Quick
Search: 		  
advanced search
 GSW Home   GeoRef Home   My GSW Alerts   Contact GSW   About GSW   Journals List   Help 
Geology Signup for GSW Email News
JOURNAL HOME HELP CONTACT PUBLISHER SUBSCRIBE ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Geology; February 2002; v. 30; no. 2; p. 139-142; DOI: 10.1130/0091-7613(2002)030<0139:TCISIC>2.0.CO;2
© 2002 Geological Society of America
This Article
Right arrow Figures Only
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Rademacher, L.K.
Right arrow Articles by Hudson, G.B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
GeoRef
Right arrow GeoRef Citation

Temporal changes in stable isotope composition of spring waters: Implications for recent changes in climate and atmospheric circulation

L.K. Rademacher1, J.F. Clark1 and G.B. Hudson2

1 Department of Geological Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
2 Analytical and Nuclear Chemistry Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808 L-23, Livermore, California 94550, USA

Stable isotope values of shallow groundwater emerging from springs in a high-elevation basin in the central Sierra Nevada of California decrease with increasing geochemical groundwater ages. From water recharged in 1960 to water recharged in 1990, a 1.2{per thousand} and 11{per thousand} increase occurs in {delta}18O and {delta}D, respectively. Historic temperature records from surrounding areas show a 1.3 °C increase in mean annual air temperature over the same time period. This temperature change alone is not great enough to explain the observed increase in {delta}18O. We suggest that changes in atmospheric circulation patterns, which have been documented in this region, account for the remaining increase in {delta}18O. The time scale of these climatic changes, recorded in both the historical and the hydrological records, is extremely short (decadal scale) and suggests that the {delta}18O of groundwater can be a useful tool for studying climatic and atmospheric circulation changes over very short time intervals. It also suggests that circulation changes must be considered along with temperature when interpreting paleoclimate data.

Key Words: springs • stable isotopes • California • climate • groundwater • dating






JOURNAL HOME HELP CONTACT PUBLISHER SUBSCRIBE ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2009 by Geological Society of America