Four years of daily stable water isotope data in stream water and precipitation from three Swiss catchments

Abstract

Time series of the natural isotopic composition (2H, 18O) of precipitation and streamwater can provide important insights into ecohydrological phenomena at the catchment scale. However, multi-year, high-frequency isotope datasets are generally scarce, limiting our ability to study highly dynamic short-term ecohydrological processes. Here we present four years of daily isotope measurements in streamwater and precipitation at the Alp catchment (area 47 km2) in Central Switzerland and two of its tributaries (0.7 km2 and 1.6 km2). This data set reveals short-term responses of streamflow isotopes to precipitation events, which otherwise remain obscured when isotopes are sampled weekly or monthly. The observations span the period June 2015 through May 2019, during which several hydrometeorologic extreme events occurred, including a very dry summer in 2018 and below-average snow accumulation in winter 2016/2017. In addition, we provide daily time series of key hydrometeorological variables that, in combination with the isotope data, can be useful for assessing the robustness of ecohydrological models.

Uncertainty in water transit time estimation with StorAge Selection functions and tracer data interpolation

“…Despite the studies cited above, there are other aspects causing uncertainty in the simulated TTDs, which have not yet been fully addressed. First, isotope data are generally sparse globally in space and time (von Freyberg et al, 2022), due to laborious and costly sampling campaigns limited to well-equipped areas (Tetzlaff et al, 2018). For this reason, spatio-temporal interpolation of the isotope composition in precipitation can be used to get greater data coverage, required for modelling purposes.…”

Short‐term dynamics of drainage density based on a combination of channel flow state surveys and water level measurements

“…Snowfall represents a third of the total precipitation. A continuous snow cover of up to 2 m thick can be present from December to April (von Freyberg et al, 2022). The mean monthly temperature varies from −1.9 to 15.9°C (von Freyberg et al, 2022).…”

Advances in Catchment Science, Hydrochemistry, and Aquatic Ecology Enabled by High-Frequency Water Quality Measurements

“…56 Fluorescence-based measurements are both temperature and turbidity dependent, and thus, adequate correction algorithms are necessary. 35,53,57 Nutrients, mainly phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N), C, major ions, and stable isotopes can be measured with wet-chemistry analyzers, 8,23,50,51,58 which often employ ion chromatography or reagent-based, colorimetric methods. These analyzers are usually placed in an insulated trailer or gauging station beside a stream, from which water is pumped and homogenized at specified time intervals before being forwarded to the analyzers for specific constituent determination.…”

“…Existing and emerging high-frequency measurement technologies are outlined in Table S1 and include instruments and tools that allow high-frequency (subdaily), in situ and automated measurements of water quality constituents. These include both well-established technologies such as autosamplers, ion-selective and electrode-based sensors, and recently developed fully automated optical sensors based on UV–vis absorbance and fluorescence spectroscopy or wet-chemistry laboratories facilitating measurements of carbon (C), nutrients, , major ions, and stable isotopes , using miniaturized in situ or field-lab deployment of laboratory methods, e.g., ion chromatography . Existing high-frequency technologies enable measurements of a wide range of parameters, and all have specific advantages and limitations that are critical to consider before their deployment.…”