The isotopic composition of water molecules is a powerful tool for tracing recent and past climate changes. Variations in stable isotopes (¹⁶O, ¹⁷O, ¹⁸O, ¹H, ²H) and radioactive isotopes (³H) reveal changes in temperature, precipitation patterns, evaporation rates, and more. Monitoring the isotopic signatures in precipitation and water sources provides critical insights into local, regional, and global climatic responses to global warming, offering valuable data for understanding and predicting future climate dynamics. Moreover, isotopic analysis of natural archives (ice cores, sediments, tree rings, and fossilized remains) enables the reconstruction of past temperature fluctuations, hydrological cycles, and atmospheric circulation patterns spanning millennia.
This session invites contributions related to atmo-, cryo-, hydro-, and geosphere isotopic investigations of the water cycle to trace recent and past climate change.