Hidden Features: How Subsurface and Landscape Heterogeneity Govern Hydrologic Connectivity and Stream Chemistry in a Montane Watershed

IF 3.2 3区 地球科学 Q1 Environmental Science
Keira Johnson, Kenneth H. Williams, John N. Christensen, Rosemary W. H. Carroll, Li Li, Curtis Beutler, Kenneth Swift Bird, Wenming Dong, Pamela L. Sullivan
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Abstract

Hydrologic connectivity is defined as the connection among stores of water within a watershed and controls the flux of water and solutes from the subsurface to the stream. Hydrologic connectivity is difficult to quantify because it is goverened by heterogeniety in subsurface storage and permeability and responds to seasonal changes in precipitation inputs and subsurface moisture conditions. How interannual climate variability impacts hydrologic connectivity, and thus stream flow generation and chemistry, remains unclear. Using a rare, four-year synoptic stream chemistry dataset, we evaluated shifts in stream chemistry and stream flow source of Coal Creek, a montane, headwater tributary of the Upper Colorado River. We leveraged compositional principal component analysis and end-member mixing to evaluate how seasonal and interannual variation in subsurface moisture conditions impacts stream chemistry. Overall, three main findings emerged from this work. First, three geochemically distinct end members were identified that constrained stream flow chemistry: reach inflows, and quick and slow flow groundwater contributions. Reach inflows were impacted by historic base and precious metal mine inputs. Bedrock fractures facilitated much of the transport of quick flow groundwater and higher-storage subsurface features (e.g., alluvial fans) facilitated the transport of slow flow groundwater. Second, the contributions of different end members to the stream changed over the summer. In early summer, stream flow was composed of all three end members, while in late summer, it was composed predominantly of reach inflows and slow flow groundwater. Finally, we observed minimal differences in proportional composition in stream chemistry across all four years, indicating seasonal variability in subsurface moisture and spatial heterogeneity in landscape and geologic features had a greater influence than interannual climate fluctuation on hydrologic connectivity and stream water chemistry. These findings indicate that mechanisms controlling solute transport (e.g., hydrologic connectivity and flow path activation) may be resilient (i.e., able to rebound after perturbations) to predicted increases in climate variability. By establishing a framework for assessing compositional stream chemistry across variable hydrologic and subsurface moisture conditions, our study offers a method to evaluate watershed biogeochemical resilience to variations in hydrometeorological conditions.

Abstract Image

隐藏特征:地下和景观异质性如何影响山地流域的水文连通性和河流化学
水文连通性被定义为流域内储水之间的连接,并控制水和溶质从地下到河流的通量。水文连通性很难量化,因为它受地下储水量和渗透率的非均质性控制,并对降水输入和地下湿度条件的季节性变化做出反应。年际气候变率如何影响水文连通性,从而影响水流的产生和化学,目前尚不清楚。利用一个罕见的四年天气性河流化学数据集,我们评估了科罗拉多河上游山区支流煤溪的河流化学变化和河流流源。我们利用成分主成分分析和端元混合来评估季节和年际变化的地下水分条件对河流化学的影响。总的来说,这项工作产生了三个主要发现。首先,确定了三个地球化学上不同的末端成员,它们限制了河流的化学流动:河段流入,以及快速和缓慢流动的地下水贡献。河段流入受到历史基础和贵金属矿山投入的影响。基岩裂缝促进了大部分快流地下水的输送,而高储水量的地下特征(如冲积扇)则促进了慢流地下水的输送。其次,不同末端成员对流的贡献在夏季发生了变化。在初夏,河流流量由这三个末端成员组成,而在夏末,主要由河段流入和慢流地下水组成。最后,我们观察到所有4年的河流化学比例组成差异很小,表明地下湿度的季节变化以及景观和地质特征的空间异质性比年际气候波动对水文连通性和河流水化学的影响更大。这些发现表明,控制溶质输运的机制(例如,水文连通性和流动路径激活)可能对预测的气候变率增加具有弹性(即能够在扰动后反弹)。通过建立一个评估不同水文和地下湿度条件下的组成流化学的框架,我们的研究提供了一种评估流域生物地球化学对水文气象条件变化的恢复能力的方法。
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来源期刊
Hydrological Processes
Hydrological Processes 环境科学-水资源
CiteScore
6.00
自引率
12.50%
发文量
313
审稿时长
2-4 weeks
期刊介绍: Hydrological Processes is an international journal that publishes original scientific papers advancing understanding of the mechanisms underlying the movement and storage of water in the environment, and the interaction of water with geological, biogeochemical, atmospheric and ecological systems. Not all papers related to water resources are appropriate for submission to this journal; rather we seek papers that clearly articulate the role(s) of hydrological processes.
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