Affordable event and monthly rain samplers: Improving isotopic datasets
to understand meteorological processes
- Cécile Carton,
- Florent Barbecot,
- Jean-François Hélie ,
- Viorel Horoi,
- Jean Birks,
- Antoine Picard,
- Jorge Mona
Cécile Carton
Universite du Quebec a Montreal Departement des sciences de la Terre et de l'atmosphere
Corresponding Author:carton.cecile@water-resources.org
Author ProfileFlorent Barbecot
Universite du Quebec a Montreal Departement des sciences de la Terre et de l'atmosphere
Author ProfileJean-François Hélie
Universite du Quebec a Montreal Departement des sciences de la Terre et de l'atmosphere
Author ProfileViorel Horoi
Universite du Quebec a Montreal Departement des sciences de la Terre et de l'atmosphere
Author ProfileJean Birks
University of Calgary Department of Geoscience
Author ProfileAntoine Picard
Universite du Quebec a Montreal Departement des sciences de la Terre et de l'atmosphere
Author ProfileJorge Mona
Universite du Quebec a Montreal Departement des sciences de la Terre et de l'atmosphere
Author ProfileAbstract
Stable isotopes of the water molecule have emerged as powerful tracers
of the sources and trajectories of water leading to precipitation, at
different spatial and temporal scales. However, the high cost of
commercially available rain samplers for isotopic analysis, have made
using them for high spatial resolution networks and for studies being
conducted in developing countries prohibitively expensive. We have
designed a low-cost, simple, and robust rain sampler capable of sampling
precipitation for isotopic analysis on the event and monthly scale,
based on the existing designs provided in the literature. The event rain
samplers were tested to determine the minimum amount of rainfall to
minimize isotopic fractionation, both from post-sampling evaporation and
equilibration. These new rain samplers will enable isotopic sampling of
precipitation at high spatial resolutions. All the instructions for
constructing and using these samplers are made openly accessible to the
scientific community so they can easily be repeated and adapted to the
needs of each project. This open access and low-cost methodology will
help democratize the use of isotopes for hydrological studies in
developing countries.10 Jul 2023Submitted to Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 10 Jul 2023Submission Checks Completed
10 Jul 2023Assigned to Editor
10 Jul 2023Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
03 Oct 2023Reviewer(s) Assigned
16 Nov 2023Editorial Decision: Revise Minor