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Abstract. The hydrogen and oxygen stable isotope ratios of water have been used to identify sources, transport pathways, and phase-change processes within the water cycle, supporting hydrologic, forensic, ecologic, and hydroclimatic investigations. Here, we introduce a unique, open-access, global database of stable water isotope ratios (δ18O, δ17O, and δ2H) from various water types. This database facilitates data preservation, supports standardized metadata collection, and decreases the time investment for meta-analytic research and reference dataset discovery. As of July 2019, the database includes 231 586 samples from 52 210 sites, associated with 218 projects, spanning 1949 through 2019. Key information stored includes the hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios, water type, collection date and time, site location, and project information. To promote rapid data discovery and collaboration, the database exposes metadata such as data owner contact information of embargoed data, but only permits downloads of public data. The database is supported by two companion apps, one for processing and upload of analytical data from laboratories and the other an iOS application that supports the digital collection of sample metadata.more » « less
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Stable isotope ratios of hydrogen and oxygen have been applied to water cycle research for over 60 years. Over the past two decades, however, new data, data compilations, and quantitative methods have supported the application of isotopic data to address large-scale water cycle problems. Recent results have demonstrated the impact of climate variation on atmospheric water cycling, provided constraints on continental- to global-scale land-atmosphere water vapor fluxes, revealed biases in the sources of runoff in hydrological models, and illustrated regional patterns of water use and management by people. In the past decade, global isotopic observations have spurred new debate over the role of soils in the water cycle, with potential to impact both ecological and hydrological theory. Many components of the water cycle remain underrepresented in isotopic databases. Increasing accessibility of analyses and improved platforms for data sharing will refine and grow the breadth of these contributions in the future. ▪ Isotope ratios in water integrate information on hydrological processes over scales from cities to the globe. ▪ Tracing water with isotopes helps reveal the processes that govern variability in the water cycle and may govern future global changes. ▪ Improvements in instrumentation, data sharing, and quantitative analysis have advanced isotopic water cycle science over the past 20 years.more » « less
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Abstract Stable isotope ratios of precipitation trace mechanisms of hydroclimatic change in the modern and paleoclimate record. Patterns and drivers of isotopic change at multidecadal timescales have remained unclear, however, due to limitations in the observational record. Here, we use a 65‐year global data compilation to estimate solstial season
δ 18O p trends. Spatially organized regions of change suggest divergent controls, and we propose that changes in atmospheric water balance dominate trends in moisture‐limited areas, whereas changes in upwind source region conditions drive trends where atmospheric water flux is large relative to precipitation. Positive trends on windward coasts suggest the latter effect, whereas we attribute the dipole patterns in trends over North America and Europe and decreasing trends in southern Australia during boreal winter to the former. Simulations from the isotope‐enabled Community Atmospheric Model match predictions for water balance, implying that the model may underrepresent the effects of changing vapor source conditions.