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Abstract Water isotopes are tracers of convective processes and are often used as proxies for past precipitation. These applications require a better understanding of the impact of convective processes on the isotopic composition of water vapor and precipitation. One way to advance this understanding is to analyze the isotopic mesoscale variations during organized convective systems such as tropical cyclones or squall lines. The goal of this study is to understand these isotopic mesoscale variations with particular attention to isotopic signals in near‐surface vapor and precipitation that may be present in observations and in paleoclimate proxies. With this aim, we run cloud resolving model simulations in radiative‐convective equilibrium in which rotation or wind shear is added, allowing us to simulate tropical cyclones or squall lines. The simulations capture the robust aspects of mesoscale isotopic variations in observed tropical cyclones and squall lines. We interpret these variations using a simple water budget model for the sub‐cloud layer of different parts of the domain. We find that rain evaporation and rain‐vapor diffusive exchanges are the main drivers of isotopic depletion within tropical cyclones and squall lines. Horizontal advection spreads isotopic anomalies, thus reshaping the mesoscale isotopic pattern. This study contributes to our understanding of mesoscale isotopic variability and provides physical arguments supporting the interpretation of paleoclimate isotopic archives in tropical regions in terms of past cyclonic activity. 

Abstract. The science guiding the EUREC4A campaign and its measurements is presented. EUREC4A comprised roughly 5 weeks of measurements in the downstream winter trades of the North Atlantic – eastward and southeastward of Barbados. Through its ability to characterize processes operating across a wide range of scales, EUREC4A marked a turning point in our ability to observationally study factors influencing clouds in the trades, how they will respond to warming, and their link to other components of the earth system, such as upper-ocean processes or the life cycle of particulate matter. This characterization was made possible by thousands (2500) of sondes distributed to measure circulations on meso- (200 km) and larger (500 km) scales, roughly 400 h of flight time by four heavily instrumented research aircraft; four global-class research vessels; an advanced ground-based cloud observatory; scores of autonomous observing platforms operating in the upper ocean (nearly 10 000 profiles), lower atmosphere (continuous profiling), and along the air–sea interface; a network of water stable isotopologue measurements; targeted tasking of satellite remote sensing; and modeling with a new generation of weather and climate models. In addition to providing an outline of the novel measurements and their composition into a unified and coordinated campaign, the six distinct scientific facets that EUREC4A explored – from North Brazil Current rings to turbulence-induced clustering of cloud droplets and its influence on warm-rain formation – are presented along with an overview of EUREC4A's outreach activities, environmental impact, and guidelines for scientific practice. Track data for all platforms are standardized and accessible at https://doi.org/10.25326/165 (Stevens, 2021), and a film documenting the campaign is provided as a video supplement.