Vapor hydrogen and oxygen isotopes reflect water of combustion in the urban atmosphere.

ABSTRACT: Anthropogenic modification of the water cycle involves a diversity of processes, many of which have been studied intensively using models and observations. Effective tools for measuring the contribution and fate of combustion-derived water vapor in the atmosphere are lacking, however, and this flux has received relatively little attention. We provide theoretical estimates and a first set of measurements demonstrating that water of combustion is characterized by a distinctive combination of H and O isotope ratios. We show that during periods of relatively low humidity and/or atmospheric stagnation, this isotopic signature can be used to quantify the concentration of water of combustion in the atmospheric boundary layer over Salt Lake City. Combustion-derived vapor concentrations vary betwee

SUBMITTER: Gorski G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4371996 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature