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At least 541 records · Page 30
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Stable isotopes contain substantial additive information about terrestrial carbon and water cycling

Abstract Stable isotope ratios of H ( δ 2 H ), O ( δ 18 O), and C ( δ 13 C) are linked to key biogeochemical processes of the water and carbon cycles; however, the degree to which isotope-associated processes are reflected in macroscale ecosystem flux observations remains unquantified. Here through formal information assessment, new measurements of δ 13 C of net ecosystem exchange ( NEE ) as well as δ 2 H and δ 18 O of latent heat ( LH ) fluxes across the United States National Ecological Observation Network (NEON) are used to determine conditions under which isotope measurements are informative of environmental exchanges. We find all three isotopic datasets individually contain comparable amounts of information about NEE and LH fluxes as wind speed observations. Such information from isotope measurements, however, is largely unique. Generally, δ 13 C provides more information about LH as aridity increases or mean annual precipitation decreases. δ 2 H provides more information about LH as temperatures or mean annual precipitation decreases, and also provides more information about NEE as temperatures decrease. Overall, we show that the stable isotope datasets collected by NEON contribute non-trivial amounts of new information about bulk environmental fluxes useful for interpreting biogeochemical and ecohydrological processes at landscape scales. However, the utility of this new information varies with environmental conditions at continental scales. This study provides an approach for quantifying the value adding non-traditional sensing approaches to environmental monitoring sites and the patterns identified here are expected to aid in modeling and data interpretation efforts focused on constraining carbon and water cycles’ mechanisms.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2013

DISCOVERY OF AN ULTRAMASSIVE PULSATING WHITE DWARF

We announce the discovery of the most massive pulsating hydrogen-atmosphere white dwarf (WD) ever discovered, GD 518. Model atmosphere fits to the optical spectrum of this star show it is a 12, 030 {+-} 210 K WD with a log g =9.08 {+-} 0.06, which corresponds to a mass of 1.20 {+-} 0.03 M{sub Sun }. Stellar evolution models indicate that the progenitor of such a high-mass WD endured a stable carbon-burning phase, producing an oxygen-neon-core WD. The discovery of pulsations in GD 518 thus offers the first opportunity to probe the interior of a WD with a possible oxygen-neon core. Such a massive WD should also be significantly crystallized at this temperature. The star exhibits multi-periodic luminosity variations at timescales ranging from roughly 425 to 595 s and amplitudes up to 0.7%, consistent in period and amplitude with the observed variability of typical ZZ Ceti stars, which exhibit non-radial g-mode pulsations driven by a hydrogen partial ionization zone. Successfully unraveling both the total mass and core composition of GD 518 provides a unique opportunity to investigate intermediate-mass stellar evolution, and can possibly place an upper limit to the mass of a carbon-oxygen-core WD, which in turn constrains Type Ia supernovae progenitor systems.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Three-atomic clusters of rare gases within Faddeev approach

The properties of the rare gas clusters of helium and neon are studied. The calculations of the bound state energies of helium and neon trimers are performed within Faddeev differential equation in total angular momentum representation.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Study of soft X-ray emission during wire array implosion under plasma focus conditions at the PF-3 facility

Results of measurements of soft X-ray emission with photon energies of <1 keV under conditions of a plasma focus (PF) experiment are presented. The experiments were carried out at the world’s largest PF device—the PF-3 Filippov-type facility (I ⩽ 3 MA, T/4 ≈ 15–20 µs, W{sub 0} ⩽ 3 MJ). X-ray emission from both a discharge in pure neon and with a tungsten wire array placed on the axis of the discharge chamber was detected. The wire array imploded under the action of the electric current intercepted from the plasma current sheath of the PF discharge in neon. The measured soft X-ray powers from a conventional PF discharge in gas and a PF discharge in the presence of a wire array were compared for the first time.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Data and scripts associated with “Sequential Precipitation Input Tagging (SPIT) to Estimate Water Transit Times and Hydrologic Tracer Dynamics within Water-Tagging Enabled Hydrologic Models” (v3)

