Isotopic measurements of precipitation on central Asian glaciers (Southeastern Tibet, northern Himalayas, central Tien Shan)

• Main Authors: Vladimir Aizen And, Vladimir Aizen, Elena Aizen, John Melack, Tonu Martma
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1995
• Subjects: Indian; Pacific; ice core
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.42.3551; http://www.crseo.ucsb.edu/~aizen/papers/isotops96.pdf

. The glacial regions of central Asia considered in our study are influenced by tropical monsoons and western extratropical cyclones. Isotopic d 18 O and dD data were obtained over 3 years in three climatic regions: Gongga massif of southeastern Tibet (windward slope of summer monsoon), Xixibangma massif on the northern slope of the Himalayas (leeward of summer monsoon), and the massifs of Pobeda-Khan Tengry in the central Tien Shan (exposed to western airstreams). The survey reported here provides information from atmospheric precipitation, snow pits and a 23 m ice core. The significant differences of oxygen isotopic ratios (from-25.1 per mil to-9.5 per mil) indicate that the Indian and Pacific Oceans as well as the Atlantic Ocean are sources of moisture on the northern slope of the Himalayas and southeastern Tibet. Sharply changing isotopic ratios in precipitation corresponded to changing wind direction and were associated with different sources of air masses on the northern slope .