Although hyporheic exchange has been shown to be of great importance for the overall water quality of streams, it is rarely considered quantitatively in stream remediation projects. A main driver of hyporheic exchange is the hydraulic head fluctuation along the streambed, which can be enhanced by modifications of the streambed topography. Here we present an analytical 2‐D spectral subsurface flow model to estimate the hyporheic exchange associated with streambed topographies over a wide range of spatial scales; a model that was validated using tracer‐test‐results and measurements of hydraulic conductivity. Specifically, engineered steps in the stream were shown to induce a larger hyporheic exchange velocity and shorter hyporheic residence times compared to the observed topography in Tullstorps Brook, Sweden. Hyporheic properties were used to parameterize a longitudinal transport model that accounted for reactions in terms of first‐order decay and instantaneous adsorption. Theoretical analyses of the mitigation effect for nitrate due to denitrification in the hyporheic zone show that there is a Damköhler number of the hyporheic zone, associated with several different stream geomorphologies, that optimizes nitrate mass removal on stream reach scale. This optimum can be limited by the available hydraulic head gradient given by the slope of the stream and the geological constraints of the streambed. The model illustrates the complex interactions between design strategies for nutrient mitigation, hyporheic flow patterns, and stream biogeochemistry and highlights the importance to diagnose a stream prior remediation, specifically to evaluate if remediation targets are transport or reaction controlled.

Hyporheic exchange flow (HEF) at the streambed–water interface (SWI) has been shown to impact the pattern and rate of discharging groundwater flow (GWF) and the consequential transport of heat, solutes and contaminants from the subsurface into streams. However, the control of geographic and hydromorphological catchment characteristics on GWF–HEF interactions is still not fully understood. Here, the spatial variability in flow characteristics in discharge zones was investigated and averaged over three spatial scales in five geographically different catchments in Sweden. Specifically, the deep GWF discharge velocity at the SWI was estimated using steady-state numerical models, accounting for the real multiscale topography and heterogeneous geology, while an analytical model, based on power spectral analysis of the streambed topography and statistical assessments of the stream hydraulics, was used to estimate the HEF. The modeling resulted in large variability in deep GWF and HEF velocities, both within and between catchments, and a regression analysis was performed to explain this observed variability by using a set of independent variables representing catchment topography and geology as well as local stream hydromorphology. Moreover, the HEF velocity was approximately two orders of magnitude larger than the deep GWF velocity in most of the investigated stream reaches, indicating significant potential to accelerate the deep GWF velocity and reduce the discharge areas. The greatest impact occurred in catchments with low average slope and in reaches close to the catchment outlet, where the deep GWF discharge velocity was generally low.

Hyporheic exchange flow (HEF) can generally be quantified through two different approaches. The first approach, which is deductive, entails physically based models, supported with relevant observations. The second approach includes inductive assessments of stream tracer tests using solute transport models, which provide a useful mathematical framework that allows for upscaling of results, but included parameters often have a vague physical base, which limits the possibilities of generalizing results using independent hydromorphological observations. To better understand how the physical basis of HEF‐quantifying parameters relates to stream hydromorphology at different spatial scales, we cross‐validated the results from (a) tracer test assessments using a 1D solute transport model that accounts for HEF and (b) an independent hydromechanical model that represents HEF driven by multiscale pressure gradients along the streambed interface. To parameterize the models, topographical surveys, tracer tests, and streambed hydraulic conductivity measurements were performed in 10 stream reaches, differing in terms of geomorphology, slope, and discharge. The results show that the models were cross‐validated in terms of the average exchange velocity, providing a plausible physical explanation for this parameter in small alluvial streams with low discharges, shallow depth, and moderate slopes. However, the hydromechanical model generally resulted in wider residence time distributions and occasionally higher average residence times compared to the tracer test assessments. From the cross‐validated multiscale hydromechanical model, we learned that water surface profile variations were the main drivers of HEF in all investigated streams and that spatial scales between 20 cm and 5 m dominated the estimated HEF velocity.

