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The Importance of Continental Evaporation for Precipitation in Colombia: A Baseline Combining Observations from Stable Isotopes and Modeling Moisture Trajectories
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  • Maritza Escobar,
  • Isabel Hoyos,
  • Isabel Hoyos,
  • Juan Camilo Villegas
Maritza Escobar
Universidad de Antioquia

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Isabel Hoyos
Universidad del Quindío
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Isabel Hoyos
Universidad de Antioquia
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Juan Camilo Villegas
Universidad de Antioquia
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Abstract

The hydroclimatology of Northern South America responds to strongly-coupled dynamics of oceanic and terrestrial surface-atmosphere exchange, as moisture evaporated from these sources interact to produce continental rainfall. However, the relative contributions of these two source types through the annual cycle have been described only in modeling studies, with no observational tools used to corroborate these predictions. The use of isotopic techniques to study moisture sources has been common in assessing changes in the water cycle and in climate dynamics, as isotopes allow tracking the connection between evaporation, transpiration, and precipitation, as well as the influence of large scale hydroclimatic phenomena, such as the seasonal Inter Tropical Convergence Zone migration. We characterize the isotopic composition of moisture sources becoming precipitation in the Andes and Caribbean regions of Colombia, using stable isotopes data (δ18O, δ2H) from the Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation (1971-2016) and contrasting it with moisture trajectory tracking from the FLEXPART model, using input from ERA-Interim reanalysis to compute the relative contribution of oceanic and terrestrial sources through the annual cycle. Our results indicate that most precipitation in the region comes from terrestrial sources including recycling (>30 % for all months), Orinoco (up to 28 % monthly for April), and the northern Amazon (up to 17 % monthly for June, July, and August); followed by oceanic sources including the Tropical South Pacific (up to 30 % monthly in October, November, December) and Tropical North Atlantic (up to 30 % monthly for January). These outcomes highlight the utility of combining stable isotopes in precipitation and modeling techniques to discriminate terrestrial and oceanic sources of precipitation. Further, our results highlight the need to assess the hydrological consequences of land cover change in South America, particularly in a country like Colombia where water, food and energy security all depend directly on precipitation. .
21 Sep 2021Submitted to Hydrological Processes
23 Sep 2021Submission Checks Completed
23 Sep 2021Assigned to Editor
23 Sep 2021Reviewer(s) Assigned
04 Nov 2021Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
10 Nov 2021Editorial Decision: Revise Major
05 Feb 20221st Revision Received
16 Feb 2022Submission Checks Completed
16 Feb 2022Assigned to Editor
16 Feb 2022Reviewer(s) Assigned
23 Feb 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
24 Feb 2022Editorial Decision: Revise Major
19 Apr 20222nd Revision Received
21 Apr 2022Submission Checks Completed
21 Apr 2022Assigned to Editor
21 Apr 2022Reviewer(s) Assigned
21 Apr 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
28 Apr 2022Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
28 Apr 20223rd Revision Received
29 Apr 2022Reviewer(s) Assigned
29 Apr 2022Submission Checks Completed
29 Apr 2022Assigned to Editor
29 Apr 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
05 May 2022Editorial Decision: Accept
Jun 2022Published in Hydrological Processes volume 36 issue 6. 10.1002/hyp.14595