Articles | Volume 26, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-183-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-183-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Implications of variations in stream specific conductivity for estimating baseflow using chemical mass balance and calibrated hydrograph techniques
School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University,
Clayton, Vic. 3800, Australia
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Streams may receive water from different sources in their catchment. There is limited understanding of which water stores intermittent streams are connected to. Using geochemistry we show that the intermittent streams in southeast Australia are connected to younger smaller near-river water stores rather than regional groundwater. This makes these streams more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and requires management of the riparian zone for their protection.
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The combined use of deuterium and tritium to determine travel time distributions in streams is an important development in catchment hydrology (Rodriguez et al., 2021). This comment, however, argues that their results do not generally invalidate the truncation hypothesis of Stewart et al. (2010) (i.e. that stable isotopes underestimate travel times through catchments), as they imply, but asserts instead that the hypothesis still applies to many other catchments.
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It is widely assumed that 14C is in contact with the atmosphere until recharging water reaches the water table. Unsaturated zone (UZ) studies have shown that 14C decreases with depth below the land surface. We produce a relationship between UZ 14C and depth to the water table to estimate input 14C activities for groundwater age estimation. Application of the new relationship shows that it is important for UZ processes to be considered in groundwater mean residence time estimation.
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We evaluate groundwater recharge rates in a semi-arid area that has undergone land-use changes. The widespread presence of old saline groundwater indicates that pre-land-clearing recharge rates were low and present-day recharge rates are still modest. The fluctuations of the water table and tritium activities reflect present-day recharge rates; however, the water table fluctuation estimates are unrealistically high, and this technique may not be suited for estimating recharge in semi-arid areas.
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Nitrogen inputs can pollute streams and degrade water quality. We estimated fertiliser nitrogen inputs across different land uses and assessed their relationship with stream nitrogen concentrations. Only a small fraction of the applied nitrogen was exported, with most retained within the landscape. Land use, rainfall, and flow patterns strongly influenced nitrogen dynamics and export. These findings support strategies to reduce stream pollution and protect water quality in agricultural areas.
Stephen Lee, Dylan J. Irvine, Clément Duvert, Gabriel C. Rau, and Ian Cartwright
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 1771–1790, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1771-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1771-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Global groundwater recharge studies collate recharge values estimated using different methods that apply to different timescales. We develop a recharge prediction model, based solely on chloride, to produce a recharge map for Australia. We reveal that climate and vegetation have the most significant influence on recharge variability in Australia. Our recharge rates were lower than other models due to the long timescale of chloride in groundwater. Our method can similarly be applied globally.
Keirnan Fowler, Murray Peel, Margarita Saft, Tim J. Peterson, Andrew Western, Lawrence Band, Cuan Petheram, Sandra Dharmadi, Kim Seong Tan, Lu Zhang, Patrick Lane, Anthony Kiem, Lucy Marshall, Anne Griebel, Belinda E. Medlyn, Dongryeol Ryu, Giancarlo Bonotto, Conrad Wasko, Anna Ukkola, Clare Stephens, Andrew Frost, Hansini Gardiya Weligamage, Patricia Saco, Hongxing Zheng, Francis Chiew, Edoardo Daly, Glen Walker, R. Willem Vervoort, Justin Hughes, Luca Trotter, Brad Neal, Ian Cartwright, and Rory Nathan
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 6073–6120, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-6073-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-6073-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Recently, we have seen multi-year droughts tending to cause shifts in the relationship between rainfall and streamflow. In shifted catchments that have not recovered, an average rainfall year produces less streamflow today than it did pre-drought. We take a multi-disciplinary approach to understand why these shifts occur, focusing on Australia's over-10-year Millennium Drought. We evaluate multiple hypotheses against evidence, with particular focus on the key role of groundwater processes.
Zibo Zhou, Ian Cartwright, and Uwe Morgenstern
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 4497–4513, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4497-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4497-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Streams may receive water from different sources in their catchment. There is limited understanding of which water stores intermittent streams are connected to. Using geochemistry we show that the intermittent streams in southeast Australia are connected to younger smaller near-river water stores rather than regional groundwater. This makes these streams more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and requires management of the riparian zone for their protection.
Michael Kilgour Stewart, Uwe Morgenstern, and Ian Cartwright
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 6333–6338, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-6333-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-6333-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The combined use of deuterium and tritium to determine travel time distributions in streams is an important development in catchment hydrology (Rodriguez et al., 2021). This comment, however, argues that their results do not generally invalidate the truncation hypothesis of Stewart et al. (2010) (i.e. that stable isotopes underestimate travel times through catchments), as they imply, but asserts instead that the hypothesis still applies to many other catchments.
Dylan J. Irvine, Cameron Wood, Ian Cartwright, and Tanya Oliver
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 5415–5424, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5415-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5415-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
It is widely assumed that 14C is in contact with the atmosphere until recharging water reaches the water table. Unsaturated zone (UZ) studies have shown that 14C decreases with depth below the land surface. We produce a relationship between UZ 14C and depth to the water table to estimate input 14C activities for groundwater age estimation. Application of the new relationship shows that it is important for UZ processes to be considered in groundwater mean residence time estimation.
Shovon Barua, Ian Cartwright, P. Evan Dresel, and Edoardo Daly
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 89–104, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-89-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-89-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We evaluate groundwater recharge rates in a semi-arid area that has undergone land-use changes. The widespread presence of old saline groundwater indicates that pre-land-clearing recharge rates were low and present-day recharge rates are still modest. The fluctuations of the water table and tritium activities reflect present-day recharge rates; however, the water table fluctuation estimates are unrealistically high, and this technique may not be suited for estimating recharge in semi-arid areas.
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Short summary
Using specific conductivity (SC) to estimate groundwater inflow to rivers is complicated by bank return waters, interflow, and flows off floodplains contributing to baseflow in all but the driest years. Using the maximum SC of the river in dry years to estimate the SC of groundwater produces the best baseflow vs. streamflow trends. The variable composition of baseflow hinders calibration of hydrograph-based techniques to estimate groundwater inflows.
Using specific conductivity (SC) to estimate groundwater inflow to rivers is complicated by bank...