Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 24, 2026

Continuous Hydrologic and Water Quality Monitoring of Vernal Ponds
Published on: November 13, 2017
Spatial distribution and temporal variability of stable water isotopes in a large and shallow lake
Wei Xiao1, Xuefa Wen2, Wei Wang1
1a Yale-NUIST Center on Atmospheric Environment & Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology , Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology , Nanjing , People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
Stable isotopic compositions of lake water provide additional information on hydrological, meteorological and paleoclimate processes. In this study, lake water isotopic compositions were measured for more than three years in Lake Taihu, a large and shallow lake in southern China, to investigate the isotopic spatial and seasonal variations. The results indicated that (1) the whole-lake mean δ(2)H and δ(18)O values of the lake water varied seasonally from -48.4 ± 5.8 to -25.1 ± 3.2 ‰ and from -6.5 ± 0.9 to -3.5 ± 0.8 ‰, respectively, (2) the spatial pattern of the lake water isotopic compositions was controlled by the direction of water flow and not by local evaporation rate, and (3) using a one-site isotopic measurement to represent the whole-lake mean may result in unreasonable estimates of the isotopic composition of lake evaporation and the lake water residence time in poorly mixed lakes. The original data, documented here as an online supplement, provides a good reference for testing sensitivity of lake water budget to various isotopic sampling strategies. We propose that detailed spatial measurement of lake water isotopic compositions provides a good proxy for water movement and pollutant and alga transports, especially over big lakes.
More Related Videos
10:49Laboratory-determined Phosphorus Flux from Lake Sediments as a Measure of Internal Phosphorus Loading
Published on: March 6, 2014
10:28Investigating the Relationship between Sea Surface Chlorophyll and Major Features of the South China Sea with Satellite Information
Published on: June 13, 2020
Related Concept Videos
Freshwater Microbial Ecology
Testing Water Quality
The Water Cycle
Diversity of Protists III
Distribution and Dispersion
Body Water Content and Fluid Compartments