Water Isotopes Reveal the Hydrological Regimes in the Nine Largest Lakes of the Yunnan Plateau, Southwest China

Abstract

Key Points• Isotope mass balance estimation indicates a diversity of water balance patterns among these lakes, with evaporation to inflow ratios ranging from 0.32 to 1.00• Lake inflow sources are more isotopically depleted than annual mean precipitation due to the dominant contribution of summer monsoon runoff• Elevated deuterium-excess in atmospheric vapor over larger lakes provides a reasonable explanation for their higher slope of local evaporation line

Keywords: Yunnan Plateau, water isotopes, evaporation-to-inflow ratio, lake hydrological regimes