This data package is associated with the publication “Sequential Precipitation Input Tagging (SPIT) to Estimate Water Transit Times and Hydrologic Tracer Dynamics within Water-Tagging Enabled Hydrologic Models” submitted to Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems (Butler et al. 2025). This study developed the Sequential Precipitation Input Tagging (SPIT) framework to tag input precipitation and estimate water transit times and hydrologic tracers. SPIT tags all precipitation events at regular intervals over an extended period (monthly tags over seven years) in a hydrologic model from 2016-2022. SPIT is applied at six National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) sites across the continental United States to calculate transit time distributions (TTD) and derive from these mean transit times (MTT), fractions of young water (Fyw), and hydrologic tracer concentrations in stream water (δ18O) within a water-tagging enabled version of the Weather Research and Forecast (WT-WRF-Hydro) model with national water model (NWM) configurations. We go on to validate WT-WRF-Hydro estimates against Butler et al. (2023), who analyzed the same NEON sites using stable water isotope data to estimate water transit times. This new tracking method provides a detailed picture of water movement and helps improve predictions about water availability in the future. This data package was originally published in January 2025. It was updated May 2025 (v2; new and modified files) and October 2025 (v3; new and modified files). File and folder names were not revised to indicate changes. See the change history section in the readme for more details. This data package contains the data and scripts used to develop the SPIT framework WT-WRF-Hydro (Water Tagging Weather Research and Forecasting Hydrologic) model and is associated with the following GitHub repository: https://github.com/zbutler33/SPIT-Framework. This data package contains five parent folders: (1) “Manipulated_outputs”, (2) “Metadata”, (3) “Observed”, (4) “Outputs”, and (5) “Scripts”. Each of these parent folders contains additional subfolders and files. Please see the FLMD (“v*_Butler_2024_WT_WRF_Hydro_flmd.csv”) for a list of all the files contained in this data package and descriptions for each. See the data dictionary (“v*_Butler_2024_WT_WRF_Hydro_dd.csv”) for definitions and units of all of the tabular (files ending in “.csv” and ".tsv") column headers.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

CHESS 2025: Location data for field observations and sampling

This dataset represents geolocation data associated with field observations and sampling from the Colorado Headwaters Ecological Spectroscopy Study (CHESS) during June and July of 2025. Location data were collected using Trimble DA2 Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers with Trimble Catalyst 2 centimeter (cm) positioning service and the Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri) Field Maps mobile app. Files in this data package include meadow site polygons, shrub site polygons, tree site polygons and stem point locations, and Leaf Area Index (LAI) plot polygons (.geojson). The geojson files can be opened with open-source GIS software (e.g, QGIS). A csv file is also provided with point coordinates for all locations. CHESS Project Description: The Colorado Headwaters Ecological Spectroscopy Study (CHESS) comprised a multi-week airborne remote sensing and field observation campaign in the Upper Gunnison Basin, Colorado, conducted in June and July of 2025. Airborne remote sensing was conducted by the National Ecological Observatory Network Airborne Observation Platform (NEON AOP), concurrent with a field campaign run by the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL), the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory Watershed Function Science Focus Area (SFA), and NASA-JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) program. Between June 10 and July 18, 2025, the NEON AOP flight team collected high-resolution aerial imaging spectroscopy and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data over three domains: the Upper East River (CRBU), Almont Triangle (ALMO), and the Upper Taylor Basin (UPTA). In coordination with the flights, a field campaign acquired ground-truth observations, including observations of vegetation composition, foliar traits, forest demography, and subsurface properties in 18 core sampling areas within the domains. Additional surface water observations were taken at over 380 point locations. All CHESS campaign datasets can be found within the CHESS ESS-DIVE data portal: https://data.ess-dive.lbl.gov/portals/chess. Funding Acknowledgment: Field and remote-sensing data acquisition was performed under a grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NSSC24K1005). This work was also supported by the Watershed Function Science Focus Area at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory funded by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231.

