Global transpiration, recharge and runoff tracked with stable isotopes

Abstract:

The transformations of precipitation into soil-, ground- or stream-water constitute fundamental components of the hydrologic cycle. Hydrometric data are well suited to track propagations of pressures through the landscape, but tell us little about the transport of water itself. Conversely, isotopic data track movements of molecules, providing quantitative insights into subsurface processes. This presentation reviews recent uses of isotopic data to quantify the velocity, storage and mixing of precipitation as it flushes into plants (1. transpiration), aquifers (2. recharge) and streams (3. runoff). (1) Plant transpiration comprises the largest flux of fresh water from the continents, exceeding global river flows by a factor of ~1.5. Mounting evidence suggests that water used by plants is poorly connected to water flowing into streams and aquifers, contrasting most earth system model parameterizations. (2) This partitioning of precipitation into “blue” (recharge, runoff) and “green” (transpiration) water storages is further evidenced by relating precipitation and groundwater isotope contents. Global precipitation-groundwater isotope data show that snowmelt pulses (extratropics) and intensive rainfall (tropics) lead to disproportionately large groundwater recharge fluxes—that is, recharge/precipitation ratios exceeding the local annual average. Across the low latitudes, these results mean that the ongoing intensification of precipitation brought on by global warming may serve to promote groundwater recharge in the tropics, where, by 2050, half of the world’s population is projected to live. (3) This presentation concludes by relating precipitation and streamflow isotope contents to show that ~1/3 of global river discharges are generated by precipitation that reaches the stream in less than 3 months (i.e., “young water” in rivers). Substantial and pervasive young, month(s)-old water in global rivers means that biogeochemical processes taking place in the critical zone—where landscape-stream connectivity is at a maximum—will have a disproportionately large impact on the quality of the water in the stream.