Time series of the summertime atmospheric water vapour isotopic composition at Concordia station, East Antarctica

Measurements of stable water isotopes in the atmospheric water vapour can be used to better understand the physical processes of the atmospheric water cycle.

In polar regions, the atmospheric water vapour isotopic composition is a key parameter to understand the link between the precipitation and snow isotopic compositions and interpret isotope climate records from ice cores. In this study we present a novel 2.5-month accurate record of the atmospheric water vapour isotopic composition during the austral summer 2023–2024 (6 December 2023 to 14 February 2024) at Concordia Station (East Antarctica), from two laser spectrometers based on different measurement techniques, which are independently calibrated and both optimised to measure in low humidity environments. We show that both instruments accurately measure the summertime diurnal variability in the water vapour δ¹⁸O, δD, and d-excess, when the water vapour mixing ratio is consistently higher than 200 ppmv. We compare these measurements to outputs of the isotope-enabled atmospheric general circulation model LMDZ6-iso and show that the model exhibits biases in both the mean water vapour isotopic composition and the amplitude of the diurnal cycle, consistent with previous studies. Hence, this study provides a novel dataset of the atmospheric water vapour isotopic composition on the Antarctic Plateau, which can be used to evaluate isotope-enabled atmospheric general circulation models.

The dataset is available on the public repository PANGAEA.

Figure : Schematic of the instrumental set-up for the continuous analysis of the water vapour isotopic composition at Dome C. Panel (a) shows a picture of the sampling line inlet above the snow surface. Panel (b) shows a schematic of the instrumental set-up with both analysers and the calibration unit (LHLG) inside the heated underground shelter. through automated flask sampling systems using loops employing 1/4” PFA tubing and micropumps. Subsequently, air from these loops is sub-sampled using 1/8-inch PFA tubes and Valco selectors and analyzed with an isotope analyzer.

Authors: Inès Ollivier, Thomas Lauwers, Niels Dutrievoz, Cécile Agosta, Mathieu Casado, Elise Fourré, Christophe Genthon, Olivier Jossoud, Frédéric Prié, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, and Amaëlle Landais

Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 5655–5674, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-5655-2025, 2025