2018 NEON and 2025 CHESS Campaigns↗
DOE OSTI2026

Water Observations of Flow/No-Flow for the East-Taylor Watershed, Colorado (June-July 2025 and 2026)

This dataset provides multi-year, ground-truth visual observations of surface water flow/no-flow conditions within the East-Taylor Watershed, Colorado, collected during June and July of 2025 and 2026. In June and July 2025, on-the-ground visual observations of flow/no-flow were collected as part of the Watershed Function Scientific Focus Area (SFA) and Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) Colorado Headwaters Ecological Spectroscopy Study (CHESS) campaign (further details are provided within the CHESS Project Description). We obtained 377 water observations of flow/no-flow within the East-Taylor Watershed, Colorado. These ground-truth observations were collected to validate classification maps from remote sensing data and model results within the East-Taylor Watershed. In 2025, flow/no-flow measurements were collected using a field-based app for the CHESS Campaign (Zerion iForm). Within the field app, a water observation form was created to collect coordinates and metadata about the observation. Information collected for the water observation points included information about visually-assessed streamflow presence/absence (standard question obtained from Colorado State University’s StreamTracker project), flow estimate, stream or ponded area width, canopy cover, manganese films, iron seeps, and beaver activity. For 2025 water observations, this dataset contains: (1) a data file with the water observations and coordinates (2025_Water_Observations.csv); (2) a Keyhole Markup Language Zipped (KMZ) with the water observation locations and metadata (2025_Water_Observations_Locations.kmz); (3) photos (.jpg and .jpeg) of the water observation points, organized by location, contained within 2025_Water_Observations_FieldPhotographs.zip file; and (4) water observation protocols and figures (2025_Water_Observation_Protocols.pdf). In June and July 2026, on-the-ground visual observations of flow/no-flow were collected as part of the Watershed Function SFA project. We obtained 365 water observations of flow/no-flow within the East-Taylor Watershed, Colorado. The 2026 observations focused on collecting repeat measurements at the 2025 flow/no-flow observation locations conducted as part of the CHESS campaign. These ground-truth observations were collected to understand differences in flow/no-flow in 2026, given the unprecedented 2026 drought in Colorado. In 2026, flow/no-flow measurements were collected using ArcGIS (Geographic Information System) Survey123. Within the field app, a water observation form was created to collect coordinates and metadata about the observation. Information collected for the water observation points included repeat information from the 2025 water observation effort, including visually-assessed streamflow presence/absence (standard question obtained from Colorado State University’s StreamTracker project), flow estimate, stream or ponded area width, canopy cover, manganese films, iron seeps, beaver activity, and a new metadata component of estimated stream depth (for select locations). For 2026 water observations, this dataset contains: (1) a data file with the water observations and coordinates (2026_Water_Observations.csv); (2) a Keyhole Markup Language Zipped (KMZ) with the water observation locations and metadata (2026_Water_Observations_Locations.kmz); (3) photos (.jpg) of the water observation points, organized by location, contained within 2026_Water_Observations_FieldPhotographs.zip file; and (4) water observation protocols and figures (2026_Water_Observation_Protocols.pdf). For 2025 and 2026 water observations, this dataset contains: (1) a location metadata file (locations.csv); (6) a file-level metadata (flmd.csv) file that lists each file contained in the dataset with associated metadata; and (7) a data dictionary (dd.csv) file that contains column/row headers used throughout the files along with a definition, units, and data type. CHESS Project Description: The Colorado Headwaters Ecological Spectroscopy Study (CHESS) comprised a multi-week airborne remote sensing and field observation campaign in the Upper Gunnison Basin, Colorado, conducted in June and July of 2025. Airborne remote sensing was conducted by the National Ecological Observatory Network Airborne Observation Platform (NEON AOP), concurrent with a field campaign run by the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL), the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory Watershed Function Science Focus Area (SFA), and NASA-JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) program. Between June 10 and July 18, 2025, the NEON AOP flight team collected high-resolution aerial imaging spectroscopy and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data over three domains: the Upper East River (CRBU), Almont Triangle (ALMO), and the Upper Taylor Basin (UPTA). In coordination with the flights, a field campaign acquired ground-truth observations, including observations of vegetation composition, foliar traits, forest demography, and subsurface properties in 18 core sampling areas within the domains. Additional surface water observations were taken at over 380 point locations. All CHESS campaign datasets can be found within the CHESS ESS-DIVE data portal: https://data.ess-dive.lbl.gov/portals/chess. This work was supported by the Watershed Function Science Focus Area at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory funded by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231. 2026-09-02: This dataset was updated to include 2026 water observation measurements. The 2025 observation files were also updated to ensure a consistent file naming convention across water observation years.

