[1] Chemical base flow separation is a widely applied technique in which contributions of groundwater and surface runoff to streamflow are estimated based on the chemical composition of stream water and the two end-members. This method relies on the assumption that the groundwater end-member can be accurately defined and remains constant. We simulate solute transport within the aquifer during and after single and multiple river flow events, to show that (1) water adjacent to the river will have a concentration intermediate between that of the river and that of regional groundwater and (2) the concentration of groundwater discharge will approach that of regional groundwater after a flow event but may take many months or years before it reaches it. In applying chemical base flow separation, if the concentration in the river prior to a flow event is used to represent the pre-event or groundwater end-member, then the groundwater contribution to streamflow will be overestimated. Alternatively, if the concentration of regional groundwater a sufficient distance from the river is used, then the pre-event contribution to streamflow will be underestimated. Changes in concentration of groundwater discharge following changes in river stage predicted by a simple model of stream-aquifer flows show remarkable similarity to changes in river chemistry measured over a 9 month period in the Cockburn River, southeast Australia. If the regional groundwater value was used as the groundwater end-member, chemical base flow separation techniques would attribute 8% of streamflow to groundwater, as opposed to 25% if the maximum stream flow value was used.

Recognizing the underlying mechanisms of bank storage and return flow is important for understanding streamflow hydrographs. Analytical models have been widely used to estimate the impacts of bank storage, but are often based on assumptions of conditions that are rarely found in the field, such as vertical river banks and saturated flow. Numerical simulations of bank storage and return flow in river-aquifer cross sections with vertical and sloping banks were undertaken using a fully-coupled, surface-subsurface flow model. Sloping river banks were found to increase the bank infiltration rates by 98% and storage volume by 40% for a bank slope of 3.4• from horizontal, and for a slope of 8.5• , delay bank return flow by more than four times compared with vertical river banks and saturated flow. The results suggested that conventional analytical approximations cannot adequately be used to quantify bank storage when bank slope is less than 60• from horizontal. Additionally, in the unconfined aquifers modeled, the analytical solutions did not accurately model bank storage and return flow even in rivers with vertical banks due to a violation of the dupuit assumption. Bank storage and return flow were also modeled for more realistic cross sections and river hydrograph from the Fitzroy River, Western Australia, to indicate the importance of accurately modeling sloping river banks at a field scale. Following a single wet season flood event of 12 m, results showed that it may take over 3.5 years for 50% of the bank storage volume to return to the river.

No abstract