HR: 0800h
AN: C51B-1038    [Abstracts]
TI: Oxygen Isotope Ratios of Recently Fallen Snow Over the Wasatch Mountains of Northern Utah
AU: * Hynek, S A
EM: sahynek@mines.utah.edu
AF: Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, 135 South 1460 East , Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0119 United States
AU: Steenburgh, J
EM: jimsteen@met.utah.edu
AF: Department of Meteorology, University of Utah, 135 South 1460 East , Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0110 United States
AU: Poulos, G
EM: gsp@ucar.edu
AF: NCAR, Atmospheric Technology Division, P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307-3 United States
AB: Storm-to-storm variability of oxygen isotope ratios in recently fallen snow over the Wasatch Mountains of northern Utah are examined based on snow cores collected from the windward base (1650 m AMSL) to near the crest (3200 m AMSL) roughly 15 km away. Such observations provide insight into the origins and microphysical processing of hydrometeors falling along the windward slopes of this narrow, steeply sloped range. Oxygen isotope data is combined with local meteorological observations and trajectory analyses for each storm. No relationship is found between isotope ratio and crest level wind direction. The observations obtained are evaluated for their usefulness in determining the predominant source for storm moisture, whether marine or continental. Examples of the elevation dependence of oxygen isotope ratios, and their variability from storm to storm, will be presented and discussed.
DE: 3322 Land/atmosphere interactions
DE: 3309 Climatology (1620)
DE: 1854 Precipitation (3354)
DE: 1040 Isotopic composition/chemistry
SC: Cryosphere [C]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting