Inferring groundwater influences on surface water in montane catchments from hydrochemical surveys of springs and streamwaters

Soulsby, Christopher; Tetzlaff, Doerthe; Bedem, D. Van Den; Malcolm, I. A.; Bacon, P. J.; Youngson, A. F.

doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2006.08.016

Cited by 126 publications

(140 citation statements)

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“…Although we observed the influence of geology on the hydrochemical composition of streamwater, in contrast to findings of Soulsby et al (2007), the hydrochemical variables Ca, Mg and H 4 SiO 4 gave no further information to distinguish between the three geological flysch facies. The spatial difference in SO 4 concentrations between the different subcatchments could neither be explained with a geological map, or as indicated by Keller et al (1989), by atmospheric deposition.…”

Section: Spatiotemporal Variability Of Hydrochemical Variablescontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…Although we observed the influence of geology on the hydrochemical composition of streamwater, in contrast to findings of Soulsby et al (2007), This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.…”

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Section: Introductionmentioning

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“…To predict potential changes, it is important to understand water sources and transit times along the various flow paths. Tracer approaches are commonly used to study sources and flow paths of water (Barthold et al, 2010;Christophersen and Hooper, 1992;Hrachowitz et al, 2011;Inamdar et al, 2013;Lu, 2014; Penna et al, 2014a; Rodgers et al, 2005;Soulsby et al, 2007).Of the different environmental tracers, the isotopes 2 H and 18 O have been found to be especially useful to identify sources of streamflow based on differences in the isotopic composition of the sources, e.g., rainfall and groundwater (Hrachowitz et al, 2011b;Tetzlaff and Soulsby, 2008). Hydrochemical tracers such as Ca or DOC, on the other hand, provide information on flow pathways as the concentrations depend on what the water encounters on its way from rain to stream (Inamdar et al, 2013;James and Roulet, 2006;Likens and Buso, 2006).…”

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Contributing sources to baseflow in pre‐alpine headwaters using spatial snapshot sampling

Fischer

Rinderer

Schneider

et al. 2015

Hydrological Processes

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Mountainous headwaters consist of different landscape units including forests, meadows and wetlands. In these headwaters it is unclear which landscape units contribute what percentage to baseflow. In this study, we analysed spatiotemporal differences in baseflow isotope and hydrochemistry to identify catchment-scale runoff contribution. Three baseflow snapshot sampling campaigns were performed in the Swiss pre-alpine headwater catchment of the Zwäckentobel (4.25km2) and six of its adjacent subcatchments. The spatial and temporal variability of 2H, Ca, DOC, AT, pH, SO4, Mg and H4SiO4 of streamflow, groundwater and spring water samples was analysed and related to catchment area and wetland percentage using bivariate and multivariate methods. Our study found that in the six subcatchments, with variable arrangements of landscape units, the inter-and intra catchment variability of isotopic and hydrochemical compositions was small and generally not significant. Stream samples were distinctly different from shallow groundwater. An upper spring zone located near the water divide above 1,400 m and a larger wetland were identified by their distinct spatial isotopic and hydrochemical composition. The upstream wetland percentage was not correlated to the hydrochemical streamflow composition, suggesting that wetlands were less connected and act as passive features with a negligible contribution to baseflow runoff. The isotopic and hydrochemical composition of baseflow changed slightly from the upper spring zone towards the subcatchment outlets and corresponded to the signature of deep groundwater. Our results confirm the need and benefits of spatially distributed snapshot sampling to derive process understanding of heterogeneous headwaters during baseflow. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10529Posted at the Zurich Open Repository and Archive, University of Zurich ZORA URL: https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-111985 Accepted Version Originally published at: Fischer, Benjamin M C; Rinderer, Michael; Schneider, Philipp; Ewen, Tracy; Seibert, Jan (2015). Contributing sources to baseflow in pre-alpine headwaters using spatial snapshot sampling. Hydrological Processes, 29(26):5321-5336. DOI: https://doi.org/10. 1002/hyp.10529 This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi: 10.1002/hyp.10529 This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Contributing sources to baseflow in pre-alpine headwaters using spatial snapshot sampling ABSTRACTMountainous headwaters consist of different landscape units including forests, meadows and wetlands. In these headwaters it is unclear which landscape units contribute what percentage to baseflow. In this study, we analysed spatiotemporal differences in baseflow isotope and hydrochemistry to identify catchment-scale runoff contribution. Three baseflow s...

