Articles | Volume 29, issue 16
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-3853-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-29-3853-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
A new high-resolution groundwater isoscape for south-east Germany: insights from differences in relation to precipitation
Aixala Gaillard
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Geography and Geosciences, Geozentrum Nordbayern, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schlossgarten 5, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
Robert van Geldern
Department of Geography and Geosciences, Geozentrum Nordbayern, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schlossgarten 5, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
Johannes Arthur Christopher Barth
Department of Geography and Geosciences, Geozentrum Nordbayern, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schlossgarten 5, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
Christine Stumpp
Institute of Soil Physics and Rural Water Management, Department of Landscape, Water and Infrastructure, BOKU University, 1190 Vienna, Austria
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Hatice Türk, Christine Stumpp, Markus Hrachowitz, Peter Strauss, Günter Blöschl, and Michael Stockinger
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2597, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2597, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS).
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This study shows that stream flow isotope data (δ2H) were inadequate for distinguishing preferential groundwater flow. Large passive groundwater storage dampened δ2H variations, obscuring signals of fast groundwater flow and complicating the estimation of older water fractions in the streams. Further, weekly-resolution δ2H sampling yielded deceptively high model performance, highlighting the need for complementary and groundwater-level data to improve catchment-scale transit-time estimates.
Jan Maier, Anna-Neva Visser, Christina Martina Schubert, Simon Thomas Wander, and Johannes Arthur Barth
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1580, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1580, 2025
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We present the first large-scale assessment of the dissolved oxygen (DO) budget and δ18ODO across the Danube to distinguish DO sources and sinks, key for biogeochemical cycles. Two highly productive areas in the warm season showed large deviations (+12.1 ‰) from atmospheric equilibrium (+24.6 ‰ ± 0.4 ‰), unusual for large rivers. Critically low DO in the Sava (0.16 mmol/L) and lower Danube (0.2 mmol/L) in late summer resulted from intensified respiration.
Hatice Türk, Christine Stumpp, Markus Hrachowitz, Karsten Schulz, Peter Strauss, Günter Blöschl, and Michael Stockinger
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-359, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-359, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for HESS
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Using advances in transit time estimation and tracer data, we tested if fast-flow transit times are controlled solely by soil moisture or are also controlled by precipitation intensity. We used soil moisture-dependent and precipitation intensity-conditional transfer functions. We showed that significant portion of event water bypasses the soil matrix through fast flow paths (overland flow, tile drains, preferential flow paths) in dry soil conditions for both low and high-intensity precipitation.
Marco M. Lehmann, Josie Geris, Ilja van Meerveld, Daniele Penna, Youri Rothfuss, Matteo Verdone, Pertti Ala-Aho, Matyas Arvai, Alise Babre, Philippe Balandier, Fabian Bernhard, Lukrecija Butorac, Simon Damien Carrière, Natalie C. Ceperley, Zuosinan Chen, Alicia Correa, Haoyu Diao, David Dubbert, Maren Dubbert, Fabio Ercoli, Marius G. Floriancic, Teresa E. Gimeno, Damien Gounelle, Frank Hagedorn, Christophe Hissler, Frédéric Huneau, Alberto Iraheta, Tamara Jakovljević, Nerantzis Kazakis, Zoltan Kern, Karl Knaebel, Johannes Kobler, Jiří Kocum, Charlotte Koeber, Gerbrand Koren, Angelika Kübert, Dawid Kupka, Samuel Le Gall, Aleksi Lehtonen, Thomas Leydier, Philippe Malagoli, Francesca Sofia Manca di Villahermosa, Chiara Marchina, Núria Martínez-Carreras, Nicolas Martin-StPaul, Hannu Marttila, Aline Meyer Oliveira, Gaël Monvoisin, Natalie Orlowski, Kadi Palmik-Das, Aurel Persoiu, Andrei Popa, Egor Prikaziuk, Cécile Quantin, Katja T. Rinne-Garmston, Clara Rohde, Martin Sanda, Matthias Saurer, Daniel Schulz, Michael Paul Stockinger, Christine Stumpp, Jean-Stéphane Venisse, Lukas Vlcek, Stylianos Voudouris, Björn Weeser, Mark E. Wilkinson, Giulia Zuecco, and Katrin Meusburger
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-409, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-409, 2024
Preprint under review for ESSD
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This study describes a unique large-scale isotope dataset to study water dynamics in European forests. Researchers collected data from 40 beech and spruce forest sites in spring and summer 2023, using a standardized method to ensure consistency. The results show that water sources for trees change between seasons and vary by tree species. This large dataset offers valuable information for understanding plant water use, improving ecohydrological models, and mapping water cycles across Europe.
