Spatial and temporal variations in snowmelt runoff chemistry, Northwest Territories, Canada

Marsh, Philip; Pomeroy, John W.

doi:10.1029/1998wr900109

Cited by 43 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…At the smallest scale, temporal uncoupling of the N cycle can occur during snowmelt if the release of N from snowpack, litter, and soil does not coincide with the period of maximum tree uptake. In most snow-dominated systems, the majority of nutrient release occurs during the early parts of snowmelt (Berg, 1992;Bownam, 1992;Creed et al, 1996;Fahey and Knight, 1986;Marsh and Pomeroy, 1999;Peters and Leavesley, 1995;Stottlemeyer and Toczydlowski, 1990;Williams and Melack, 1991;Williams et al, 1995). In our studies in Little Valley, however, we find the opposite: that is, the majority of nutrient release occurs during the latter stages of snowmelt .…”

Section: Total Runoff (L)contrasting

confidence: 55%

Biogeochemical cycling in forest soils of the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, USA

Johnson

Miller

Susfalk

et al. 2009

Forest Ecology and Management

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Section: Total Runoff (L)contrasting

confidence: 55%

Biogeochemical cycling in forest soils of the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, USA

Johnson

Miller

Susfalk

et al. 2009

Forest Ecology and Management

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“…The preferential flow paths are an important mechanism for rapid delivery of meltwater to the bottom of the snowpack while it is still below 0°C (Woo et al, 1982). The ion-mass flux in these flow fingers is higher than that in the matrix flow (Marsh and Pomeroy, 1999); implying that the basal ice will be primarily comprised of enriched water from preferential flow paths.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 85%

“…Fractionation is influenced by ion distribution within the parent snowpack, melt-freeze cycles, rain-on-snow events, snow depth, and preferential flow through the snowpack (e.g. Colbeck, 1981;Davies et al, 1982;Marsh and Pomeroy, 1999). Consequently, snow meltwater chemistry may be strongly influenced by processes occurring weeks or months prior to melt (Cragin et al, 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ion enrichment of snowmelt runoff water caused by basal ice formation

Lilbæk

Pomeroy

2008

Hydrological Processes

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Abstract:Once meltwater reaches the base of a snowpack it can infiltrate the underlying stratum, runoff, or refreeze and form a basal ice layer. Basal ice formation is most common early in melt over saturated or very cold frozen soils. Initial meltwater becomes enriched in ion concentrations compared to the parent snow due to ion fractionation during thaw and percolation through the snowpack. If ion exclusion occurs during basal ice formation, further enrichment of initial runoff water ion concentrations might occur. The influence of basal ice formation on runoff water chemistry was examined by comparing ion concentrations in runoff water that had sustained basal ice contact, to meltwater before basal ice contact. A series of experiments, involving melting a snowpack in a large insulated box over a cold impermeable substrate in a temperature-controlled room, were carried out. A cooling system at the chemically inert base ensured formation of basal ice during snowmelt. Meltwater samples were collected throughout melt from within the snowpack using an extraction tube; runoff water was collected at the base. All samples were analysed for major anions and cations. Results showed that formation of basal ice layers can sometimes enrich the initial runoff water compared to meltwater before basal ice contact. Ion concentrations in basal ice contact runoff water were up to sixteen times greater than those in no-contact meltwater; however, on average, basal ice contact runoff water showed 1Ð5 times the ion concentrations of the no-contact meltwater. Enrichment was greatest with the rapid formation of a thick basal ice layer. The implications are that basal ice formation alters both meltwater ion pathway and concentration. When no basal ice is present, enhanced infiltration of meltwater ion load can cause relatively dilute runoff water. When basal ice is present all meltwater runs off and further ion-concentration enrichment occurs.

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“…The Ca 2C SO 4 2 signal was attributed to interaction with lake sediments and mixing with sediment pore water, and the Ca 2C HCO 3 signal was attributed to interaction with the Quaternary sediments underlying the stream channels (Teare, 1998). The ion composition of the streams contrasted strongly with the early melt peak in the primary chemical fluxes of Na C , Cl , SO 4 2 , and NO 3 and the very low levels of K C and organic acids observed by Marsh and Pomeroy (1999) in nearby snowpacks. This suggests that the composition of the melt water that flowed through the soil to the stream changed markedly by mixing with soil water and interacting with the soils.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 64%

Transformations of runoff chemistry in the Arctic tundra, Northwest Territories, Canada

Quinton

Pomeroy

2006

Hydrological Processes

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Abstract:The transformation of snowmelt water chemical composition during melt, elution and runoff in an Arctic tundra basin is investigated. The chemistry of the water flowing along pathways from the surface of melting snow to the 95Ð5 ha basin outlet is related to relevant hydrological processes. In so doing, this paper offers physically based explanations for the transformation of major ion concentrations and loads of runoff water associated with snowmelt and rainfall along hydrological pathways to the stream outlet. Late-lying snowdrifts were found to influence the ion chemistry in adjacent reaches of the stream channel greatly. As the initial pulse of ion-rich melt water drained from the snowdrift and was conveyed through hillslope flowpaths, the concentrations of most ions increased, and the duration of the peak ionic pulse lengthened. Over the first 3 m of overland flow, the concentrations of all ions except for NO 3 increased by one to two orders of magnitude, with the largest increase for K C , Ca 2C and Mg 2C . This was roughly equivalent to the concentration increase that resulted from percolation of relatively dilute water through 0Ð25 m of unsaturated soil. The Na C and Cl were the dominant ions in snowmelt water, whereas Ca 2C and Mg 2C dominated the hillslope runoff. On slopes below a large melting snowdrift, ion concentrations of melt water flowing in the saturated layer of the soil were very similar to the relatively dilute concentrations found in surface runoff. However, once the snowdrift ablated, ion concentrations of subsurface flow increased above parent melt-water concentrations. Three seasonally characteristic hydrochemical regimes were identified in a stream reach adjacent to late-lying snowdrifts. In the first two stages, the water chemistry in the stream channel strongly resembled the hillslope drainage water. In the third stage, in-stream geochemical processes, including the weathering/ion exchange of Ca 2C and Mg 2C , were the main control of streamwater chemistry.

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Spatial and temporal variations in snowmelt runoff chemistry, Northwest Territories, Canada

Cited by 43 publications

References 30 publications

Biogeochemical cycling in forest soils of the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, USA

Biogeochemical cycling in forest soils of the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, USA

Ion enrichment of snowmelt runoff water caused by basal ice formation

Transformations of runoff chemistry in the Arctic tundra, Northwest Territories, Canada

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