2018 NEON and 2025 CHESS Campaigns↗
DOE OSTI2016

Atomic chemistry in turbulent astrophysical media II: Effect of the redshift zero metagalactic background

Here, we carry out direct numerical simulations of turbulent astrophysical media exposed to the redshift zero metagalactic background. The simulations assume solar composition and explicitly track ionizations, recombinations, and ion-by-ion radiative cooling for hydrogen, helium, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, neon, sodium, magnesium, silicon, sulfur, calcium, and iron. Each run reaches a global steady state that depends not only on the ionization parameter, $U,$ and mass-weighted average temperature, ${T}_{{\rm{MW}}},$ but also on the one-dimensional turbulent velocity dispersion, ${\sigma }_{{\rm{1D}}}$. We carry out runs that span a grid of models with U ranging from 0 to 10 –1 and ${\sigma }_{{\rm{1D}}}$ ranging from 3.5 to 58 km s –1 , and we vary the product of the mean density and the driving scale of the turbulence, ${nL},$ which determines the average temperature of the medium, from ${nL}={10}^{16}$ to ${nL}={10}^{20}$ cm –2 . The turbulent Mach numbers of our simulations vary from $M\approx 0.5$ for the lowest velocity dispersion cases to $M\approx 20$ for the largest velocity dispersion cases. When $M\lesssim 1,$ turbulent effects are minimal, and the species abundances are reasonably described as those of a uniform photoionized medium at a fixed temperature. On the other hand, when $M\gtrsim 1,$ dynamical simulations such as the ones carried out here are required to accurately predict the species abundances. We gather our results into a set of tables to allow future redshift zero studies of the intergalactic medium to account for turbulent effects.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Modeling Emission of Heavy Energetic Neutral Atoms from the Heliosphere

Observations of energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) are a fruitful tool for remote diagnosis of the plasma in the heliosphere and its vicinity. So far, instruments detecting ENAs from the heliosphere were configured for observations of hydrogen atoms. Here, we estimate emissions of ENAs of the heavy chemical elements helium, oxygen, nitrogen, and neon. A large portion of the heliospheric ENAs is created in the inner heliosheath from neutralized interstellar pick-up ions (PUIs). We modeled this process and calculated full-sky intensities of ENAs for energies 0.2–130 keV/nuc. We found that the largest fluxes among considered species are expected for helium, smaller for oxygen and nitrogen, and smallest for neon. The obtained intensities are 50–10{sup 6} times smaller than the hydrogen ENA intensities observed by IBEX . The detection of heavy ENAs will be possible if a future ENA detector is equipped with the capability to measure the masses of observed atoms. Because of different reaction cross-sections among the different species, observations of heavy ENAs can allow for a better understanding of global structure of the heliosphere as well as the transport and energization of PUIs in the heliosphere.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Line Identification of Atomic and Ionic Spectra of Holmium in the Near-UV. Part I. Spectrum of Ho i

The Fourier Transform spectra of a Holmium hollow cathode discharge lamp have been investigated in the UV spectral range from 25,000 up to 31,530 cm{sup −1} (317 to 400 nm). Two Ho spectra have been measured with neon and argon as buffer gases. Based on the intensity ratios from these two spectra, a distinction was made between atomic and ionic lines (ionic lines are discussed in an accompanying paper). Using the known Ho i energy levels, 71 lines could be classified as transitions of atomic Ho, 34 of which have not been published previously. Another 32 lines, which could not be classified, are listed in the literature and assigned as atomic Ho. An additional 370 spectral lines have been assigned to atomic Ho based on the signal-to-noise ratio in the two spectra measured under different discharge conditions, namely with buffer gases argon and neon, respectively. These 370 lines have not been previously listed in the literature.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

The MOSDEF survey: detection of [O {sub III}]λ4363 and the direct-method oxygen abundance of a star-forming galaxy at z = 3.08

