Characteristics of Hydrogen–Oxygen Isotopes and Water Vapor Sources of Different Waters in the Ili Kashi River Basin

Abstract

The Ili Kashi River Basin is an area with relatively abundant precipitation within the arid region of Northwest China. Using water samples from atmospheric precipitation, surface water, groundwater, and snow meltwater in the basin from July 2018 to June 2021, the isotope characteristics of the different water bodies in the study area were determined from the perspectives of altitude, season, and interannual changes. Combined with the meteorological data on precipitation and the HYSPLIT model, the water vapor sources of atmospheric precipitation in the Ili Kashi River Basin were tracked and analyzed. Studying the hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopes in the different water bodies in this area can provide substantial scientific support for the generation, development, and change processes of river water resources in Northwest China, and has practical significance for the utilization of water resources. The results derived are as follows. (1) Hydrogen–oxygen isotope changes in the Ili Kashi River Basin were broadly characterized by a continuous enrichment from low-to-high elevations in the summer to a maximum value, followed by gradual depletion, whereas the changes in δ18O and δD were reversed in autumn. (2) The river water values of δD and δ18O fluctuated between −107.15‰ and −68.13‰ and between −18.53‰ and −9.66‰, respectively, during the study period. (3) The variation in δ18O and δD in the precipitation was consistent, showing characteristics of summer enrichment and winter dilution, and the precipitation line equation is δD = 7.30δ18O + 9.29. (4) In autumn and winter, the groundwater δD and δ18O values fluctuated between −99.87‰ and −84.95‰ and between −15.50‰ and −10.38‰, respectively; during spring and summer, the δD and δ18O values varied from −99.27‰ to −87.07‰ and from −15.15‰ to −12.00‰, respectively. The hydrogen–oxygen stable isotope value of the ice–snow meltwater in autumn was higher than that in summer. (5) On the basis of the d-excess variation in each precipitation event over the 3 years and an analysis of the water vapor sources using the HPSPLIT backward trajectory tracking model, the source of water vapor in the study area is primarily the surrounding land water vapor, with the Atlantic Ocean being the main contributor of oceanic water vapor.