Articles | Volume 23, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-51-2019
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-51-2019
Research article
 | 
07 Jan 2019
Research article |  | 07 Jan 2019

Storage dynamics, hydrological connectivity and flux ages in a karst catchment: conceptual modelling using stable isotopes

Zhicai Zhang, Xi Chen, Qinbo Cheng, and Chris Soulsby

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Cited articles

Ala-aho, P., Tetzlaff, D., McNamara, J. P., Laudon, H., and Soulsby, C.: Using isotopes to constrain water flux and age estimates in snow-influenced catchments using the STARR (Spatially distributed Tracer-Aided Rainfall-Runoff) model, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 5089–5110, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-5089-2017, 2017a. 
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, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2017.02.023, 2017b. 
Bakalowicz, M.: Karst groundwater: A challenge for new resources, Hydrogeol. J., 13, 148–160, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-004-0402-9, 2005. 
Berghuijs, W. R. and Kirchner, J. W.: The relationship between contrasting ages of groundwater and streamflow, Geophys. Res. Lett., 44, 8925–8935, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL074962, 2017. 
Beven, K.: Prophecy, reality and uncertainty in distributed hydrological modelling, Adv. Water Resour., 16, 41–51, https://doi.org/10.1016/0309-1708(93)90028-E, 1993. 
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Short summary
We developed a new tracer-aided hydrological model for karst catchments. This model captured the flow and tracer dynamics within each landscape unit quite well, and we could estimate the storage, fluxes and age of water within each. Such tracer-aided models enhance our understanding of the hydrological connectivity between different landscape units and the mixing processes between various flow sources. It is an encouraging step forward in tracer-aided modelling of karst catchments.