Stable isotopic composition of Antarctic air moisture and precipitation

Abstract

First results of stable isotope analyses are presented which were obtained by sampling of air moisture and precipitation at the Japanese Antarctic Stations Syowa and Dome Fuji. The main sampling period was during January 1995. Even within this short period their isotopic composition, expressed in delta values of deuterium and ^O relative to the standard mean ocean water (SMOW), are scattered over a wide range of magnitudes. A weak, but significant, quantitative relationship between δ^O of precipitation at Syowa and the distance to the open sea was found. Extreme high isotopic delta values appear at both stations when air is transported from lower latitudes to the Antarctic continent. These preliminary results were obtained from observations in January 1995. They will be continued at these stations for about two years by January 1997.