Satellite-Based Distribution of Inverse Altitude Effect of Global Water Vapor Isotopes: Potential Influences on Isotopes in Climate Proxies

The widely-distributed altitude effect of stable isotopes in meteoric water, i.e., the negative correlation between stable hydrogen (or oxygen) isotope compositions and altitude, is the theoretical basis of isotope paleoaltimetry in climate proxies. However, as many recent local observations have indicated, the inverse altitude effect (IAE) in meteoric water does exist, and the regime controlling IAE is still unclear on a global scale. Based on a remote sensing product of the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI), we examined the global frequency of IAE in water vapor isotopes, and the possible influences on isotopes in precipitation and climate proxies. According to the satellite-based delta D values in water vapor at 2950 m and 4220 m above sea level, frequent IAEs are observed on a daily scale in North Africa, West and Central Asia, and North America, and IAEs are more likely to occur during the daytime than during the nighttime. We also converted water vapor delta D to precipitation delta D via equilibrium fractionation and then analyzed the potential presence of IAE in precipitation, which is more associated with climate proxies, and found that the spatial and temporal patterns of water vapor can be transferred to the precipitation. In addition, different thresholds of delta D difference were also tested to understand the impact of random errors. The potential uncertainty of the changing isotope and altitude gradient should be considered in paleo-altitude reconstructions.

Automated summary

The altitude effect of stable isotopes in meteoric water is the theoretical basis of isotope paleoaltimetry. However, recent observations have shown the existence of the inverse altitude effect (IAE) in meteoric water. In this study, global frequency of IAE in water vapor isotopes was examined using remote sensing data, and its possible influences on isotopes in precipitation and climate proxies were analyzed.