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Section: Spatiotemporal Variability Of Hydrochemical Variablescontrasting

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Section: Introductionmentioning

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Contributing sources to baseflow in pre‐alpine headwaters using spatial snapshot sampling

Fischer

Rinderer

Schneider

et al. 2015

Hydrological Processes

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“…[5] Hydrometric [e.g., Haria and Shand, 2004] and hydrochemical [e.g., Mulholland, 1993;Burns et al, 1998;Katsuyama et al, 2005;Soulsby et al, 2007] evidence has suggested that groundwater that has infiltrated into bedrock discharges slowly into soil layers and contributes to base flow. Runoff of bedrock groundwater often strongly influences the generation of saturated zones in soil layers.…”

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confidence: 99%

Effects of bedrock groundwater on spatial and temporal variations in soil mantle groundwater in a steep granitic headwater catchment

Katsura

Kosugi

Mizutani

et al. 2008

Water Resources Research

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[1] We investigated processes of soil mantle groundwater generation in a granitic headwater catchment in central Japan. Two types of groundwater were observed: ephemeral-type groundwater (EG), which developed in response to rainfall events and disappeared rapidly after the events ceased, and semiperennial-type groundwater (SPG), which remained formed for more than several months. The groundwater level, chemistry, and temperature within the soil and bedrock layers indicated that the source of EG was rain or soil water, whereas the source of SPG was deep bedrock groundwater. The generation processes of soil mantle groundwater varied both spatially and temporally under the influence of the underlying bedrock. Whereas only EG was generated in upslope areas, bedrock groundwater continuously seeped into the soil layers in downslope areas to generate SPG. In middle-slope areas, an increase in the bedrock groundwater level generated SPG in soil layers, but the SPG disappeared when the bedrock groundwater level fell. Our results indicate that bedrock is important in controlling soil mantle groundwater generation and water flow processes in headwater catchments and that direct measurements of bedrock conditions are vital for clarifying the roles of bedrock in these processes.Citation: Katsura, S., K. Kosugi, T. Mizutani, S. Okunaka, and T. Mizuyama (2008), Effects of bedrock groundwater on spatial and temporal variations in soil mantle groundwater in a steep granitic headwater catchment, Water Resour. Res., 44, W09430,

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Storage dynamics in hydropedological units control hillslope connectivity, runoff generation, and the evolution of catchment transit time distributions

et al. 2014

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We examined the storage dynamics and isotopic composition of soil water over 12 months in three hydropedological units in order to understand runoff generation in a montane catchment. The units form classic catena sequences from freely draining podzols on steep upper hillslopes through peaty gleys in shallower lower slopes to deeper peats in the riparian zone. The peaty gleys and peats remained saturated throughout the year, while the podzols showed distinct wetting and drying cycles. In this region, most precipitation events are <10 mm in magnitude, and storm runoff is mainly generated from the peats and peaty gleys, with runoff coefficients (RCs) typically <10%. In larger events the podzolic soils become strongly connected to the saturated areas, and RCs can exceed 40%. Isotopic variations in precipitation are significantly damped in the organic-rich soil surface horizons due to mixing with larger volumes of stored water. This damping is accentuated in the deeper soil profile and groundwater. Consequently, the isotopic composition of stream water is also damped, but the dynamics strongly reflect those of the near-surface waters in the riparian peats. “pre-event” water typically accounts for >80% of flow, even in large events, reflecting the displacement of water from the riparian soils that has been stored in the catchment for >2 years. These riparian areas are the key zone where different source waters mix. Our study is novel in showing that they act as “isostats,” not only regulating the isotopic composition of stream water, but also integrating the transit time distribution for the catchment.Key PointsHillslope connectivity is controlled by small storage changes in soil unitsDifferent catchment source waters mix in large riparian wetland storageIsotopes show riparian wetlands set the catchment transit time distribution

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Inferring groundwater influences on surface water in montane catchments from hydrochemical surveys of springs and streamwaters

Cited by 126 publications

References 50 publications

Contributing sources to baseflow in pre‐alpine headwaters using spatial snapshot sampling

Contributing sources to baseflow in pre‐alpine headwaters using spatial snapshot sampling

Effects of bedrock groundwater on spatial and temporal variations in soil mantle groundwater in a steep granitic headwater catchment

Storage dynamics in hydropedological units control hillslope connectivity, runoff generation, and the evolution of catchment transit time distributions

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