ИСТИНА

In temperate humid catchments the storage of precipitation in snowpack, and the subsequent melting, both highly variable in space and time, substantially impacts the water cycle. Recent climate warming and changes in atmospheric circulation patterns have resulted in reductions in the duration of the snow cover season, the amount of water stored in the snowpack, as well as a widespread trend toward earlier melt. Spatial and temporal variability of snow, as well as snow cover contribution to the water balance in Slovenia remains poorly investigated. Isotopes of O and H have been used to study snow deposition and the subsequent alteration of snowpack and its influence on runoff. However, despite their potential, environmental isotopes were only rarely used in investigations of water cycle in mountain areas of Slovenia in the past. To improve the knowledge on snowpack isotope characteristics and processes in it, and consequently to enable better understanding of water cycle, the first isotope research of snowpack was performed in 2011 in the area Julian Alps (NW Slovenia). Basic principles of use of stable isotopes in water cycle investigations with emphasize on snow isotopic composition will be presented.