Investigating the role of evaporation in dew formation under different climates using 17O-excess

With increasing aridity in many regions, dew is likely to play an increasingly important role in the ecohydrological processes in many ecosystems, especially in arid and semiarid regions. Few studies investigated the role of evaporation during dew formation and how it varies under different climate settings. O-17-excess, as a new tracer, could be used to extract information of evaporation dynamics from natural water samples (e.g., precipitation, river, and lake). Therefore, to fill the knowledge gap in evaporation mechanisms during dew formation, we report the isotopic variation (delta H-2, delta O-18, delta O-17, and O-17-excess) of dew and precipitation from three distinct climatic regions (i.e., Gobabeb in the central Namib Desert, Nice in France with Mediterranean climate, and Indianapolis in the central United States with humid continental climate). We examined whether dew formed in different climate settings was affected by different degree of evaporation using observed isotopic values and evaporation models during the formation processes, and modeled the effects of key meteorological variables (i.e., temperature and relative humidity) on O-17-excess variations. The results showed that dew in Gobabeb experienced kinetic fractionation associated with evaporation under non-steady state conditions during dew formation with enriched delta O-18 and low O-17-excess values. Dew formations with temperatures over 14.7 degrees C in Indianapolis were also influenced by evaporation under non-steady state conditions. However, dew formation in Nice did not experience significant evaporation. Evaporation processes (equilibrium or kinetic fractionation) occurring during nights with heavy dew under three climate settings were mainly related to the variation of atmosphere relative humidity. The O-17-excess tracer provides a new method to distinguish the different evaporation processes (equilibrium or kinetic fractionation) during dew formation and our result provides an improved understanding of dew formation.

Automated summary

This study investigated the role of evaporation during dew formation under different climate conditions, using isotopic analysis and evaporation models to examine the effects of key meteorological variables on O-17-excess variations. Results showed that O-17-excess tracer can distinguish different evaporation processes during dew formation, providing improved understanding of dew formation processes influenced by temperature, relative humidity, and climate settings.