Atmospheric factors controlling stable isotope variations in modern precipitation of the tropical region of Bangladesh

The study investigates the factors that control the isotopic composition of tropical precipitation in Bangladesh. Daily and monthly rainfall samples were collected from three stations from 2013 to 2015: (1) northern and moderately high altitude: Sylhet, (2) middle part of the country (close to Tropic of Cancer): Savar, and (3) southern coastal region: Barisal. To escape from the post-evaporation effect, proper care was adopted. This is supported by the fact that the local meteoric water lines (LMWLs) derived for the daily precipitations of all stations mostly follow the global meteoric water line (GMWL). The results exhibit a clear seasonal and spatial variation in both <i>δ</i>¹⁸O and <i>δ</i>²H of precipitation. ¹⁸O is more depleted in samples collected during rainy (monsoon) seasons, while ¹⁸O enrichment is associated to winter and summer (pre-monsoon) seasons. During rainy season, intra-seasonal variability of δ¹⁸O rainfall is clearly seen and remarkable depletion of ¹⁸O is observed during the period of intense convective activity over the Bay of Bengal. This feature indicates that isotope variability in Bangladesh is controlled by large-scale convective activity rather than local rainfall amount.