Resources
Moisture Isotopes in the Biosphere and Atmosphere
Background and Justification
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in cooperation with the WMO, has long been operating the Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP), which has provided global data to understand and simulate the water cycle under present and past climates. Recently, the IAEA initiated efforts to improve the availability of isotope data on other water cycle components in an effort to supplement GNIP data and integrate isotope applications in hydrological cycle, carbon cycle, and climate research. The group for Moisture Isotopes in the Biosphere and Atmosphere (IAEA-MIBA) was constituted and includes a group of scientists with diverse research interests ranging from local ecosystems to global scales. read more »
Initial Meetings and Protocol Development
The initial consultants' meetings held in November 2003 and May 2004 resulted in the development of the basic network design and sampling concepts. It was decided that for this network that regular sampling of the isotopic composition of water in plant leaves, stems, soil and atmospheric vapour would help achieve the benefits to the research community outlined above. read more »
Current State of the Network
On 1 June 2004, the enrollment of both regional representatives and sampling sites commenced with the goal for sampling programme commencement period of April/May 2005. The regional representatives and representatives from the central analysis laboratories met in Vienna during 2-4 May 2005 to discuss the results of the efforts made so far, analytical capacity and sampling protocols in an effort to assess the current state of the network and to decide on the future directions of the network. read more »
