Abstract:An overview of current research in isotope hydrology, focusing on recent Canadian contributions, is discussed under the headings: precipitation networks, hydrograph separation and groundwater studies, river basin hydrology, lake and catchment water balance, and isotope palaeohydrology from lake sediment records. Tracer-based techniques, relying primarily on the naturally occurring environmental isotopes, have been integrated into a range of hydrological and biogeochemical research programmes, as they effectively complement physical and chemical techniques. A significant geographic focus of Canadian isotope hydrology research has been on the Mackenzie River basin, forming contributions to programmes such as the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment. Canadian research has also directly supported international efforts such as the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Global Network for Isotopes in Precipitation and IAEAs Coordinated Research Project on Large River Basins. One significant trend in Canadian research is toward sustained long-term monitoring of precipitation and river discharge to enable better characterization of spatial and temporal variability in isotope signatures and their underlying causes. One fundamental conclusion drawn from previous studies in Canada is that combined use of υ 18 O and υ 2 H enables the distinction of precipitation variability from evaporation effects, which offers significant advantages over use of the individual tracers alone. The study of hydrological controls on water chemistry is one emerging research trend that stems from the unique ability to integrate isotope sampling within both water quality and water quantity surveys.

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The biogeochemistry of 10 headwater lakes in burnt peatland-conifer catchments and 14 in unburnt catchments was evaluated throughout a summer 2 years following forest fire in a boreal subarctic region of northern Alberta. Cation exchange within burnt catchments resulted in proton flux and a 9% reduction in mean pH. Lakes in burnt catchments contained more than twofold higher (P << 0.01) mean concentrations of total, total dissolved, and soluble reactive phosphorus, 1.5-fold higher (P << 0.01) concentrations of dissolved organic carbon, and more than 1.2-fold higher (P < 0.05) concentrations of total and total dissolved nitrogen, nitrate + nitrite, and ammonium compared with reference lakes. Total phosphorus concentration explained 86% of the variance in reference lake chlorophyll concentration but was not related to chlorophyll concentration in burnt lakes. Analysis of chlorophyll - total phosphorus residuals suggested that algae in burn-impacted lakes were light limited. With the addition of five lakes burnt between 1961 and 1985, time since disturbance and percent disturbance combined explained 74% of the variance in total phosphorus among burnt lakes. Fire caused increased flux of materials to the study lakes with slow recovery over decades.

An isotope mass balance technique is applied to quantify water yield and refine a steady-state critical acid loadings assessment for 49 lakes in hydrologically complex, wetland-rich terrain of northeastern Alberta. The approach uses physical and climatological data combined with site-specific measurements of evaporative isotopic enrichment of 2H and 18O in lake water to measure lake residency and ungauged runoff to lakes. Mean water yields to individual lakes across the region over a 3-year period are estimated to range from 5 to 395 mm·year–1, with a standard deviation of two times the predicted estimates based on interpolation of gauged stream flow from broad-scale watersheds in the area. Comparison of the method with longer-term Water Survey of Canada hydrometric data suggests very similar average water yields for moderate- to large-sized watersheds. However, the isotope-based estimates appear to capture extreme low water yields in flat, disconnected areas and extreme high water yields in other areas thought to be related to stronger connections to regional groundwater flow systems. For aquatic ecosystems of northeastern Alberta, an area expected to be affected by acid deposition from regional oil sands development, continued refinement of the technique is important to accurately assess critical loads for ungauged systems, particularly those in low-yield settings.

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