The Forest Effects on the Isotopic Composition of Rainfall in the Northwestern Amazon Basin

In the Amazon basin, intense precipitation recycling across the forest significantly modifies the isotopic composition of rainfall (δ18O, δD). In the tropical hydrologic cycle, such an effect can be identified through deuterium excess (dxs), yet it remains unclear what environmental factors control dxs, increasing the uncertainty of dxs‐based paleoclimate reconstructions. Here we present a 4‐year record of the isotopic composition of rainfall, monitored in the northwestern Amazon basin. We analyze the isotopic variations as a function of the air mass history, based on atmospheric back trajectory analyses, satellite observations of precipitation upstream, leaf area index, and simulated moisture recycling along the transport pathway. We show that the precipitation recycling in the forest exerts a significant control on the isotopic composition of precipitation in the northwestern Amazon basin, especially on dxs during the dry season (r = 0.71). Applying these observations to existing speleothem and pollen paleorecords, we conclude that winter precipitation increased after the mid‐Holocene, as the expansion of the forest allowed for more moisture recycling. Therefore, forest effects should be considered when interpreting paleorecords of past precipitation changes.

• Publication year

  2020

• Venue

  Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres

• Publication date

  2020-02-10

• Fields of study

  Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1029/2019JD031445
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• New insights into the rainfall variability in the tropical Andes on seasonal and interannual time scales

  2019cited by this paper
• The Influence of Competing Hydroclimate Processes on Stable Isotope Ratios in Tropical Rainfall

  2019cited by this paper
• Forest‐Induced Exponential Growth of Precipitation Along Climatological Wind Streamlines Over the Amazon

  2019cited by this paper
• Forest-rainfall cascades buffer against drought across the Amazon

  2018cited by this paper
• Current state and future challenges in stable isotope applications of the tropical hydrologic cycle (Invited Commentary)

  2018cited by this paper
• Intra‐seasonal rainfall variability in the Amazon basin related to large‐scale circulation patterns: a focus on western Amazon–Andes transition region

  2018cited by this paper
• The role of the Madden–Julian oscillation on the Amazon Basin intraseasonal rainfall variability

  2018cited by this paper
• Intercomparison and Uncertainty Assessment of Nine Evapotranspiration Estimates Over South America

  2018cited by this paper
• Simulation of the Holocene climate over South America and impacts on the vegetation

  2018cited by this paper
• Recent intensification of Amazon flooding extremes driven by strengthened Walker circulation

  2018cited by this paper
• Paleoenvironmental dynamics in South Amazonia, Brazil, during the last 35,000 years inferred from pollen and geochemical records of Lago do Saci

  2017cited by this paper
• Real-time Environmental Applications and Display sYstem: READY

  2017cited by this paper
• Conjoint Analysis of Surface and Atmospheric Water Balances in the Andes‐Amazon System

  2017cited by this paper
• Hydroclimate changes across the Amazon lowlands over the past 45,000 years

  2017cited by this paper
• What drives interannual variation in tree ring oxygen isotopes in the Amazon?

  2016cited by this paper
• Morton et al. reply

  2016cited by this paper
• Teleconnections between the Peruvian Central Andes and Northeast Brazil during Extreme Rainfall Events in Austral Summer

  2016cited by this paper
• Spatiotemporal variability of modern precipitation δ18O in the central Andes and implications for paleoclimate and paleoaltimetry estimates

  2015cited by this paper
• NOAA’s HYSPLIT Atmospheric Transport and Dispersion Modeling System

  2015cited by this paper
• LIMS for Lasers 2015 for achieving long-term accuracy and precision of δ(2)H, δ(17)O, and δ(18)O of waters using laser absorption spectrometry.

