Assessment of streamflow components and hydrologic transit times using stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen in waters of a subtropical watershed in eastern China

Abstract

Streamflow components (e.g., young water vs old water) and hydrological transit times play an important role in water resource and water quality management. We collected a four-year record of stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen (δ 18 O and δ 2 H) in precipitation, groundwater and stream water for six catchments in the Yongan watershed of eastern China. The stable isotope records were used to identify spatio-temporal variations in the young water fraction (F yw , defined as the proportion of the transit-time distribution younger than a threshold age) and mean transit time (MTT) based on sine-wave fitting and convolution integral methods, respectively. The F yw ranged from 14 to 35% in the Yongan watershed. Cumulative transit time showed contrasting distributions, suggesting considerable heterogeneity and a complex interplay between catchment characteristics. Estimated MTTs ranged from 3.2 to 6.3 years and may be explained by catchment characteristics (e.g., elevation and topographic gradient). Observed spatial trends in MTTs likely result from contrasting contributions of different-aged subsurface water flows across the six catchments. The use of F yw constraints in estimating MTTs reduced uncertainty in some catchments, suggesting the potential benefits of combining multiple approaches (e.g., F yw ) to optimize the results of traditional calibration methods. The relatively low F yw and long MTTs highlight the importance of groundwater contributions to streamflow generation and imply a considerable lag time in river water quantity and quality responses to catchment-scale water resource management. Coupling multiple metrics (e.g., F yw and MTT) and isotope models enhances our understanding of watershed-scale hydrologic processes and hydrograph separation. over time and space (Davis Todd et al., 2007).Stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen (δ 18 O and δ 2 H) in waters are effective tracers for identifying stream water sources, hydrologic flowpaths and understanding hydrological processes across a range of spatial and temporal scales (McGuire and McDonnell, 2006;Klaus and McDonnell, 2013;Jasechko et al., 2016). Pinder and Jones (1969) first applied δ 18 O and δ 2 H in the 1970s to define event and pre-event water components based on a mass balance approach. In past decades, many studies have applied δ 18 O and δ 2 H for hydrograph separation in upland, forest and permafrost catchments across various geological and climatic regions (Klaus and McDonnell, 2013). Increasing evidences indicate that δ 18 O and δ 2 H coupled with watershed hydro-climate and hydrologic attributions provide an effective approach for exploring

Modeling Riverine N2O Sources, Fates, and Emission Factors in a Typical River Network of Eastern China

“…10 We used stable isotopes of H 2 O and NO 3 to assess hydrological processes and potential denitrification processes, respectively. 32,36 Groundwater, rainfall, and river water samples at the river outlets of Trib for , Trib res , Trib agr , and mainstream were collected for the analysis of δ 15 N−NO 3 and δ 18 O−NO 3 as well as δ 18 O−H 2 O and δ 2 H−H 2 O.…”

“…4 Given the significantly decreased N 2 O concentrations from groundwater to streamwater (Table S2), N 2 O should experience the attenuation process during groundwater delivery. Therefore, the groundwater N 2 O contribution (G) was expressed as groundwater N 2 O load with an assumed N 2 O attenuation coefficient (K 1 , year −1 ) during groundwater discharge to rivers 16,37,38 with delivery time T gw (year): 36,39…”

“…The monthly BFI was estimated using the hydrological module of the regional nutrient management (ReNuMa) model 39 and further verified with stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen (Supporting Information, Part IV, Table S5). 36 In addition, we estimated the proportions of riverine N load from groundwater (P gw ) and surface runoff (L Runoff ) from results obtained using dual nitrate stable isotopes. 32 The Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method was implemented to calibrate parameters (F, K gw , K 2 , v f , d, TP runoff , and TP r ) for the four sampling sites (Trib agr , Trib for , Trib res , and mainstream) using MATLAB (Ver.…”

“…Given the significantly decreased N 2 O concentrations from groundwater to streamwater (Table S2), N 2 O should experience the attenuation process during groundwater delivery. Therefore, the groundwater N 2 O contribution ( G ) was expressed as groundwater N 2 O load with an assumed N 2 O attenuation coefficient ( K 1 , year –1 ) during groundwater discharge to rivers ,, with delivery time T gw (year): , where Q gw is groundwater discharge (m 3 s –1 ) expressed as the product of Q and BFI (base flow index), and C gw is groundwater N 2 O concentration (μg N 2 O–N L –1 ). To address the temporal variation of the groundwater N 2 O attenuation rate, K 1 is expressed as a function of the constant N 2 O attenuation coefficient K gw (year –1 ) and groundwater DO concentration (mg L –1 ): …”

“…Model Calibration and Statistical Analyses. T gw , T runoff and transit time distribution (TTD) for different tributary and mainstream sites in the Yongan River were determined using δ18 O−H 2 O and δ 2 H−H 2 O with the lumpedparameter convolution method:36…”