Abstract: As an input factor of water cycle,precipitation is a primary source of surface water and groundwater,especially in arid Central Asia.As a useful tracer,the precipitation isotopic composition has become as an important tool for researching the regional water cycle.In order to reveal the spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation stable isotope in arid area in Central Asia,this paper analyzed the precipitation isotopic composition samples collected from 18 stations in the Tianshan Mountains (Wuqia,Akqi,Shali Guilanke,Shenmuyuan,Bayanbulak,Balguntay,Huangshuigou,Urumqi River Hero Bridge,Barkol and Yiwu),Kunlun Mountains (Sharman,Xihexiu and Jiangka) and Qilian Mountains (Yeniugou,Dayekou,Daiqian,Jinqiangyi and Anyuan) in Central Asia.According to the results,a clearly seasonal variation of the values of precipitation isotopic composition could be observed,and the values were high in summer but low in winter in these three regions.The seasonal fluctuation of the values in the three study regions was significant.The slopes of the atmospheric precipitation equation of the Tianshan Mountains and Qilian Mountains were lower than that of the global one except that of the Kunlun Mountains,which revealed that the regional precipitation in these regions was affected by the strong evaporation.Precipitation at all the stations was mainly affected by temperature.The values of precipitation δ¹⁸O at the three stations in the Kunlun Mountains in spring and summer was obviously affected by altitude,and they were decreased with the increase of altitude but affected slightly in other regions.The d values of the alpine zones in Central Asia were holistically high in winter but low in summer expect at Xihexiu Station in the Kunlun Mountains.

Key words:

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alpine zone, precipitation, stable isotope, spatiotemporal distribution, Central Asia