Citation:

acp-12-11679-2012

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Abstract:

Cloud samples for the isotopic analysis were collected in the framework of the Hill Cap Cloud Thuringia 2010 (HCCT-2010) campaign on Schmücke (50° 39'N/ 10° 46'E, 937 m a.s.l.; Germany) in September and October 2010 with a three-stage Caltech Active Strand Cloudwater Collector (CASCC) during 13 different cloud events with a temporal resolution of 1 to 3 hours. In a first step, we ensured that no additional fractionation occurred during sampling with the CASCC. The d values of the three sizes classes of the CASCC (4 µm to 16 µm, 16 µm to 22 µm and >22 µm) did not differ significantly, revealing that the cloud droplets of different sizes quickly equilibrate their delta value with the one of the surrounding vapor.

delta values in the cloud droplets varied from -77 per mil to -15 per mil in d2H and from -12.1 per mil to -3.9 per mil in d18O and were fitted by d2H =7.8*d18O +13*10**-3. delta values decreased with temperature as well as towards the end of the campaign, representing a seasonal trend which is known from d values in precipitation. The deuterium excess of the cloud samples was generally higher than the Local Meteoric Water Line of the closest GNIP (Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation) station. Rain decreases its deuterium excess during falling through an unsaturated air column, while the cloud droplets conserve the deuterium excess of the initial evaporation and thus have been found to be a good indicator for the airmass source region: higher deuterium excess was measured for polar air masses and lower deuterium excess for Mediterranean air masses. Changes in d values during one cloud event were up to 3.6 per mil (d2H) and 0.23 per mil (d18O), except for frontal passages, which were associated with increases of ~6 per mil per hour (d2H) and ~0.6 per mil per hour (d18O).

Using a box model, we showed that the influence of condensation only was able to explain the variation in the isotope signal of two cloud passages. Consequently, we deduced that the water vapor "feeding" the cloud advected the measured changes. A trajectory analysis and moisture source diagnostic revealed that it is very likely that the variations were either related to rain out along the trajectories or to meteorological changes in the moisture source region. This was the first study using stable water isotopologues in cloud water manifesting their potential in the context of atmospheric water vapor circulation.

Related to:

Spiegel, Johanna K; Aemisegger, F; Scholl, M; Wienhold, F G; Collett, Tim S; Lee, T; van Pinxteren, Dominik; Mertes, Stephan; Tilgner, A; Herrmann, H; Werner, R A; Buchmann, N; Eugster, Werner (2012): Temporal evolution of stable water isotopologues in cloud droplets in a hill cap cloud in central Europe (HCCT-2010). Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 12(23), 11679-11694, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-11679-2012

Coverage:

Latitude: 50.650000 * Longitude: 10.767000

Date/Time Start: 2010-09-14T11:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2010-10-24T09:15:00

Comment:

Data are supplementary to both papers cited.

License:

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported (CC-BY-NC-3.0)