Stable isotope composition of Earth's large lakes

Lakes cover about three percent of Earth's continental area. Large lakes can significantly influence lake shore and regional climates by increasing specific humidity during evaporation and by moderating air temperatures. Stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen can be used to quantify lake evaporation, providing a supplementary and often cost-advantageous alternative to conventional hydrologic approaches that require over lake monitoring. Further, stable isotopes in lake sediments are an established tool in paleolimnology; however, interpreting changes to a lake's past isotope composition requires a comprehensive understanding of contemporary controls. Here, δ18O and δ2H values of water in modern lakes exceeding roughly five hundred square kilometres are compiled (n > 35). Voluminous and seasonally mixed lakes - such as the North American Great Lakes - have the most homogenous stable isotope compositions, while perennially-stratified and shallow lakes show greater variability. A rudimentary stable isotope mass balance is used to assess evaporation fluxes from large lakes on Earth. The approach taken simultaneously constrains evaporation outputs for both oxygen and hydrogen stable isotopes by accounting for lake effects on the overlying atmosphere. Model development highlights important considerations such as isotopic stratification (Tanganyika), disequilibrium isotopic mass balances (Baikal), and non-steady hydrologic balances. Further, the isotope composition of Earth's continental surface water reservoir is calculated. This value - weighted to volume - is δ18O = -7.5±1.7 per mille relative to standard mean ocean water. The compiled data may be a useful tracer of continental evaporate in global atmospheric water cycle studies and could be coupled to climate models capable of incorporating oxygen-18 and deuterium tracers to improve or validate calculations of lake effects on regional water cycling.