¹⁷O‐Excess in Tropical Cyclones Reflects Local Rain Re‐Evaporation More Than Moisture Source Conditions

Abstract

Abstract17O‐excess is a relatively new water isotope parameter that could potentially provide useful information about the hydrological cycle. Previous works focusing on 17O‐excess in polar regions suggest that it primarily tracks moisture source relative humidity, but little is known about how to interpret 17O‐excess data in lower latitudes. Here we present quasi‐hourly triple oxygen isotope data of precipitation collected from two tropical cyclones in Texas and Louisiana in 2020 to understand the impacts of environmental and meteorological processes on the 17O‐excess of low‐to mid‐latitude precipitation. We find that at both hourly timescales and the event scale, 17O‐excess is strongly correlated to changes in on‐site rainfall intensity and relative humidity, which is consistent with the theory that the isotopic fractionation associated with rain re‐evaporation lowers the 17O‐excess of the remaining droplet. In addition, although evaporative conditions at the moisture source region may also influence 17O‐excess of water vapor transported to the precipitation site, their impacts are likely overprinted by the post‐condensation rain re‐evaporation processes. Our results thus suggest that 17O‐excess can be used as a proxy for local rather than source region evaporative conditions during tropical cyclones.

Telling Tales of Water Journeys With Isotopic Tracers

“…To track the flows of moisture in the atmosphere, isotopes can also play a role (e.g., Valdivielso et al, 2024). However, interpreting the isotopic composition of atmospheric moisture is challenging because of atmosphere mixing and fractionation during condensation and (re-) evaporation (e.g., Sun et al, 2024). Alternatively, atmospheric moisture flows can be described using moisture tracking models (e.g., van der Ent et al, 2010).…”