  2015cited by this paper
• Cold air incursions, δ18O variability, and monsoon dynamics associated with snow days at Quelccaya Ice Cap, Peru

  2015cited by this paper
• A new view on the hydrological cycle over continents

  2014influential reference
• Interactive comment on “ On the importance of cascading moisture recycling in South America ” by D . C . Zemp

  2014cited by this paper
• Upwind convective influences on the isotopic composition of atmospheric water vapor over the tropical Andes

  2014cited by this paper
• Hydroclimate variability of the northwestern Amazon Basin near the Andean foothills of Peru related to the South American Monsoon System during the last 1600 years

  2014cited by this paper
• Amazon forests maintain consistent canopy structure and greenness during the dry season

  2014cited by this paper
• The role of the Amazon Basin moisture in the atmospheric branch of the hydrological cycle: a Lagrangian analysis

  2014cited by this paper
• Isotopic Patterns in Modern Global Precipitation

  2013influential reference
• Climate controls on Andean precipitation δ18O interannual variability

  2013cited by this paper
• Climate change patterns in Amazonia and biodiversity

  2013cited by this paper
• Can we determine what controls the spatio-temporal distribution of d-excess and 17 O-excess in precipitation using the LMDZ general circulation model?

  2013cited by this paper
• What controls deuterium excess in global precipitation

  2013cited by this paper
• A test of the advection‐condensation model for subtropical water vapor using stable isotopologue observations from Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii

  2012cited by this paper
• Persistent effects of a severe drought on Amazonian forest canopy

  2012cited by this paper
• Revisiting wintertime cold air intrusions at the east of the Andes: propagating features from subtropical Argentina to Peruvian Amazon and relationship with large-scale circulation patterns

  2012cited by this paper
• Simulated oxygen isotopes in cave drip water and speleothem calcite in European caves

  2012cited by this paper
• Direct quantification of leaf transpiration isotopic composition

  2012cited by this paper
• Impact of elevation and weather patterns on the isotopic composition of precipitation in a tropical montane rainforest

  2012cited by this paper
• The ERA‐Interim reanalysis: configuration and performance of the data assimilation system

  2011influential reference
• Combined measurements of 17Oexcess and d-excess in African monsoon precipitation: Implications for evaluating convective parameterizations

  2010cited by this paper
• Determining the Oxygen Isotope Composition of Evapotranspiration Using Eddy Covariance

  2010cited by this paper
• Climatic and environmental controls on speleothem oxygen-isotope values

  2009cited by this paper
• Patterns of water and heat flux across a biome gradient from tropical forest to savanna in Brazil

  2009cited by this paper
• Orbitally driven east–west antiphasing of South American precipitation

  2009cited by this paper
• Air parcel trajectory analysis of stable isotopes in water vapor in the eastern Mediterranean

  2008cited by this paper
• Fossil dripwater in stalagmites reveals Holocene temperature and rainfall variation in Amazonia

  2008cited by this paper
• Analysis of the climate controls on the isotopic composition of precipitation (δ18O) at Nuevo Rocafuerte, 74.5°W, 0.9°S, 250 m, Ecuador

  2008cited by this paper
• The TRMM Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA): Quasi-Global, Multiyear, Combined-Sensor Precipitation Estimates at Fine Scales

  2007cited by this paper
• The influence of below-cloud secondary effects on the stable isotope composition of hydrogen and oxygen in precipitation at Calgary, Alberta, Canada

  2007cited by this paper
• Large seasonal swings in leaf area of Amazon rainforests

  2007cited by this paper
• A regional study of Holocene climate change and human occupation in Peruvian Amazonia

  2007cited by this paper
• Toward a unified view of the American monsoon systems

  2006cited by this paper
• Heavy Water Fractionation during Transpiration1

  2006cited by this paper
• Stable isotopes in precipitation recording South American summer monsoon and ENSO variability: observations and model results

  2005cited by this paper
• What are the climate controls on δD in precipitation in the Zongo Valley (Bolivia)? Implications for the Illimani ice core interpretation

  2005cited by this paper
• SEASONALITY OF WATER AND HEAT FLUXES OVER A TROPICAL FOREST IN EASTERN AMAZONIA

  2004cited by this paper
• The convective boundary layer over pasture and forest in Amazonia

  2004cited by this paper
• DEUTERIUM EXCESS IN PRECIPITATION AND ITS CLIMATOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE

  2002cited by this paper
• Speleothem evidence from Oman for continental pluvial events during interglacial periods

  2001cited by this paper
• Persistent Solar Influence on North Atlantic Climate During the Holocene

