Stable isotope tracers of water vapor sources in the Atacama Desert, Northern Chile: a pilot study on the Chajnantor Plateau

Subtropical deserts form in response to the interaction of large-scale processes, including atmospheric circulation and oceanic currents, with local features like topography. The degree to which each of these factors controls desert formation and the anticipated impacts of variations in each as climate changes, however, are poorly understood. Stable isotope compositions of water vapor in desert air can help to distinguish between moisture sources and processes that control aridity. The Atacama Desert, located in northern Chile between latitudes 23S and 27S, provides a natural laboratory in which to test the degree to which water vapor isotopologues enable the distinction between processes that control humidity, including the Hadley Circulation, the cold Humboldt Current off the coast of Chile, and the orographic effect of the Andes, in this subtropical desert. Water vapor isotopologues and concentrations were measured in real time using a cavity-ringdown spectrometer deployed on the Chajnantor Plateau over a three-week period from mid-July early August 2010. The elevation of the Plateau, 5000 m amsl (~550 hPa), places it above the boundary layer, allowing the evaluation of the Rayleigh fractionation model from the coast inland. Values reported by the instrument were verified with air samples taken at the coast and the Plateau, which were analyzed on an MAT-252 mass spectrometer. Water vapor concentrations and δD values varied spatially and temporally. Water vapor concentrations on the Plateau ranged from 200 to 3664 ppmv with a mean value of 536 ppmv. In contrast, water vapor concentrations at the coast were approximately 10000 ppmv, and at Yungay, 60 km inland, water vapor concentrations ranged from 1300 to 2000 ppmv from morning to evening. δD values on the Plateau ranged from -526‰ to -100‰ with a mean value of 290‰ with enriched values correlated to periods with higher water vapor concentrations. There are no strong diurnal variations in water vapor concentrations and corresponding δD values on the Plateau, however, water vapor concentrations generally increase after sunrise and reach their maxima in the evening. Temperatures on the Plateau were consistently around 0 degrees C during the pilot study with dewpoint temperatures around -20 degrees C and specific humidity ranging from 0.20 to 2.0 g/kg. Within this range of specific humidity, the Rayleigh fractionation model predicts δD values between -570‰ and -300‰. Preliminary results from this pilot study show that δD values are more enriched than predicted by a Rayleigh fractionation curve for water originating at the ocean and moving inland to an elevation of 5000 m. Instead, δD for water vapor on the Chajnantor Plateau falls along a mixing curve between upper- and lower-troposphere sources. Long term monitoring is necessary to understand the complex interplay between atmospheric and oceanic processes combined with topography responsible for the both water vapor concentrations and δD values observed on the Chajnantor Plateau.