A review by Mathias Sprenger and others in 2016 described how preferential flowpaths alter the iotopic seasonality signature in soils. When these pathways exist (see my post on macropores), young, topsoil water is directly added to soil layers which have a different or dampened signature. This causes sharp deviations which stick out of the otherwise smooth profile.

This post is part of my water science communication series #waterwednesday where I weekly post short researchfindings or just stuff that interests me

Sources:

Rozanski, K., Araguás-Araguás, L. and Gonfiantini, R. (2013) “Isotopic patterns in modern global precipitation,” Climate Change in Continental Isotopic Records, pp. 1–36. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1029/gm078p0001.

Sprenger, M. et al. (2016) “Illuminating hydrological processes at the soil-vegetation-atmosphere interface with water stable isotopes,” Reviews of Geophysics, 54(3), pp. 674–704. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/2015rg000515.