  2001cited by this paper
• Variations of the Amazonian rainforest environment: a sedimentological record covering 30,000 years

  2001cited by this paper
• Lake-Level Chronology on the Southern Bolivian Altiplano (18°–23°S) During Late-Glacial Time and the Early Holocene

  1999cited by this paper
• Origin and recycling processes of precipitating water over the Eurasian continent: Experiments using an atmospheric general circulation model

  1999cited by this paper
• Maintenance of Austral Summertime Upper-Tropospheric Circulation over Tropical South America: The Bolivian High–Nordeste Low System

  1999cited by this paper
• Summertime Precipitation Variability over South America: Role of the Large-Scale Circulation

  1999cited by this paper
• Stable isotope composition of precipitation over southeast Asia

  1998cited by this paper
• Does a Monsoon Climate Exist over South America

  1998cited by this paper
• A Pervasive Millennial-Scale Cycle in North Atlantic Holocene and Glacial Climates

  1997cited by this paper
• On the Origin of the Bolivian High and Related Circulation Features of the South American Climate

  1997cited by this paper
• The contribution of evaporation from the Great Lakes to the continental atmosphere: estimate based on stable isotope data

  1994influential reference
• Continental water recycling and H218O concentrations

  1993cited by this paper
• Climate change in continental isotopic records

  1993influential reference
• Mise en évidence de quatre phases d'ouverture de la forêt dense dans le Sud-Est de l'Amazonie au cours des 60 000 dernières années : première comparaison avec d'autres régions tropicales

  1991cited by this paper
• Recycling of water in the Amazon Basin: An isotopic study

  1979cited by this paper
• Stable isotope studies of fluid inclusions in speleothems and their paleoclimatic significance

  1976cited by this paper
• The Pleistocene Changes of Vegetation and Climate in Tropical South America

  1974cited by this paper
• Soil-water movement and evapotranspiration: Changes in the isotopic composition of the water

  1967cited by this paper
• Stable isotopes in precipitation

  1964cited by this paper
• Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/jqs.983 A 17 000-year history of Andean climate and vegetation change from Laguna de Chochos, Peru

  year unknowncited by this paper

• Speleothem-based reconstruction of Holocene changes in monsoonal patterns and environmental conditions in Central Brazil

  2026cites this paper
• Unravelling the drivers of the April–May 2024 extreme precipitation event in Rio Grande do Sul

  2026cites this paper
• A nationwide dataset of stable isotopes in meteoric and terrestrial water across Peru

  2025cites this paper
• The coupling between monsoon rainfall and sea surface temperature in the subtropical South Atlantic during the Last Glacial period

  2025cites this paper
• The isotopic composition of the French Illimani ice core in the Bolivian Andes supports the east-west South American precipitation dipole from the last deglaciation to the mid-Holocene

  2025cites this paper
• Spatial variation of stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in tap water in Brazil.

  2025cites this paper
• Paleoenvironmental changes in a lower Rio Negro floodplain lake (Anavilhanas Archipelago, Brazil) during the past 4550 years

  2025cites this paper
• Abrupt Geographic Shift in Hydrogen Isotope Ratios of Meteoric Water Across the Western Andes, Peru

  2024cites this paper
• Modern anthropogenic drought in Central Brazil unprecedented during last 700 years

  2024cites this paper
• A multiple linear regression model for the prediction of summer rainfall in the northwestern Peruvian Amazon using large-scale indices

  2024influential citation
• Stable Water Isotope Signals and Their Relation to Stratiform and Convective Precipitation in the Tropical Andes

  2024influential citation
• Lateritic Cenozoic paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic conditions in the Central Amazon basin, Brazil, inferred from mineralogy, geochemistry and geochronology

  2024cites this paper
• Simulated isotopic fingerprint of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation over South America and its relation to the Little Ice Age

  2024cites this paper
• Greening of India and revival of the South Asian summer monsoon in a warmer world

  2024cites this paper
• A continental reconstruction of hydroclimatic variability in South America during the past 2000 years

  2024cites this paper
• South American monsoon intensification during the last millennium driven by joint Pacific and Atlantic forcing