<p>Groundwater surface water interactions can greatly impact the ecohydrology on a wide range of spatial scales, ranging from biogeochemical reactions under local bedforms to alteration of regional groundwater discharge patterns. Hyporheic exchange fluxes (HEF) are controlled by the streambed geology and driven by hydraulic head fluctuations at the stream bottom, consisting of a static and a dynamic part. Currently, few studies have investigated the relative importance of these two drivers of HEF in the field, which hinder a holistic understanding of the governing processes and may affect predictions of hyporheic exchange intensities.</p><p>This study is based on an extensive field survey of 9 stream reaches located in small, pristine streams in Sweden, with varying hydromorphological characteristics such as slope, bottom material, morphological complexity and stream discharge. The field survey included distributed measurements of the hydraulic head and the hydraulic conductivity along the streambed, as well as tracer tests with Rhodamine WT. The overall aim of the study was to evaluate the relative importance of HEF driven by dynamic and static head fluctuations in streams by usage of a spectral model that decomposes the observed hydraulic head fluctuations on distinctive spatial scales. As a validation, the advective storage path (ASP) transport model was calibrated against the conducted in-stream tracer tests and its parameters compared to the equivalent gained from the spectral model.</p><p>The results showed that the average exchange velocity evaluated by the two models were comparable in most observed cases, validating the usage of the spectral model in small alluvial streams with high slope, and low discharge and stream depth. However, a sensitivity analysis of the two models revealed some degree of equifinality for some of the independent model parameters. Detailed results from the spectral model indicated that the static head was dominating the HEF in all reaches, both on average and when distributed over separate spatial scales. Uncertainty in the results was found, predominantly effecting calculations of the dynamic HEF and connected to (1) the approximation of streambed topography at spatial scales <0.5 m, where the dynamic exchange is assumed to dominate and (2) the use of Fehlman’s constant for estimating the hydrodynamic exchange under complex streambed topographies. Despite those uncertainties, the spectral model approach gives a deeper understanding of the phenomena of HEF by incorporating its multiscale nature and illustrating the fact that static and dynamic drivers might be equally important, only acting on different scales.</p>

<p>Biogeochemical reactions along surface water flow paths mitigate nutrient inputs from agricultural land and can have large impacts on both the local water quality and the downstream export of nutrients from agricultural areas. Thus, stream restoration, in terms of engineered structures with the aim to increase the in-stream nutrient retention, is seen as an important strategy to restore the ecosystem functioning of degraded stream systems, mitigate excess nutrient concentrations and reduce the export to downstream recipients. Here, we propose a physically based model framework to assess the large-scale removal of Nitrogen (N) by denitrifications in the hyporheic zone along stream networks. The model framework, supported by an extensive dataset of hydromorphology and reach scale investigations, was used to estimate the current N removal in all local agricultural streams in Sweden defined as having a mean discharge < 1 m<sup>3</sup>/s and an agricultural N load > 0. Moreover, the theoretical potential to increase this removal by restoration structures that enhances the hyporheic removal efficiency and prolongs the stream residence times was assessed based on the Damköhler number, defined as the ratio between the hyporheic transport time scales and the reaction times scales.</p><p>The analyses comprised approximately 26000 stream reaches equivalent to ~75 000 km or 36% of the entire stream network in Sweden and revealed that both the N removal and the conditions limiting the hyporheic denitrification was highly dependent on the stream flow conditions. Specifically, during mean discharge conditions the aggregated results indicated that 13% of the N load to the assessed reaches was removed through hyporheic denitrification and that reaction limited conditions predominately occurred (72% of the assessed reaches). The theoretical potential of N removal, i.e. the N removal under the assumption of optimal hyporheic conditions, during mean discharge conditions was estimated to be 36% when all reaches were aggregated. Overall, the study shows that stream structures, especially if implemented over larger distances, could be a promising restoration strategy to enhance hyporheic removal and reduce terrestrial N export from agricultural areas.</p>