The Indian monsoonal influence on altitude effect of δ 18O in surface water on southeast Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

The altitude effect of δ18O is essential for the study of the paleo-elevation reconstruction and possible to be solved through modern process studies. This study presents new δ18O results from southeast Tibetan Plateau along two transects, the Zayu transect and the Lhasa-Nyang transect, with δ18O data from June to September representative of monsoon period and δ18O data during the rest of the year of non-monsoon period. Altitude effect outweighs the longitude and latitude effects in determining regional δ18O variation spatially. Relevant δ18O data from previous studies in the nearby region have also been combined to comprehensively understand the influence of different moisture sources on δ18O from local scale to regional scale. The δ18O in surface water in the southeast Tibetan Plateau and its nearby regions influenced by the Indian summer monsoon shows that single dominant moisture source or simple moisture sources lead to smaller altitudinal lapse rate, whilst growing contributions from local convection to precipitation enlarge δ18O-altitude rate. It thereupon reveals the significance of the Indian summer monsoon to the altitude effect of δ18O in surface water, and the complicated effect of local convection or westerlies evolution to the variation of altitudinal lapse rate. Paleo-monsoon evolution therefore should be considered when altitude effect is applied to paleo-elevation reconstruction for the Tibetan Plateau.