We present measurements of the electron-temperature-based oxygen abundance for a highly star-forming galaxy at z = 3.08, COSMOS-1908. This is the highest redshift at which [O iii]λ4363 has been detected and the first time that this line has been measured at z>2. We estimate an oxygen abundance of 12+log(O/H)=8.00{sub −0.14}{sup +0.13}. This galaxy is a low-mass (10{sup 9.3} M{sub ⊙}), highly star-forming (∼50 M{sub ⊙} yr{sup −1}) system that hosts a young stellar population (∼160 Myr). We investigate the physical conditions of the ionized gas in COSMOS-1908 and find that this galaxy has a high ionization parameter, little nebular reddening (E(B−V){sub gas}<0.14), and a high electron density (n{sub e}∼500 cm{sup −3}). We compare the ratios of strong oxygen, neon, and hydrogen lines to the direct-method oxygen abundance for COSMOS-1908 and additional star-forming galaxies at z=0−1.8 with [O iii]λ4363 measurements and show that galaxies at z∼1--3 follow the same strong-line correlations as galaxies in the local universe. This agreement suggests that the relationship between ionization parameter and O/H is similar for z∼0 and high-redshift galaxies. These results imply that metallicity calibrations based on lines of oxygen, neon, and hydrogen do not strongly evolve with redshift and can reliably estimate abundances out to z∼3, paving the way for robust measurements of the evolution of the mass–metallicity relation to high redshift.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1994

Electronic absorption spectroscopy of matrix-isolated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon cations. II. The phenanthrene cation (C14H10+) and its 1-methyl derivative

The ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared absorption spectra of phenanthrene (C14H10), 1-methylphenanthrene [(CH3)C14H9], and their radical ions [C14H10+; (CH3)C14H9+], formed by vacuum-ultraviolet irradiation, were measured in neon matrices at 4.2 K. The associated vibronic band systems and their spectroscopic assignments are discussed. The oscillator strengths were calculated for the phenanthrene ion and found lower than the theoretical predictions. This study presents the first spectroscopic data for phenanthrene and its methyl derivative trapped in a neon matrix where the perturbation of the isolated species by its environment is minimum; a condition crucial to astrophysical applications.

NASA Discipline Exobiology↗
NASA NTRS1992

Is a pyrene-like molecular ion the cause of the 4,430-angstroms diffuse interstellar absorption band?

The diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs), ubiquitous absorption features in astronomical spectra, have been known since early this century and now number more than a hundred. Ranging from 4,400 angstroms to the near infrared, they differ markedly in depth, width and shape, making the concept of a single carrier unlikely. Whether they are due to gas or grains is not settled, but recent results suggest that the DIB carriers are quite separate from the grains that cause visual extinction. Among molecular candidates the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been proposed as the possible carriers of some of the DIBs, and we present here laboratory measurements of the optical spectrum of the pyrene cation C16H10+ in neon and argon matrices. The strongest absorption feature falls at 4,435 +/- 5 angstroms in the argon matrix and 4,395 +/- 5 angstroms in the neon matrix, both close to the strong 4,430-angstroms DIB. If this or a related pyrene-like species is responsible for this particular band, it must account for 0.2% of all cosmic carbon. The ion also shows an intense but puzzling broad continuum, extending from the ultraviolet to the visible, similar to what is seen in the naphthalene cation and perhaps therefore a common feature of all PAH cations. This may provide an explanation of how PAHs convert a large fraction of interstellar radiation from ultraviolet and visible wavelengths down to the infrared.

NASA Center ARC↗
NASA NTRS1998

The effect of track structure on the induction of chromosomal aberrations in murine cells

PURPOSE: To measure chromosome aberrations in C3H 10T1/2 mouse fibroblasts using FISH painting at the first mitosis following exposure to 30 keV/microm hydrogen or neon ions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cells in plateau-phase were irradiated with 0.86 MeV protons at the TTT-3 Tandem accelerator in Naples (Italy), or with 400 MeV/n Ne ions at the HIMAC accelerator in Chiba (Japan). Colcemid-blocked cells were harvested at the first mitosis following exposure, and chromosome spreads were hybridized in situ with a fluorescein-labelled composite mouse DNA probe specific for chromosomes 2 and 8. RESULTS: Protons were more efficient than neon ions at the same LET in the induction of chromosome interchanges and breaks. Yields of complex exchanges were similar for both particles at the same dose, but protons produced mostly insertions, while with Ne exposure non-reciprocal exchanges were the most frequent complex-type exchange. CONCLUSIONS: Charged particles with the same LET produce different yields of chromosome aberrations, and some observed differences can be explained based on the available track-structure models.

