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Novel Approaches for Monitoring of Water Vapor Isotope Ratios: Plants, Lasers and Satellites

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Abstract

Atmospheric water vapor is a major component of the global hydrological cycle and the isotope ratio of that vapor is a key tracer for both hydrological and biological processes. Yet little is known of the isotopic composition of vapor over any spatial scale and through time because of challenges associated with collecting water vapor samples. Here we discuss alternate methods for measuring water vapor isotopes. The first approach capitalizes on the unique physiology and broad distribution of the epiphytic plant Tillandsia usneoides (Spanish Moss) to reconstruct a growing-season-integrated isotope ratio of water vapor. The second approach utilizes infrared spectroscopy to measure the isotopic composition without sample collection. In situ laser-absorption instruments and emission spectrometers aboard satellites employ similar optical measurement approaches, and while the former lends itself to developing very detailed time series the latter offers resolution of global-scale spatial distributions. These new approaches, while highly disparate, represent novel methods that complement existing collection techniques and enable improved knowledge of both the spatial mean and variation of isotopes in atmospheric water vapor.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Brent R. Helliker

  2. Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA

    David Noone

Authors
  1. Brent R. Helliker
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  2. David Noone
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Correspondence to Brent R. Helliker .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Texas A&M University System, Garner Field Rd. 1619, Uvalde, 78801, U.S.A.

    Jason B. West

  2. Dept. Earth & Atmospheric Science, Purdue University, Stadium Mall Drive 550, West Lafayette, 47907-2051, U.S.A.

    Gabriel J. Bowen

  3. Dept. Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, 94720, U.S.A.

    Todd E. Dawson

  4. Dept. Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, 94720, U.S.A.

    Kevin P. Tu

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Helliker, B.R., Noone, D. (2010). Novel Approaches for Monitoring of Water Vapor Isotope Ratios: Plants, Lasers and Satellites. In: West, J., Bowen, G., Dawson, T., Tu, K. (eds) Isoscapes. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3354-3_4

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