Marius G. Floriancic, Michael P. Stockinger, James W. Kirchner, and Christine Stumpp
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 3675–3694, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3675-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3675-2024, 2024
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The Alps are a key water resource for central Europe, providing water for drinking, agriculture, and hydropower production. To assess water availability in streams, we need to understand how much streamflow is derived from old water stored in the subsurface versus more recent precipitation. We use tracer data from 32 Alpine streams and statistical tools to assess how much recent precipitation can be found in Alpine rivers and how this amount is related to catchment properties and climate.
Siyuan Wang, Markus Hrachowitz, Gerrit Schoups, and Christine Stumpp
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 3083–3114, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3083-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3083-2023, 2023
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This study shows that previously reported underestimations of water ages are most likely not due to the use of seasonally variable tracers. Rather, these underestimations can be largely attributed to the choices of model approaches which rely on assumptions not frequently met in catchment hydrology. We therefore strongly advocate avoiding the use of this model type in combination with seasonally variable tracers and instead adopting StorAge Selection (SAS)-based or comparable model formulations.
Marleen Schübl, Giuseppe Brunetti, Gabriele Fuchs, and Christine Stumpp
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 1431–1455, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1431-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1431-2023, 2023
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Estimating groundwater recharge through the unsaturated zone is a difficult task that is fundamentally associated with uncertainties. One of the few methods available is inverse modeling based on soil water measurements. Here, we used a nested sampling algorithm within a Bayesian probabilistic framework to assess model uncertainties at 14 sites in Austria. Further, we analyzed simulated recharge rates to identify factors influencing groundwater recharge rates and their temporal variability.
Marlene Dordoni, Michael Seewald, Karsten Rinke, Kurt Friese, Robert van Geldern, Jakob Schmidmeier, and Johannes A. C. Barth
Biogeosciences, 19, 5343–5355, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5343-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5343-2022, 2022
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Organic matter (OM) turnover into dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) was investigated by means of carbon isotope mass balances in Germany's largest water reservoir. This includes a metalimnetic oxygen minimum (MOM). Autochthonous particulate organic carbon (POC) was the main contributor to DIC, with rates that were highest for the MOM. Generally low turnover rates outline the environmental fragility of this water body in the case that OM loads increase due to storm events or land use changes.
Markus Hrachowitz, Michael Stockinger, Miriam Coenders-Gerrits, Ruud van der Ent, Heye Bogena, Andreas Lücke, and Christine Stumpp
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 4887–4915, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4887-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4887-2021, 2021
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Deforestation affects how catchments store and release water. Here we found that deforestation in the study catchment led to a 20 % increase in mean runoff, while reducing the vegetation-accessible water storage from about 258 to 101 mm. As a consequence, fractions of young water in the stream increased by up to 25 % during wet periods. This implies that water and solutes are more rapidly routed to the stream, which can, after contamination, lead to increased contaminant peak concentrations.
Josef Fürst, Hans Peter Nachtnebel, Josef Gasch, Reinhard Nolz, Michael Paul Stockinger, Christine Stumpp, and Karsten Schulz
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 4019–4034, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4019-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4019-2021, 2021
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Rosalia is a 222 ha forested research watershed in eastern Austria to study water, energy and solute transport processes. The paper describes the site, monitoring network, instrumentation and the datasets: high-resolution (10 min interval) time series starting in 2015 of four discharge gauging stations, seven rain gauges, and observations of air and water temperature, relative humidity, and conductivity, as well as soil water content and temperature, at different depths at four profiles.
