Climate of the Past www.clim-past.net 1814-9324 1814-9332 6 3 2010 10.5194/cp-6-325-2010 http://www.clim-past.net/6/325/2010/ http://www.clim-past.net/6/325/2010/cp-6-325-2010.html http://www.clim-past.net/6/325/2010/cp-6-325-2010.pdf 325 343 2010-06-01 Water vapour source impacts on oxygen isotope variability in tropical precipitation during Heinrich events S. C. Lewis sophie.lewis@anu.edu.au A. N. LeGrande M. Kelley G. A. Schmidt Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, ACT, 0200, Canberra, Australia NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and Center for Climate Systems Research, Columbia University, 2880 Broadway, New York, 10025, USA Water isotope records such as speleothems provide extensive evidence of past tropical hydrological changes. During Heinrich events, isotopic changes in monsoon regions have been interpreted as implying a widespread drying through the Northern Hemisphere tropics and an anti-phased precipitation response in the south. Here, we examine the sources of this variability using a water isotope-enabled general circulation model, Goddard Institute for Space Studies ModelE. We incorporate a new suite of vapour source distribution tracers to help constrain the impact of precipitation source region changes on the isotopic composition of precipitation and to identify nonlocal amount effects. We simulate a collapse of the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation with a large freshwater input to the region as an idealised analogue to iceberg discharge during Heinrich events. An increase in monsoon intensity, defined by vertical wind shear, is modelled over the South American domain, with small decreases simulated over Asia. Simulated isotopic anomalies agree well with proxy climate records, with lighter isotopic values simulated over South America and enriched values across East Asia. 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