CLIMATIC CONTROLS ON THE ISOTOPIC COMPOSITION OF SUMMER PRECIPITATION EVENTS IN LOFOTEN, NORWAY

Temperature is usually considered to be the primary control on stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopes in precipitation at high latitudes. As more reconstructions of past changes in δ¹⁸O and δD are used for paleoclimatic interpretation, it becomes more important to improve our understanding of the full range of environmental parameters that impact isotopes in precipitation. Here, we report the isotopes in precipitation collected by rain gauges in Lofoten, Norway (68.25 ºN Latitude, 13.6 ºE Longitude) during the summer of 2009. Collections of individual storm events were made on a weekly basis from a single rain gauge, at various sites in Lofoten in the Arctic Circle from June 1 to July 31 as well as a one month collection in August at the same sites. The range of δ¹⁸O and δD in the meteoric water delivered by individual rain events was found to range from -5.1 to -10.46 and -27.0 to -87.8, respectively. By comparing the isotopic composition of precipitation events with our own measurements of daily temperature and precipitation amounts, and storm trajectories reconstructed using the HYSPLIT air trajectory model provided by NOAA, we can evaluate the role of these climate parameters in influencing the isotopes in modern summertime precipitation.