Inga Köhler, Raul E. Martinez, David Piatka, Achim J. Herrmann, Arianna Gallo, Michelle M. Gehringer, and Johannes A. C. Barth
Biogeosciences, 18, 4535–4548, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4535-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4535-2021, 2021
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We investigated how high Fe(II) levels influence the O2 budget of a circum-neutral Fe(II)-rich spring and if a combined study of dissolved O (DO) and its isotopic composition can help assess this effect. We showed that dissolved Fe(II) can exert strong effects on the δ18ODO even though a constant supply of atmospheric O2 occurs. In the presence of photosynthesis, direct effects of Fe oxidation become masked. Critical Fe(II) concentrations indirectly control the DO by enhancing photosynthesis.
Tobias R. Juhlke, Jürgen Sültenfuß, Katja Trachte, Frédéric Huneau, Emilie Garel, Sébastien Santoni, Johannes A. C. Barth, and Robert van Geldern
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 3555–3568, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3555-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3555-2020, 2020
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Tritium can serve as a useful tracer in the hydrological cycle; however, aspects of the distribution and exchange of tritium in the atmosphere are not completely understood. In particular, the movement of tritium from its natural origin in the upper atmosphere to its deposition onto the land surface by precipitation has to be quantified further. Therefore, this study collected precipitation event samples and used atmospheric models in order to improve knowledge regarding tritium dynamics.
Michael Paul Stockinger, Heye Reemt Bogena, Andreas Lücke, Christine Stumpp, and Harry Vereecken
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 4333–4347, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4333-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4333-2019, 2019
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Precipitation moves through the soil to become stream water. The fraction of precipitation that becomes stream water after 3 months (Fyw) can be calculated with the stable isotopes of water. Previously, this was done for all the isotope data available, e.g., for several years. We used 1 year of data to calculate Fyw and moved this calculation time window over the time series. Results highlight that Fyw varies in time. Comparison studies of different regions should take this into account.
Natalie Orlowski, Lutz Breuer, Nicolas Angeli, Pascal Boeckx, Christophe Brumbt, Craig S. Cook, Maren Dubbert, Jens Dyckmans, Barbora Gallagher, Benjamin Gralher, Barbara Herbstritt, Pedro Hervé-Fernández, Christophe Hissler, Paul Koeniger, Arnaud Legout, Chandelle Joan Macdonald, Carlos Oyarzún, Regine Redelstein, Christof Seidler, Rolf Siegwolf, Christine Stumpp, Simon Thomsen, Markus Weiler, Christiane Werner, and Jeffrey J. McDonnell
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3619–3637, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3619-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3619-2018, 2018
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To extract water from soils for isotopic analysis, cryogenic water extraction is the most widely used removal technique. This work presents results from a worldwide laboratory intercomparison test of cryogenic extraction systems. Our results showed large differences in retrieved isotopic signatures among participating laboratories linked to interactions between soil type and properties, system setup, extraction efficiency, extraction system leaks, and each lab’s internal accuracy.
Anne Marx, Marcus Conrad, Vadym Aizinger, Alexander Prechtel, Robert van Geldern, and Johannes A. C. Barth
Biogeosciences, 15, 3093–3106, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-3093-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-3093-2018, 2018
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CO2 outgassing from small streams causes one of the main uncertainties in global carbon budgets. These are caused by variable flow conditions, changing stream surface areas, and groundwater seeps. Here we used groundwater data to improve a novel stable carbon isotope modelling approach. We found that CO2 outgassing contributed more than three-fourths of annual stream inorganic carbon loss in a small, silicate catchment. We underline the potential of this approach for global applications.
