In chapter 2 the isotopic fractionation of water in some simple condensation-evaporation processes are considered quantitatively on the basis of the fractionation factors given in section 1.2. The condensation temperature is an important parameter, which has got some glaciological applications. The temperature effect (the δ's decreasing with temperature) together with varying evaporation and exchange appear in the “amount effect” as high δ's in sparse rain. The relative deuterium-oxygen-18 fractionation is not quite simple. If the relative deviations from the standard water (S.M.O.W.) are called δ D and δ 18 , the best linear approximation is δ D = 8 δ 18 . Chapter 3 gives some qualitative considerations on non-equilibrium (fast) processes. Kinetic effects have heavy bearings upon the effective fractionation factors. Such effects have only been demonstrated clearly in evaporation processes, but may also influence condensation processes. The quantity d = δ D −8 δ 18 is used as an index for non-equilibrium conditions. The stable isotope data from the world wide I.A.E.A.-W.M.O. precipitation survey are discussed in chapter 4. The unweighted mean annual composition of rain at tropical island stations fits the line δ D = 4.6 δ 18 indicating a first stage equilibrium condensation from vapour evaporated in a non-equilibrium process. Regional characteristics appear in the weighted means. The Northern hemisphere continental stations, except African and Near East, fit the line δ D = 8.0 δ 18 + 10 as far as the weighted means are concerned (δ D = 8.1 δ 18 + 11 for the unweighted) corresponding to an equilibrium Rayleigh condensation from vapour, evaporated in a non-equilibrium process from S.M.O.W. The departure from equilibrium vapour seems even higher in the rest of the investigated part of the world. At most stations the δ D and varies linearily with δ 18 with a slope close to 8, only at two stations higher than 8, at several lower than 8 (mainly connected with relatively dry climates). Considerable variations in the isotopic composition of monthly precipitation occur at most stations. At low latitudes the amount effect accounts for the variations, whereas seasonal variation at high latitudes is ascribed to the temperature effect. Tokyo is an example of a mid latitude station influenced by both effects. Some possible hydrological applications are outlined in chapter 5. DOI: 10.1111/j.2153-3490.1964.tb00181.x

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.2153-3490.1964.tb00181.x

Stable isotopes in precipitation

The chemical composition of natural water is derived from many different sources of solutes, including gases and aerosols from the atmosphere, weathering and erosion of rocks and soil, solution or precipitation reactions occurring below the land surface, and cultural effects resulting from human activities. Broad interrelationships among these processes and their effects can be discerned by application of principles of chemical thermodynamics. Some of the processes of solution or precipitation of minerals can be closely evaluated by means of principles of chemical equilibrium, including the law of mass action and the Nernst equation. Other processes are irreversible and require consideration of reaction mechanisms and rates. The chemical composition of the crustal rocks of the Earth and the composition of the ocean and the atmosphere are significant in evaluating sources of solutes in natural freshwater. The ways in which solutes are taken up or precipitated and the amounts present in solution are influenced by many environmental factors, especially climate, structure and position of rock strata, and biochemical effects associated with life cycles of plants and animals, both microscopic and macroscopic. Taken together and in application with the further influence of the general circulation of all water in the hydrologic cycle, the chemical principles and environmental factors form a basis for the developing science of natural-water chemistry. Fundamental data used in the determination of water quality are obtained by the chemical analysis of water samples in the laboratory or onsite sensing of chemical properties in the field. Sampling is complicated by changes in the composition of moving water and by the effects of particulate suspended material. Some constituents are unstable and require onsite determination or sample preservation. Most of the constituents determined are reported in gravimetric units, usually milligrams per liter or milliequivalents

Study and Interpretation of the Chemical Characteristics of Natural Water

This paper presents a table of abundances of the elements in the various major units of the Earth's lithic crust with a documentation of the sources and a discussion of the choice of units and data.

