Articles | Volume 21, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-5089-2017
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-5089-2017
Research article
 | 
09 Oct 2017
Research article |  | 09 Oct 2017

Using isotopes to constrain water flux and age estimates in snow-influenced catchments using the STARR (Spatially distributed Tracer-Aided Rainfall–Runoff) model

Pertti Ala-aho, Doerthe Tetzlaff, James P. McNamara, Hjalmar Laudon, and Chris Soulsby

Related authors

Isotopic Stratification and Non-Equilibrium Processes in a Sub-Arctic Snowpack
Shaakir Shabir Dar, Eric Klein, Pertti Ala-aho, Hannu Marttila, Sonja Wahl, and Jeffrey Welker
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2724,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2724, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
Short summary
External and internal drivers behind the formation, vegetation succession, and carbon balance of a subarctic fen margin
Teemu Juselius-Rajamäki, Sanna Piilo, Susanna Salminen-Paatero, Emilia Tuomaala, Tarmo Virtanen, Atte Korhola, Anna Autio, Hannu Marttila, Pertti Ala-Aho, Annalea Lohila, and Minna Väliranta
Biogeosciences, 22, 3047–3071, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-3047-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-3047-2025, 2025
Short summary
UAV LiDAR surveys and machine learning improves snow depth and water equivalent estimates in the boreal landscapes
Maiju Ylönen, Hannu Marttila, Anton Kuzmin, Pasi Korpelainen, Timo Kumpula, and Pertti Ala-Aho
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1297,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1297, 2025
Short summary
Snowmelt-mediated isotopic homogenization of shallow till soil
Filip Muhic, Pertti Ala-Aho, Matthias Sprenger, Björn Klöve, and Hannu Marttila
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4861–4881, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4861-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4861-2024, 2024
Short summary
Multi-scale soil moisture data and process-based modeling reveal the importance of lateral groundwater flow in a subarctic catchment
Jari-Pekka Nousu, Kersti Leppä, Hannu Marttila, Pertti Ala-aho, Giulia Mazzotti, Terhikki Manninen, Mika Korkiakoski, Mika Aurela, Annalea Lohila, and Samuli Launiainen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4643–4666, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4643-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4643-2024, 2024
Short summary

Related subject area

Subject: Catchment hydrology | Techniques and Approaches: Modelling approaches
Merits and limits of SWAT-GL: application in contrasting glaciated catchments
Timo Schaffhauser, Florentin Hofmeister, Gabriele Chiogna, Fabian Merk, Ye Tuo, Julian Machnitzke, Lucas Alcamo, Jingshui Huang, and Markus Disse
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 3227–3256, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-3227-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-3227-2025, 2025
Short summary
Hydrological regime index for non-perennial rivers
Pablo Fernando Dornes and Rocío Noelia Comas
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 2901–2923, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2901-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2901-2025, 2025
Short summary
Assessing the adequacy of traditional hydrological models for climate change impact studies: a case for long short-term memory (LSTM) neural networks
Jean-Luc Martel, François Brissette, Richard Arsenault, Richard Turcotte, Mariana Castañeda-Gonzalez, William Armstrong, Edouard Mailhot, Jasmine Pelletier-Dumont, Gabriel Rondeau-Genesse, and Louis-Philippe Caron
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 2811–2836, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2811-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2811-2025, 2025
Short summary
Assessing the value of high-resolution data and parameter transferability across temporal scales in hydrological modeling: a case study in northern China
Mahmut Tudaji, Yi Nan, and Fuqiang Tian
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 2633–2654, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2633-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2633-2025, 2025
Short summary
Technical note: How many models do we need to simulate hydrologic processes across large geographical domains?
Wouter J. M. Knoben, Ashwin Raman, Gaby J. Gründemann, Mukesh Kumar, Alain Pietroniro, Chaopeng Shen, Yalan Song, Cyril Thébault, Katie van Werkhoven, Andrew W. Wood, and Martyn P. Clark
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 2361–2375, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2361-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2361-2025, 2025
Short summary

Cited articles

Ala-aho, P., Soulsby, C., Wang, H., and Tetzlaff, D.: Integrated surface-subsurface model to investigate the role of groundwater in headwater catchment runoff generation: a minimalist approach to parameterisation, J. Hydrol., 547, 664–677, 2017a.
Ala-aho, P., Tetzlaff, D., McNamara, J. P., Laudon, H., Kormos, P., and Soulsby, C.: Modelling the isotopic evolution of snowpack and snowmelt: testing a spatially distributed parsimonious approach, Water Resour. Res, 53, 5813–5830, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017WR020650, 2017b.
Andréassian, V., Perrin, C., Parent, E., and Bárdossy, A.: The Court of Miracles of Hydrology: can failure stories contribute to hydrological science?, Hydrol. Sci J., 55, 849–856, 2010.
Barnes, C. and Bonell, M.: Application of unit hydrograph techniques to solute transport in catchments, Hydrol. Process., 10, 793–802, 1996.
Barnett, T. P., Adam, J. C., and Lettenmaier, D. P.: Potential impacts of a warming climate on water availability in snow-dominated regions, Nature, 438, 303–309, 2005.
Download
Short summary
We used the Spatially Distributed Tracer-Aided Rainfall-Runoff model (STARR) to simulate streamflows, stable water isotope ratios, snowpack dynamics, and water ages in three snow-influenced experimental catchments with exceptionally long and rich datasets. Our simulations reproduced the hydrological observations in all three catchments, suggested contrasting stream water age distributions between catchments, and demonstrated the importance of snow isotope processes in tracer-aided modelling.
Share