The Altitude Effect on the Isotopic Composition of Snow in High Mountains

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Authors: Niewodnizański, Jerzy, Grabczak, Jerzy, Barański, Lesław, Rzepka, Jerzy
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1981
• Subjects: Earth-Surface Processes; Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000011266; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000011266

Abstract The stable isotopes oxygen-18 and deuterium in snow samples collected in four mountain regions (the South American Andes, the Central Asian Hindu Kush, the Himalaya, and Mounts Kenya and Kilimanjaro in Africa) have been measured. The altitude effect in fresh snow precipitation and in the snow-pack was determined for δ 18 0 as being within the range —0.6‰ to about — 1.0‰ per 100 m of elevation, but this can be altered or even inverted by secondary factors. These factors are connected with conditions of snow-fall and post-depositional changes in the snow, which are strongly dependent on the topography of the sampled mountain slope and on climatic conditions. All these effects are discussed.