C. Stumpp, A. Ekdal, I. E. Gönenc, and P. Maloszewski
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 4825–4837, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-4825-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-4825-2014, 2014
Related subject area
Subject: Groundwater hydrology | Techniques and Approaches: Remote Sensing and GIS
High-resolution InSAR regional soil water storage mapping above permafrost
Influence of intensive agriculture and geological heterogeneity on the recharge of an arid aquifer system (Saq–Ram, Arabian Peninsula) inferred from GRACE data
Evaluating downscaling methods of GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) data: a case study over a fractured crystalline aquifer in southern India
Preprocessing approaches in machine-learning-based groundwater potential mapping: an application to the Koulikoro and Bamako regions, Mali
Applicability of Landsat 8 thermal infrared sensor for identifying submarine groundwater discharge springs in the Mediterranean Sea basin
Unsaturated zone model complexity for the assimilation of evapotranspiration rates in groundwater modelling
Technical note: Water table mapping accounting for river–aquifer connectivity and human pressure
Estimating long-term groundwater storage and its controlling factors in Alberta, Canada
Recent changes in terrestrial water storage in the Upper Nile Basin: an evaluation of commonly used gridded GRACE products
Mapping irrigation potential from renewable groundwater in Africa – a quantitative hydrological approach
How to identify groundwater-caused thermal anomalies in lakes based on multi-temporal satellite data in semi-arid regions
Statistical analysis to characterize transport of nutrients in groundwater near an abandoned feedlot
Hydrogeological settings of a volcanic island (San Cristóbal, Galapagos) from joint interpretation of airborne electromagnetics and geomorphological observations
Shallow groundwater effect on land surface temperature and surface energy balance under bare soil conditions: modeling and description
Reconnoitering the effect of shallow groundwater on land surface temperature and surface energy balance using MODIS and SEBS
Derivation of groundwater flow-paths based on semi-automatic extraction of lineaments from remote sensing data
Groundwater use for irrigation – a global inventory
Yue Wu, Jingyi Chen, M. Bayani Cardenas, and George W. Kling
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 3481–3502, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-3481-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-3481-2025, 2025
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As the soil thaws in summer, the land subsides, owing to the greater volume of ice than of water. This deformation helps monitor water storage because the subsidence magnitude is proportional to water volume. In this study, the interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) technique was used to map subsidence around Toolik Lake, Arctic Alaska. Both InSAR and field observations suggest that soil water storage ranges from 0 to 75 cm, with small errors, and that the spatial distribution of soil water correlates strongly with topography and vegetation.
Pierre Seraphin, Julio Gonçalvès, Bruno Hamelin, Thomas Stieglitz, and Pierre Deschamps
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 5757–5771, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5757-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5757-2022, 2022
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This study assesses the detailed water budget of the Saq–Ram Aquifer System using satellite gravity data. Spatial heterogeneities regarding the groundwater recharge were identified: (i) irrigation excess is great enough to artificially recharge the aquifer; and (ii) volcanic lava deposits, which cover 8% of the domain, contribute to more than 50% of the total natural recharge. This indicates a major control of geological context on arid aquifer recharge, which has been poorly discussed hitherto.
Claire Pascal, Sylvain Ferrant, Adrien Selles, Jean-Christophe Maréchal, Abhilash Paswan, and Olivier Merlin
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 4169–4186, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4169-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4169-2022, 2022
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This paper presents a new validation method for the downscaling of GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) data. It measures the improvement of the downscaled data against the low-resolution data in both temporal and, for the first time, spatial domains. This validation method offers a standardized and comprehensive framework to interpret spatially and temporally the quality of the downscaled products, supporting future efforts in GRACE downscaling methods.
Víctor Gómez-Escalonilla, Pedro Martínez-Santos, and Miguel Martín-Loeches
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 221–243, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-221-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-221-2022, 2022
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Many communities in the Sahel rely solely on groundwater. We develop a machine learning technique to map areas of groundwater potential. Algorithms are trained to detect areas where there is a confluence of factors that facilitate groundwater occurrence. Our contribution focuses on using variable scaling to minimize expert bias and on testing our results beyond standard metrics. This approach is illustrated through its application to two administrative regions of Mali.