  2024cites this paper
• Investigating speleothem magnetism as a proxy for dust mobilization and rainfall

  2024cites this paper
• The Zonal Patterns in Late Quaternary Tropical South American Precipitation

  2023influential citation
• Spatiotemporal variability of stable isotopes in precipitation and stream water in a high elevation tropical catchment in the Central Andes of Colombia

  2023cites this paper
• The response and sensitivity of deuterium and 17O excess parameters in precipitation to hydroclimate processes

  2023cites this paper
• Moisture Sources and Rainfall δ18O Variability over the Central Andes of Peru—A Case Study from the Mantaro River Basin

  2023cites this paper
• Changes in atmospheric moisture transport over tropical South America: an analysis under a climate change scenario

  2023cites this paper
• Drivers of δ18O Variability Preserved in Ice Cores From Earth's Highest Tropical Mountain

  2023influential citation
• Comparison of recycled vapor contribution to precipitation in urban vs. rural area—A case study in western China

  2023cites this paper
• South American Monsoon variability over the last millennium in paleoclimate records and isotope-enabled climate models

  2022cites this paper
• Late quaternary hydrological changes in the southeastern amazon basin from n-alkane molecular and isotopic records in sediments of Saci lake, Pará state (Brazil)

  2022cites this paper
• Hydroclimate and vegetation changes in southeastern Amazonia over the past ∼25,000 years

  2022cites this paper
• Paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental changes in Amazonian lowlands over the last three millennia

  2022cites this paper
• Regional climate modeling of the diurnal cycle of precipitation and associated atmospheric circulation patterns over an Andean glacier region (Antisana, Ecuador)

  2022cites this paper
• Isotopes-Based Characterization of Precipitation Compositions and Atmospheric Water Vapor Sources Over Typical Eurasian Steppes in South Mongolian Plateau

  2022cites this paper
• The Seasonality of Deuterium Excess in Non‐Polar Precipitation

  2022influential citation
• Reply on RC2

  2022cites this paper
• Climate and environmental changes in southwestern Amazon Basin over the last 3000 years based on speleothem isotope records, Brazil

  2021cites this paper
• Amazonian Moisture Recycling Revisited Using WRF With Water Vapor Tracers

  2021cites this paper
• Atmospheric controls on precipitation isotopes and hydroclimate in high-elevation regions in Eastern Africa since the Last Glacial Maximum

  2021cites this paper
• The resilience of Amazon tree cover to past and present drying

  2021cites this paper
• Variations in the South Atlantic Convergence Zone over the mid-to-late Holocene inferred from speleothem δ18O in central Brazil

  2021cites this paper
• Water isotopic constraints on the enhancement of the mid-Holocene West African monsoon

  2021cites this paper
• Reply on RC1

  2021cites this paper
• Tree-ring oxygen isotopes record a decrease in Amazon dry season rainfall over the past 40 years

  2021cites this paper
• Variability and Controls on δ18O, d‐excess, and ∆′17O in Southern Peruvian Precipitation

  2021cites this paper
• Hydroclimate of the Andes Part II: Hydroclimate Variability and Sub-Continental Patterns

  2021cites this paper
• Isotopic signatures of moisture recycling and evaporation processes along the Western Ghats orography

  2021cites this paper
• Contribution of Recycled Moisture to Precipitation: A Modified D‐Excess‐Based Model

  2021cites this paper
• Changes in Normalized Difference Vegetation Index in the Orinoco and Amazon River Basins: Links to Tropical Atlantic Surface Temperatures

  2020cites this paper
• Contrasting Southern Hemisphere Monsoon Response: MidHolocene Orbital Forcing versus Future Greenhouse Gas–Induced Global Warming

  2020cites this paper
• On the relationship between reversal of the river stage (repiquetes), rainfall and low-level wind regimes over the western Amazon basin

  2020cites this paper
• Effects of Amazon basin deforestation on regional atmospheric circulation and water vapor transport towards tropical South America

  2020cites this paper
• Large isotope signals in tropical precipitation require large-scale changes in rainout

  year unknowncites this paper
• Atmospheric moisture tracking with WAM2layers v3

  year unknowncites this paper