Design criteria for a network
to monitor isotope compositions of runoff in large rivers
This Coordinated Research Project (CRP) was launched in 2002
and aims to provide the scientific rationale for design of
an operational "Global Network of Isotopes in Rivers"
(GNIR). The purpose of the network will be to monitor changes
in the global water cycle, specifically the impacts of global
climate conditions, land-use changes, dams and diversions
schemes on large-scale river basins.
Isotopes in streamflow are excellent
environmental tracers of the runoff portion of the hydrological
cycle, especially including information on the surface water
budget, water flowpaths in the basin and water sources to
rivers. This information cannot typically be obtained by gross
water budget calculations or global climate models alone,
yet is crucial for the assessment of changes in basin hydrology
related to climate or land use changes or basin management
practices.
The major outcomes of this CRP will
be a protocol and a database of the "Global Network of
Isotopes in Rivers" (GNIR) as well as disseminating the
application of more novel research tools to member state participants.
The GNIR will be closely linked to other IAEA-operated databases
of isotopes in water cycle: "Global Network of Isotopes
in Precipitation" (GNIP) and the newly initiated "Moisture
Isotopes in Biosphere and Atmosphere" (MIBA).
