Developing meteoric water lines for Iran based on air masses and moisture sources

Abstract

Iran is a semi-arid to arid country that faces a water shortage crisis. Its weather is also influenced by various air masses and moisture sources. Therefore, applying accurate stable isotope techniques to investigate Iran’s precipitation characteristics and developing Iran meteoric water lines (MWLs) as an initial step for future isotope hydrology studies is vitally important. The aim of this study was to determine the MWLs for Iran by considering air masses and dominant moisture sources. The Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model backward analysis was used to determine the trajectories of various air masses in 19 weather stations in Iran and the areas covered by them. δ18O and δ2H contents were obtained for precipitation events from 32 stations in Iran and four in Iraq. Stable isotope samples were gathered from different sources and analyzed in various laboratories across the world. Three MWLs for north of Iran, south Zagros, and west Zagros, were determined based on the locations of dominant air masses and moisture sources. The proposed MWLs were validated by comparison with fresh karstic spring isotope data across Iran. In addition, Iran main moisture sources MWLs were used to determine dominant moisture sources role in karstic springs and surface water resources recharge.