Articles | Volume 30, issue 15
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-4889-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-4889-2026
Research article
 | 
04 Aug 2026
Research article |  | 04 Aug 2026

Hysteresis between groundwater and surface water levels indicates the states of hydrological turnover affecting solute transport and redox processes

Lars Bäthke and Tobias Schuetz

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Cited articles

Alewell, C., Paul, S., Lischeid, G., and Storck, F. R.: Co-regulation of redox processes in freshwater wetlands as a function of organic matter availability?, Sci. Total Environ., 404, 335–342, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2007.11.001, 2008. 
Arntzen, E. V., Geist, D. R., and Dresel, P. E.: Effects of fluctuating river flow on groundwater/surface water mixing in the hyporheic zone of a regulated, large cobble bed river, River Res. Appl., 22, 937–946, https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.947, 2006. 
Bäthke, L.: egusphere-2025-1674-Hysteresis between groundwater and surface water levels indicates the states of hydrological turnover affecting solute transport and redox processes, Zenodo [data set], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19771812, 2026. 
Bäthke, L. and Schuetz, T.: Catchment properties shape seasonal variation in groundwater–surface water interaction – Geogenic silica as a proxy for hydrological turnover induced mixing, Water Resour. Res., 60, e2023WR036120, https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR036120, 2024. 
Boano, F., Harvey, J. W., Marion, A., Packman, A. I., Revelli, R., Ridolfi, L., and Wörman, A.: Hyporheic flow and transport processes: Mechanisms, models, and biogeochemical implications, Rev. Geophys., 52, 603–679, https://doi.org/10.1002/2012RG000417, 2014. 
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We investigated the interplay between stream stage and near-stream groundwater levels using hysteresis patterns to characterize hydrological turnover (HT) and exchange dynamics. Based on two years of high-resolution data, hysteresis direction and magnitude track seasonal system states. The hysteresis index (h-index) is related to HT and serves as a diagnostic indicator of connectivity, storage, and hyporheic exchange, with implications for biogeochemical processes under drought.

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