Abstract

Various climatic and geographic parameters influence precipitation in Iran, which makes the interpretation of stable isotope signatures in precipitation very complicated. Thus, precipitation sampling stations for stable isotope analyses in Iran have been classified by cluster analysis (CA) into 10 clusters, based on their stable isotope characteristics. The classification of stations by CA also has a close correlation with the Koppen climatic zones across Iran. Finally, the stations in each cluster were plotted on the GMWL and EMMWL. This study shows that classifying precipitation sampling stations can simplify the interpretation of stable isotopes in the precipitation of regions with complicated climatic systems.

Highlights

  • Iran is a semi-arid and arid country in the Middle East that has historically faced water shortage crises

  • This study shows that stable isotope signatures in precipitation across Iran are significantly under the influence of the climatic conditions of the sampling stations, as well as precipitation moisture source regions

  • Using cluster analysis (CA), the studied stations were classified into 10 clusters according to the stable isotope characteristics of precipitation

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Summary

Introduction

Iran is a semi-arid and arid country in the Middle East that has historically faced water shortage crises. The annual precipitation in Iran is low (341 mm) [1], this amount of precipitation is unevenly distributed across the country. Mainly its western parts, the amount of annual precipitation is more than. 1800 mm, while the precipitation notably decreases to less than 100 mm in the central part of Iran [1]. The dominant moisture sources and air masses causing precipitation show large variations across Iran. April), cP (continental polar), cT (continental tropical), mP (maritime polar), and MedT air masses influence Iran. During the dry and hot period (May to October), a mT (maritime tropical) air mass influences this country [1–3]. The cP air mass mainly transfers the moisture from the Caspian Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and to the lesser extent the Black

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