NASA Center JSC↗
NASA NTRS1995

Far Ultraviolet Emission Cross Sections of Ne II and Ne III Excited by Electron Impact

In the electron-impact-induced fluorescence spectrum on neon in the wavelength range of 120 270 nm at a spectral resolution of 0.43 nm, the strongest lines in the far ultraviolet (FUV) spectrum of neon are assigned to items of the Doublet system of Ne II and the Triplet system of Ne III. FUV spectral data at 300 eV electron impact energy provide absolute emission cross sections of these Ne II and Ne III lines and are compared to previous measurements.

electron impact fluorescence spectrum neon Doublet↗
DOE OSTI2021

Long-term hydrological, biogeochemical, and climatological data from Walker Branch Watershed, East Tennessee, USA

In 1967, the original Walker Branch Watershed (WBW) project was established to study elemental cycling and mass balances in a relatively unimpacted watershed. Over the next 50+ years, findings from additional experimental studies and long-term observations on WBW advanced understanding of catchment hydrology, biogeochemistry, and ecology and established WBW as a seminal site for catchment science. The 97.5-ha WBW is located in East Tennessee, USA, on the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Reservation. Vegetation on the watershed is characteristic of an eastern deciduous, second-growth forest. The watershed is divided into two subcatchments: the West Fork (38.4 ha) and the East Fork (59.1 ha). Headwater streams draining these subcatchments are fed by multiple springs, and thus flow is perennial. Stream water is high in base cations due to weathering of dolomite bedrock and nutrient concentrations are low. Long-term observations of climate, hydrology, and biogeochemistry include daily (1969–2014) and 15-min (1994–2014) stream discharge and annual runoff (1969–2014); hourly, daily, and annual rainfall (1969–2012); daily climate and soil temperature (1993–2010); and weekly stream water chemistry (1989–2013). These long-term datasets are publicly available on the WBW website (https://walkerbranch.ornl.gov/long-term-data/). While collection of these data has ceased, related long-term measurements continue through the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), where WBW is the core terrestrial and aquatic site in the Appalachian and Cumberland Plateau region (NEON's Domain 7) of the United States. These long-term datasets have been and will continue to be important in evaluating the influence of climatic and environmental drivers on catchment processes.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Relationship between isotope ratios in precipitation and stream water across watersheds of the National Ecological Observation Network

The timescales associated with precipitation moving through watersheds reveal processes that are critical to understanding many hydrologic systems. Measurements of environmental stable water isotope ratios (δ 2 H and δ 18 O) have been used as tracers to study hydrologic timescales by examining how long it takes for incoming precipitation tracers become stream discharge, yet limited measurements both spatially and temporally have bounded macroscale evaluations so far. Here in this observation driven study across North American biomes within the National Ecological Observation Network (NEON), we examined δ 18 O and δ 2 H stable water isotope in precipitation (δP) and stream water (δQ) at 26 co-located sites. With an average 54 precipitation samples and 139 stream water samples per site collected over 2014–2022, assessment of local meteoric water lines and local stream water lines showed geographic variation across North America. Taking the ratio of estimated seasonal amplitudes of δP and δQ to calculate young water fractions (F yw ), showed a Fyw range from 1% to 93% with most sites having F yw below 20%. Calculate d mean transit times (MTT) based on a gamma convolution model showed a MTT range from 0.10 to 13.2 years, with half of the sites having MTT estimates lower than 2 years. Significant correlations were found between the F yw and watershed area, longest flow length, and the longest flow length/slope. Significant correlations were found between MTT and site latitude, longitude, slope, clay fraction, temperature, precipitation magnitude, and precipitation frequency. The significant correlations between water timescale metrics and the environmental characteristics we report share some similarities with those reported in prior studies, demonstrating that these quantities are primarily driven by site or area specific factors. The analysis of isotope data presented here provides important constraints on isotope variation in North American biomes and the timescales of water movement through NEON study sites.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