资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

In arid northwest China where the precipitation intensity is relatively low, the stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopes (δ²H and δ¹⁸O) in precipitation are usually impacted by the sub-cloud evaporation. To understand the sub-cloud evaporation effect under an arid climate, we used the hourly meteorological data at 14 stations in the Kaxgar-Yarkant River Oasis, a rainshadow oasis of northwest China, and estimated the monthly and hourly isotopic change in falling drops from the cloud base to the ground. The results showed that the hourly meteorological observations are an effective way to assess the spatiotemporal pattern of sub-cloud evaporation effect. Across the 14 stations, the annual mean changes in deuterium excess below cloud base ranged from −19.1‰ to −6.8‰. The impacts of sub-cloud evaporation during spring and autumn are larger than those during winter and weaker than those during summer. The exponential regression (R² = 0.96), instead of linear regression (R² = 0.85), is better at describing the relationship between the raindrop remaining fraction and the isotopic changes from the cloud base to the ground. The sensitivity analysis of isotopic changes to different relative humidity scenarios shows that the drying scenario may lead to slightly larger sensitivity than the wetting scenario. The impact of sub-cloud evaporation on stable isotope composition in precipitation may be underestimated when low precipitation events (especially less than 1 mm/h) are not sampled.