Tracer-aided modelling using long-term and high resolution data to assess non-stationarity in stream water age

Abstract:

Understanding how water and solutes move through watersheds and the associated travel times remains a key research frontier in hydrology. Here we integrate long-term data (6 years of weekly isotope measurements in rainfall and runoff) into a tracer-aided conceptual modelling approach to provide fresh insights into the complex interrelationships between catchment storage dynamics, hydrological connectivity and resulting non-stationary stream water ages. We show that in a wet Scottish upland catchment dominated by runoff generation from riparian peats (histosols) with high water storage capacity, the storage dynamics of different landscape units (e.g. hillslope vs. riparian zones) regulate both mixing processes and the strength of hydrological connectivity that govern water and solute fluxes and determine catchment travel times. We also found that the frequency and longevity of hydrological connectivity and the associated relative importance of dynamic flow paths control the contribution of younger (< 1 month) or older (>4 years) waters to the stream. Water and solute transport is mainly facilitated by overland flow from saturated histosols connected to the stream network even during smaller events. However, during prolonged dry periods, near-surface runoff “switches off” and stream water is dominated by older groundwater. The saturated riparian soils represent large mixing zones that buffer the time variance of water age and act as “isostats” damping variable inputs. These zones also integrate catchment-scale partial mixing processes. Although simulations depend on model performance, which is influenced by stochastic variation in isotope inputs, a longer-term storage analysis using this tracer-aided model allowed us to examine the sensitivity of the catchment response and transit times to extreme hydroclimatic variability. These insights were validated using a more recent high resolution dataset (3 years of daily isotope data) which also improved constraints on water age and storage estimates.