipitation δ18O and trajectory analysis over the Himalaya-Tibet Orogen from ECHAM5-wiso simulations

Variations in oxygen isotope ratios (O-18) measured from modern precipitation and geologic archives provide a promising tool for understanding modern and past climate dynamics and tracking elevation changes over geologic time. In areas of extreme topography, such as the Tibetan Plateau, the interpretation of O-18 has proven challenging. This study investigates the climate controls on temporal (daily and 6h intervals) and spatial variations in present-day precipitation O-18 (O-18(p)) across the Tibetan Plateau using a 30year record produced from the European Centre/Hamburg ECHAM5-wiso global atmospheric general circulation model (GCM). Results indicate spatial and temporal agreement between model-predicted O-18(p) and observations. Large daily O-18(p) variations of -25 to +5 occur over the Tibetan Plateau throughout the 30 simulation years, along with interannual O-18(p) variations of similar to 2. Analysis of extreme daily O-18(p) indicates that extreme low values coincide with extreme highs in precipitation amount. During the summer, monsoon vapor transport from the north and southwest of the plateau generally corresponds with high O-18(p), whereas vapor transport from the Indian Ocean corresponds with average to low O-18(p). Thus, vapor source variations are one important cause of the spatial-temporal differences in O-18(p). Comparison of GCM and Rayleigh Distillation Model (RDM)-predicted O-18(p) indicates a modest agreement for the Himalaya region (averaged over 86 degrees-94 degrees E), confirming application of the simpler RDM approach for estimating O-18(p) lapse rates across Himalaya.

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Copyright 2016 American Geophysical Union.
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Author Li, J.
Ehlers, T. A.
Mutz, S. G.
Steger, C.
Paeth, H.
Werner, M.
Poulsen, C. J.
Feng, Ran
Publisher UCAR/NCAR - Library
Publication Date 2016-09-27T00:00:00
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) Not Assigned
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Topic Category geoscientificInformation
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Metadata Date 2025-07-11T20:31:09.303004
Metadata Record Identifier edu.ucar.opensky::articles:18952
Metadata Language eng; USA
Suggested Citation Li, J., Ehlers, T. A., Mutz, S. G., Steger, C., Paeth, H., Werner, M., Poulsen, C. J., Feng, Ran. (2016). Modern precipitation δ18O and trajectory analysis over the Himalaya-Tibet Orogen from ECHAM5-wiso simulations. UCAR/NCAR - Library. https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7fj2jfw. Accessed 02 November 2025.

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