Nitrate isotopes (δ15N, δ18O) in precipitation: best practices from an international coordinated research project.

Stable isotope ratios of nitrogen and oxygen (15N/14N and 18O/16O) of nitrate (NO3-) are excellent tracers for developing systematic understanding of sources, conversions, and deposition of reactive atmospheric nitrogen (Nr) in the environment. Despite recent analytical advances, standardized sampling of NO3-) isotopes in precipitation is still lacking. To advance atmospheric studies on Nr species, we propose best-practice guidelines for accurate and precise sampling and analysis of NO3- isotopes in precipitation based on the experience obtained from an international research project coordinated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The precipitation sampling and preservation strategies yielded a good agreement between the NO3- concentrations measured at the laboratories of 16 countries and at the IAEA. Compared to conventional methods (e.g., bacterial denitrification), we confirmed the accurate performance of the lower cost Ti(III) reduction method for isotope analyses (15N and 18O) of NO3- in precipitation samples. These isotopic data depict different origins and oxidation pathways of inorganic nitrogen. This work emphasized the capability of NO3- isotopes to assess the origin and atmospheric oxidation of Nr and outlined a pathway to improve laboratory capability and expertise at a global scale. The incorporation of other isotopes like 17O in Nr is recommended in future studies.

Stable isotopes in global lakes integrate catchment and climatic controls on evaporation.

Global warming is considered a major threat to Earth's lakes water budgets and quality. However, flow regulation, over-exploitation, lack of hydrological data, and disparate evaluation methods hamper comparative global estimates of lake vulnerability to evaporation. We have analyzed the stable isotope composition of 1257 global lakes and we find that most lakes depend on precipitation and groundwater recharge subsequently altered by catchment and lake evaporation processes. Isotope mass-balance modeling shows that ca. 20% of water inflow in global lakes is lost through evaporation and ca. 10% of lakes in arid and temperate zones experience extreme evaporative losses >40 % of the total inflow. Precipitation amount, limnicity, wind speed, relative humidity, and solar radiation are predominant controls on lake isotope composition and evaporation, regardless of the climatic zone. The promotion of systematic global isotopic monitoring of Earth's lakes provides a direct and comparative approach to detect the impacts of climatic and catchment-scale changes on water-balance and evaporation trends.