Sònia Jou-Claus, Albert Folch, and Jordi Garcia-Orellana
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 4789–4805, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4789-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4789-2021, 2021
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Satellite thermal infrared (TIR) remote sensing is a useful method for identifying coastal springs in karst aquifers both locally and regionally. The limiting factors include technical limitations, geological and hydrogeological characteristics, environmental and marine conditions, and coastal geomorphology. Also, it can serve as a tool to use for a first screening of the coastal water surface temperature to identify possible thermal anomalies that will help narrow the sampling survey.
Simone Gelsinari, Valentijn R. N. Pauwels, Edoardo Daly, Jos van Dam, Remko Uijlenhoet, Nicholas Fewster-Young, and Rebecca Doble
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 2261–2277, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2261-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2261-2021, 2021
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Estimates of recharge to groundwater are often driven by biophysical processes occurring in the soil column and, particularly in remote areas, are also always affected by uncertainty. Using data assimilation techniques to merge remotely sensed observations with outputs of numerical models is one way to reduce this uncertainty. Here, we show the benefits of using such a technique with satellite evapotranspiration rates and coupled hydrogeological models applied to a semi-arid site in Australia.
Mathias Maillot, Nicolas Flipo, Agnès Rivière, Nicolas Desassis, Didier Renard, Patrick Goblet, and Marc Vincent
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 4835–4849, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4835-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4835-2019, 2019
Soumendra N. Bhanja, Xiaokun Zhang, and Junye Wang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 6241–6255, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-6241-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-6241-2018, 2018
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The paper presents groundwater storage conditions in all the major river basins across Alberta, Canada. We used remote-sensing data and investigate their performance using available ground-based data of groundwater level monitoring, storage coefficients, aquifer thickness, and surface water measurements. The water available for groundwater recharge has been studied in detail. Separate approaches have been followed for confined and unconfined aquifers for estimating groundwater storage.
Mohammad Shamsudduha, Richard G. Taylor, Darren Jones, Laurent Longuevergne, Michael Owor, and Callist Tindimugaya
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 4533–4549, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4533-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4533-2017, 2017
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This study tests the phase and amplitude of GRACE TWS signals in the Upper Nile Basin from five commonly used gridded products (NASA's GRCTellus: CSR, JPL, GFZ; JPL-Mascons; GRGS) using in situ data and soil moisture from the Global Land Data Assimilation System. Resolution of changes in groundwater storage (ΔGWS) from GRACE is greatly constrained by the uncertain simulated soil moisture storage and the low amplitude in ΔGWS observed in deeply weathered crystalline rocks in the Upper Nile Basin.
Y. Altchenko and K. G. Villholth
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 1055–1067, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-1055-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-1055-2015, 2015
U. Mallast, R. Gloaguen, J. Friesen, T. Rödiger, S. Geyer, R. Merz, and C. Siebert
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 2773–2787, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-2773-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-2773-2014, 2014
P. Gbolo and P. Gerla
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 4897–4906, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-4897-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-4897-2013, 2013
A. Pryet, N. d'Ozouville, S. Violette, B. Deffontaines, and E. Auken
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 16, 4571–4579, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-4571-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-4571-2012, 2012
F. Alkhaier, G. N. Flerchinger, and Z. Su
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 16, 1817–1831, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-1817-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-1817-2012, 2012
F. Alkhaier, Z. Su, and G. N. Flerchinger
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 16, 1833–1844, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-1833-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-1833-2012, 2012
U. Mallast, R. Gloaguen, S. Geyer, T. Rödiger, and C. Siebert
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 15, 2665–2678, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-2665-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-2665-2011, 2011
S. Siebert, J. Burke, J. M. Faures, K. Frenken, J. Hoogeveen, P. Döll, and F. T. Portmann
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 14, 1863–1880, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-14-1863-2010, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-14-1863-2010, 2010
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Short summary
We produced a new interpolated map of stable isotopes in groundwater in southern Germany and compared it to local precipitation. Interestingly, discrepancies were found between two components of the hydrological cycle, highlighting different recharge patterns and evaporation processes in the northern and southern part of the study area. This research provides insights into understanding different groundwater recharge patterns on a large scale and eventually for groundwater management.
We produced a new interpolated map of stable isotopes in groundwater in southern Germany and...