Determining the Isotopic Composition of Surface Water Vapor Flux From
High-Frequency Observations Using Flux-Gradient and Keeling Plot Methods
Abstract
The isotopic composition of surface water vapor flux (δE) is a quantity
frequently used to investigate the local and regional water cycle. This
study reports the results of a comparative evaluation of δE determined
with the Keeling plot and the flux-gradient methods using high-frequency
data collected at a cropland site and a lake site. Three regression
models, ordinary least squares (OLS), York’s solution (YS), and
geometric mean regression (GMR), were tested with the Keeling plot
method. Results show that field characterization of measurement errors
can improve the estimation of the YS regression. For both sites, broad
agreement was achieved between the Keeling plot method with YS
regression, the Keeling plot method with OLS regression and the
flux-gradient method. For the lake site, OLS was the least biased of the
three regression models in reference to the δE calculated by the
Craig-Gordon model of isotopic evaporation of open water. These results
favor the OLS over the YS regression for studies of isotopic evaporation
when measurement errors in field conditions are unavailable.