Stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen in the Truckee River-Pyramid Lake surface-water system. 3. Source of water vapor overlying Pyramid Lake

Authors

Larry Benson, U.S. Geological SurveyFollow
J. W. C. White, University of Colorado, Boulder

Date of this Version

1994

Citation

Limnology & Oceanography, 39(B), 1994, 1945-1958.

Comments

US gov't work.

Abstract

During 1988 and 1989, a series of water-vapor extractions were conducted in the Pyramid Lake basin to determine the source of moisture that overlies the lake. Calculations of the isotopic and water-vapor balances were made from isotopic and meteorological data from the Pyramid Lake and Reno, Nevada, areas. The results indicate that in the warm season, most of the moisture that overlies the lake is derived from evaporation as opposed to advected moisture. Isotopic fluxes at the lake surface can be approximated by climatic data from the lake site, which simplifies the calculation of this input in numerical simulations of the isotopic evolution of the lake.