Local δ18O and δ2H variability in UK rainfall

Rainfall collected twice weekly from 3 nearby UK stations between November 2004 and October 2006 allows local differences in δ18O and δ2H to be observed. Local gradients in δ18Op appear to be of the same order of magnitude as national trends, suggesting the spatial δ18Op picture is more complicated than the one currently available from sparse GNIP coverage. Comparing data from this study with previous work we find that average δ18Op has changed in the UK over the last 20 years concurrent with an average temperature increase although inter-annual controls on the values remain seasonal temperature and the amount of precipitation in each rain event. Climate-isotope relationships observed from the weekly data do not explain the observed decadal scale shifts.