Distribution of the Elements in Some Major Units of the Earth's Crust

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in cooperation with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), has been conducting a world-wide survey of hydrogen (H/'H) and oxygen (O/O) isotope composition of monthly precipitation since 1961 At present, 72 IAEA/WMO network stations are in operation Another 82 stations belonging to national organizations continue to send their results to the IAEA for publication The paper focuses on basic features of spatial and temporal distribution of deuterium and O in global precipitation, as derived from the IAEA/WMO isotope database The internal structure and basic characteristics of this database are discussed in some detail The existing phenomenological relationships between observed stable isotope composition of precipitation and various climate-related parameters such as local surface air temperature and amount of precipitation are reviewed and critically assessed Attempts are presented towards revealing interannual fluctuations in the accumulated isotope records and relating them to changes of precipitation amount and the surface air temperature over the past 30 years

Isotopic Patterns in Modern Global Precipitation

From the time that detailed oxygen isotope records derived from foraminifera living in the constant-temperature environment of the abyssal ocean became available, there has been a discrepancy between the ice volume record that these records imply, and that derived from the altitude of dated coral terraces around the world. Here, we re-examine the data and conclude that the temperature of the abyssal ocean has been an actively varying component of the climate system.

Oxygen isotopes and sea level

After a short discussion on the Pb210 dating method, the results of Pb210 measurements on snow and firn samples from four Antarctic stations are reported as well as the experimental procedure used. Pb210 was also measured in the air at ground level, at Base Roi Baudouin, the average Pb210 activity of aerosols in 1958 being 1.3 × 10−3 dpm/kg of air. In samples of surface snow accumulated during the last two to five years, the average Pb210 activity is of the order of 100 dph/kg of snow. This activity seems to be independent of the local rate of accumulation. The variations of Pb210 activity as a function of depth were studied on two vertical firn profiles spanning an interval of more than 200 years, at Base Roi Baudouin (70°S, 24°E) and at Amundsen Scott Station (South Pole). Within experimental errors, the Pb210 activity was found to decrease exponentially with depth at both stations. The most plausible interpretation is that the rate of water accumulation and the initial Pb210 concentration in the snow have remained constant at both places over the last 100 years. The annual rates of water accumulation calculated from the decay curves are 6±1 cm at the South Pole and 45±3 cm at Base Roi Baudouin, in good agreement (to better than 10 percent) with accumulation rates so far obtained by other methods.

/pdf/antarctic-snow-chronology-with-pb210-s014qlnbqp.pdf

Antarctic snow chronology with Pb210

In the area around King Baudouin Station (70°S, 24°E), it is shown that a reference horizon, easy to identify, was formed by the stratospheric fallout of radioactive debris from thermonuclear bomb tests. Gross β activity and Sreo have been measured in snow and firn samples from 1935 to 1960. The samples were dated by stratigraphy and by oxygen isotope-ratio measurements. The contribution of natural radionuclides is negligible, and the gross β activity can be taken as a measure of the fission products concentration. The following average values were found: from 1955 to 1960, 14 dpm/kg of snow; beginning of 1955, 22 dpm/kg (Sr90 = 4.5); 1953 and 1954, 2 dpm/kg; and from 1935 to 1952: 0.5 dpm/kg (Sr90<0.1). The sharp tenfold increase in the β activity at the beginning of 1955 is attributed to the sudden release in the antarctic troposphere of fission products from the Castle thermonuclear tests series (March 1954). The previous and first thermonuclear test (Ivy, November 1952) is less marked. The β activity before 1952 is essentially due to Pb210 and K40. There are indications that this radio-active horizon has been formed at the same time over the whole ice cap, but direct checks are needed on more, well-dated firn profiles.

/pdf/fission-products-in-antarctic-snow-a-reference-level-for-3mqpvuvlw0.pdf

Fission products in Antarctic snow, a reference level for measuring accumulation

Localization of Radioactive and Stable Heavy Nuclides in Ocean Sediments

MEASUREMENTS carried out in the Oceanographical Institute, Goteborg, on the radium content in deep-sea cores by H. Pettersson, Traude Bernert, V. Kroll1 et al. showed the vertical distribution of radium to be highly complicated. We were therefore asked to develop a method for direct measurement of the ionium content in samples of sediment from the Swedish Deep-Sea Expedition.

Edgardo Picciotto

Papers

Antarctic snow chronology with Pb210

Fission products in Antarctic snow, a reference level for measuring accumulation

Localization of Radioactive and Stable Heavy Nuclides in Ocean Sediments

Ionium determination in Deep-sea sediments

Isotopic Composition and Temperature of Formation of Antarctic Snows