Can isotope analysis of water be used to detect climate change? and if yes, how can we do it?
Yes, isotope analysis of water (such as δ¹⁸O and δ²H) can reveal climate change by tracking variations in evaporation and precipitation sources over time. It is used in studying glaciers, groundwater, and sediment records.
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Several climatic, hydrological and environmental information are coded by the hydrological cycle. The contents of stable isotopes (H-2 and O-18) are subject to significant variations linked to the passage from one state or body to another. These changes called fractionation, are thermo-dependent wich decreases with temperature. When it is cold (ice age, cold season, high altitude and high latitude …) waters are depleted in both isotopes and when it is hot waters are enriched in those isotopes (interglacial period, hot season, low altitude and latitude …). The other isotope (Tritium) could also used for the same purpose and could be used as a chronometer (dating).
For more detail cf:
I.A.E.A., (1981) – Stable Isotope Hydrology, Deuterium and Oxygen‐18 in the Water Cycle. Technical
reports series n° 210, 340p.
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