by Joel R Gat (Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel)

Within the realm of the newly evolving discipline of environmental sciences, the stable-isotope methodology is being used to an ever-increasing extent, especially in the study of the water cycle and of paleo-climatology. This book introduces the rules of the game, by reviewing the natural variability of stable isotopes in the hydrosphere, describing the physico-chemical basis of isotope fractionation, and applying this knowledge to natural waters as they move through the hydrologic cycle from the ocean to the atmosphere, the biosphere and the lithosphere. There is a special focus on the processes at the surface–atmosphere and land–biosphere–atmosphere interfaces, since these are the sites of major changes in isotope composition. In response to the increasing awareness of our changing climate, a discussion on the global view of the changing water cycle, in the past and future, winds up the presentation.

• Introduction:
  • Review of the Hydrosphere: Reservoirs, Residence Times and Fluxes
  • Atoms, Isotopes (Stable and Radioactive), Isotopic Molecules and Their Physical Properties
  • Oxygen and Hydrogen Isotopes: Natural Abundance and Measurement Techniques
• Isotope Fractionation:
  • Isotope Fractionation During Transport Processes (Transport Fractionation Factors)
  • Isotope Fractionation in Chemical and Biochemical Reactions (Kinetic Fractionation Factors)
  • Isotope Fractionation During Transport Processes (Transport Fractionation Factors)
  • The Rayleigh Equations
  • Isotope Fractionation in Open, Closed and Steady State Systems
  • Isotope Fractionation During Evaporation of Water Under Natural Conditions
  • Mass Independent Fractionations
• Descriptive Isotope Hydrology and Applications:
  • The Ocean System
  • Clouds and Precipitation
  • Precipitation Over the Continents
  • Surface Waters
  • Water in Soils, Plants and the Land/Air Interface
  • Snow, Ice and Snowmelt Processes
  • Groundwaters
  • Arid Zone Hydrology
  • Saline Systems
  • Geothermal Waters
• The Global Picture:
  • The Ocean/Atmosphere and Land/Atmosphere Interactions
  • The Stable Isotopes in Global Atmospheric Circulation Models
  • Climate Change and Its Effect on the Isotope Composition in the Water Cycle
  • Oxygen and Hydrogen Isotope Composition of Proxy Materials as Tools of Paleoclimatic Research
• Appendices:
  • Tritium as a Tracer in the Water Cycle
  • Carbon, Nitrogen and Sulphur Isotopes in Water Reservoirs