Stable isotope analysis of precipitation samples obtained via crowdsourcing reveals the spatiotemporal evolution of Superstorm Sandy.

ABSTRACT: Extra-tropical cyclones, such as 2012 Superstorm Sandy, pose a significant climatic threat to the northeastern United Sates, yet prediction of hydrologic and thermodynamic processes within such systems is complicated by their interaction with mid-latitude water patterns as they move poleward. Fortunately, the evolution of these systems is also recorded in the stable isotope ratios of storm-associated precipitation and water vapor, and isotopic analysis provides constraints on difficult-to-observe cyclone dynamics. During Superstorm Sandy, a unique crowdsourced approach enabled 685 precipitation samples to be obtained for oxygen and hydrogen isotopic analysis, constituting the largest isotopic sampling of a synoptic-scale system to date. Isotopically, these waters span an enormous range of

SUBMITTER: Good SP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3949983 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature