Stable isotope tempestology of tropical cyclones across the North Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Ocean basins
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 δ<sup>18</sup>O compositions across TCs domains were significantly lower than the regional (noncyclonic) δ<sup>18</sup>O 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 δ<sup>18</sup>O 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.
Authors
- Kristen Welsh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8812-5814)
- Ny Riavo G. Voarintsoa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8823-3807)
- Alejandro García Moya (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5704-6355)
- Dimitris A. Herrera (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2361-5844)
- Rolando Sánchez‐Gutiérrez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5050-021X)
- Diego Riveros‐Iregui (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0919-2988)
- Junior O. Hernández‐Ortiz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1540-7254)
- Sylvia Genevieve Dee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2140-785X)
- Ana María Durán‐Quesada (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0913-0154)
- K. M. Cobb (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2125-9164)
- Javier Antonio Barberena Moncada (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9119-4485)
- Juan Pérez Quezadas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9409-8875)
- Germain Esquivel‐Hernández (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6890-6509)
- Debra Hernandez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-3079-1033)
- Doerthe Tetzlaff (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7183-8674)
- Mauricio Calderón (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3605-0363)
- Christian Birkel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6792-852X)
- Ricardo Sánchez‐Murillo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8721-8093)
- Jan Boll (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7202-5299)
- Aurel Perşoiu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9506-0070)
- René M. Price (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1050-7270)
- Minerva Sánchez‐Llull (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9793-283X)
- Tania Peña‐Paz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9685-5107)
- Carlos Manuel Alonso-Hernandez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3047-7016)
- Joshua C. Bregy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3483-595X)
- Miguel A. Mejía‐González (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8921-1100)
- Geoffrey Marshall
- Ingrid Vargas-Azofeifa
- Chris Soulsby (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6910-2118)
- Luis González‐Hita
- Kegan K. Farrick (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4561-4028)
- Laura Gil‐Urrutia
- Jorge Cardona‐Hernández
- Wendy Harrison‐Smith
- Saúl Santos‐García
- Adrián F. Obando‐Amador
- Jorge Guatemala‐Herrera
- Yelba Flores‐Meza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1182-0541)
- Roberto Cerón‐Pineda
Institutions
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- Ştefan cel Mare University of Suceava (RO)
- International University of Monaco (MC)
- Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (DO)
- University of Cienfuegos (CU)
- National Autonomous University of Honduras (HN)
- The University of Texas at Arlington (US)
- University of Aberdeen (GB)
- Florida International University (US)
- Universidad Nacional (CR)
- National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (NI)
- Brown University (US)
- Universidad de Costa Rica (CR)
- University of the West Indies (TT)
- Instituto Costarricense de Investigación y Enseñanza en Nutrición y Salud (CR)
- Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (DE)
- Centro de Diseño, Arquitectura y Construcción (HN)
- Instituto Mexicano de Tecnología del Agua (MX)
- Ministerio de Salud (SV)
- Universidad Nacional de Agricultura (HN)
- Emil Racovita Institute of Speleology (RO)
- Centro de Aplicaciones Tecnológicas y Desarrollo Nuclear (CU)
- Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales
- University of Houston (US)
- University of El Salvador (SV)
- Romanian Academy (RO)
- Oberlin College (US)
- Washington State University (US)
- Rice University (US)
- University of Tennessee at Knoxville (US)
- Clemson University (US)
- Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (MX)
- College of The Bahamas (BS)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2024-12-19
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.15274
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Tropical and Extratropical Cyclones Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.51
Funders
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
- International Atomic Energy Agency
- Gulf Research Program