Effect of Moisture Sources on the Isotopic Composition of Precipitation in Northwest China

Stable isotopes (18O/16O and 2H/1H) are fingerprints of water molecules thus can be used to gain insight on circulation. Especially, the factors controlling isotopic composition precipitation should identified because they act as baseline determinants variations surface groundwater. Here, using HYSPLIT model, we attribute observed isotope different moisture sources characterize meteoric in Northwest China. Results show that westerlies play a dominant role across region throughout year, while other only affect some parts during specific season, i.e., Arctic airflow affects Altay Mountains far Middle Tianshan Mountains; East Asia Monsoon east 100° E longitude summer; summer rainfall local origin may contribute budget basin areas. Given China, line (NWMWL) δ2H = 6.8δ18O − 1.6 is observed. Our findings not provide valuable insights into mechanism fractionation China but also better understanding regional climate hydrological studies.