Abstract
Abstract. We present here surface water vapor isotopic measurements conducted from June to August 2010 at the NEEM (North Greenland Eemian Drilling Project) camp, NW Greenland (77.45° N, 51.05° W, 2484 m a.s.l.). Measurements were conducted at 9 different heights from 0.1 m to 13.5 m above the snow surface using two different types of cavity-enhanced near-infrared absorption spectroscopy analyzers. For each instrument specific protocols were developed for calibration and drift corrections. The inter-comparison of corrected results from different instruments reveals excellent reproducibility, stability, and precision with a standard deviations of ~ 0.23‰ for δ18O and ~ 1.4‰ for δD. Diurnal and intraseasonal variations show strong relationships between changes in local surface humidity and water vapor isotopic composition, and with local and synoptic weather conditions. This variability probably results from the interplay between local moisture fluxes, linked with firn–air exchanges, boundary layer dynamics, and large-scale moisture advection. Particularly remarkable are several episodes characterized by high (> 40‰) surface water vapor deuterium excess. Air mass back-trajectory calculations from atmospheric analyses and water tagging in the LMDZiso (Laboratory of Meteorology Dynamics Zoom-isotopic) atmospheric model reveal that these events are associated with predominant Arctic air mass origin. The analysis suggests that high deuterium excess levels are a result of strong kinetic fractionation during evaporation at the sea-ice margin.
Highlights
Water stable isotopes from Greenland ice cores provideOcean Science highly resolved, well-dated climate information (e.g., Svensson et al, 2006)
Specific monitoring efforts have been dedicated to water stable isotopes in pits, surface snow, precipitation and water vapor (SteenLarsen et al, 2011)
We use the simulated water vapor isotopic composition from the lowest model level at the NEEM grid point to compare with our observations
Summary
Institute of Science, University of Reykjavik, Dunhaga 3, Reykjavik 107, Iceland. Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, Campus Box 450, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA. Air mass Geoscientific back-trajectory calculations from atmospheric analyses and water tagging in the LMDZiso. Model Development (Laboratory of Meteorology Dynamics Zoom-isotopic) atmospheric model reveal that these events are associated with predominant Arctic air mass origin. Hydrology that high deuterium excess levels are a and result of strong kinetic fractionation duringEarth evaporation at the Systemsea-ice margin
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