The Use of Oxygen 18 and Deuterium Concentrations in the Water Balance of Lakes

Abstract

Natural concentrations of stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen are used to determine the water balance of lakes situated in a subhumid climate in southwestern Turkey. A salt lake in that region is used as an index to the molecular exchange process between the lake and the atmospheric moisture. Such use of stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen in water balance studies appears to yield promising results and indicates that environmental isotopic studies might be a useful tool in limnological studies. (Key words: Environmental isotopes; molecular exchange; lake water balance)