Expansion and contraction of the flowing stream network alter hillslope flowpath lengths and the shape of the travel time distribution

van Meerveld, H. J. Ilja; Kirchner, James W.; Vis, Marc J. P.; Assendelft, Rick S.; Seibert, Jan

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4825-2019

Articles | Volume 23, issue 11

https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4825-2019

© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4825-2019

© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 23, issue 11

Research article

|

27 Nov 2019

Research article |

| 27 Nov 2019

Expansion and contraction of the flowing stream network alter hillslope flowpath lengths and the shape of the travel time distribution

H. J. Ilja van Meerveld, James W. Kirchner, Marc J. P. Vis, Rick S. Assendelft, and Jan Seibert

Data sets

Studibach stream networks R. S. Assendelft and H. J. van Meerveld https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3543674

swissALTI3D dataset Swisstopo https://shop.swisstopo.admin.ch/en/products/height_models/alti3D

Short summary

Flowing stream networks extend and retract seasonally and in response to precipitation. This affects the distances and thus the time that it takes a water molecule to reach the flowing stream and the stream outlet. When the network is fully extended, the travel times are short, but when the network retracts, the travel times become longer and more uniform. These dynamics should be included when modeling solute or pollutant transport.