Sánchez-Murillo Ricardo, Herrera Dimitris A, Farrick Kegan K, Esquivel-Hernández Germain, Sánchez-Gutiérrez Rolando, Barberena-Moncada Javier, Guatemala-Herrera Jorge, Flores-Meza Yelba, Cerón-Pineda Roberto, Gil-Urrutia Laura, Cardona-Hernández Jorge, Peña-Paz Tania, Hernández-Ortiz Junior O, Harrison-Smith Wendy, Marshall Geoffrey, Persoiu Aurel, Pérez-Quezadas Juan, Mejía-González Miguel, González-Hita Luis, de Calderón Marcia Barrera, García-Moya Alejandro, Hernández Debora, Welsh Kristen, Price Rene M, Riveros-Iregui Diego A, Voarintsoa Ny Riavo G, Bregy Joshua C, Sánchez-Llull Minerva, Alonso-Hernández Carlos, Santos-García Saúl, Durán-Quesada Ana M, Birkel Christian, Boll Jan, Cobb Kim M, Obando-Amador Adrián F, Vargas-Azofeifa Ingrid M, Tetzlaff Doerthe, Soulsby Chris, Dee Sylvia G
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas, USA.
Department of Geography & Sustainability, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2025 Jan;1543(1):145-165. doi: 10.1111/nyas.15274. Epub 2024 Dec 19.
Tropical cyclones (TCs) are one of the major natural hazards to island and coastal communities and ecosystems. However, isotopic compositions of TC-derived precipitation (P) in surface water (SW) and groundwater (GW) reservoirs are still lacking. We tested the three main assumptions of the isotope storm "spike" hypothesis (sudden spikes in isotopic ratios). Our database covers 40 TCs and is divided into recent (N = 778; 2012-2023) and archived (N = 236; 1984-1995) rainfall isotope observations and SW/GW isotope monitoring (N = 6013; 2014-2023). Seasonal rainfall contribution from TCs ranged from less than 1% to over 54% (4% on average) between 1984 and 2023. Mean δO compositions across TCs domains were significantly lower than the regional (noncyclonic) δO mean (-5.24 ± 4.27‰): maritime (-6.29 ± 3.28‰), coastal (-7.78 ± 4.28‰), and inland (-9.80 ± 5.18‰) values. Coastal and maritime TC convection resulted in large rainfall amounts with high isotope compositions. This could bias past climate reconstructions toward unrealistic drier conditions. Significant δO and d-excess differences were found between storm intensities. P/SW and P/GW isotope ratios revealed the rapid propagation of TC excursions in freshwater systems. Our findings highlight the potential of TC isotope observations for diagnosing intensity and frequency in paleoproxies beyond idealized TC models.
热带气旋（TCs）是岛屿和沿海社区及生态系统面临的主要自然灾害之一。然而，目前仍缺乏关于地表水（SW）和地下水（GW）水库中源自热带气旋的降水（P）的同位素组成信息。我们检验了同位素风暴“尖峰”假说（同位素比率突然出现尖峰）的三个主要假设。我们的数据库涵盖了40次热带气旋，分为近期（N = 778；2012 - 2023年）和存档（N = 236；1984 - 1995年）的降雨同位素观测数据以及SW/GW同位素监测数据（N = 6013；2014 - 2023年）。1984年至2023年期间，热带气旋带来的季节性降雨贡献从不到1%到超过54%（平均4%）不等。热带气旋区域内的平均δO组成显著低于区域（非气旋）δO平均值（-5.24 ± 4.27‰）：海洋区域（-6.29 ± 3.28‰）、沿海区域（-7.78 ± 4.28‰）和内陆区域（-9.80 ± 5.18‰）的值。沿海和海洋热带气旋对流导致降雨量较大且同位素组成较高。这可能会使过去的气候重建偏向于不切实际的干燥条件。在风暴强度之间发现了显著的δO和氘过量差异。P/SW和P/GW同位素比率揭示了热带气旋异常在淡水系统中的快速传播。我们的研究结果强调了热带气旋同位素观测在诊断古代理指标中强度和频率方面的潜力，超越了理想化的热带气旋模型。
