Causes of concentration/discharge hysteresis and its potential as a tool for analysis of episode hydrochemistry

Evans, Christopher; Davies, Trevor

doi:10.1029/97wr01881

Cited by 370 publications

(477 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…4 according to the method of Evans and Davies (1998) in order to determine if concentrations at a given discharge differed on the rising and falling limbs of ? at the onset of flow in the spring, there are no clear differences in discharge-concentration relationships between the rising and falling limbs of the hydrographs during the snowmelt period (Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal and hydrologic drivers of dissolved organic matter and nutrients in the upper Kuparuk River, Alaskan Arctic

et al. 2010

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As the planet warms, widespread changes in Arctic hydrology and biogeochemistry have been documented and these changes are expected to accelerate in the future. Improved understanding of the behavior of water-borne constituents in Arctic rivers with varying hydrologic conditions, including seasonal variations in discharge-concentration relationships, will improve our ability to anticipate future changes in biogeochemical budgets due to changing hydrology. We studied the relationship between seasonal water discharge and dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen (DOC and DON) and nutrient concentrations in the upper Kuparuk River, Arctic Alaska. Fluxes of most constituents were highest during initial snowmelt runoff in spring, indicating that this historically under-studied period contributes significantly to total annual export. In particular, the initial snowmelt period (the stream is completely frozen during the winter) accounted for upwards of 35% of total export of DOC and DON estimated for the entire study period. DOC and DON concentrations were positively correlated with discharge whereas nitrate (NO 3 -) and silicate were negatively correlated with discharge throughout the study. However, discharge-specific DOC and DON concentrations (i.e. concentrations compared at the same discharge level) decreased over the summer whereas discharge-specific concentrations of NO 3 -and silicate increased. Soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) and ammonium (NH 4 ? ) were negatively correlated with discharge during the spring thaw, but were less predictable with respect to discharge thereafter. These data provide valuable information on how Arctic watershed biogeochemistry will be affected by future changes in temperature, snowfall, and rainfall in the Arctic. In particular, our results add to a growing body of research showing that nutrient export per unit of stream discharge, particularly NO 3 -, is increasing in the Arctic.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal and hydrologic drivers of dissolved organic matter and nutrients in the upper Kuparuk River, Alaskan Arctic

et al. 2010

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“…We used an annual hysteresis loop based on concentration-discharge hysteresis analysis to check the rain-runoff relationship in the catchment and to perform a linear fit [70][71][72]. We observed a yearly anticlockwise hysteresis loop (Figure 11), which indicates that the discharge values respond to precipitation events occurring across the catchment.…”

Section: Runoffmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water Balance Modeling in a Semi-Arid Environment with Limited in situ Data Using Remote Sensing in Lake Manyara, East African Rift, Tanzania

2013

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Abstract:The purpose of this paper is to estimate the water balance in a semi-arid environment with limited in situ data using a remote sensing approach. We focus on the Lake Manyara catchment, located within the East African Rift of northern Tanzania. We use a distributed conceptual hydrological model driven by remote sensing data to study the spatial and temporal variability of water balance parameters within the catchment. Satellite gravimetry GRACE data is used to verify the trends of the inferred lake level changes. The results show that the lake undergoes high spatial and temporal variations, characteristic of a semi-arid climate with high evaporation and low rainfall. We observe that the Lake Manyara water balance and GRACE equivalent water depth show comparable trends; a 1652Despite the small size of Lake Manyara, GRACE data showed great potential for hydrological research on smaller un-gauged lakes and catchments in similar semi-arid environments worldwide. The water balance information can be used for further analysis of lake variations in relation to soil erosion, climate and land cover/land use change as well as different lake management and conservation scenarios.

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“…Hysteresis loops are frequently observed in concentration-discharge relationships, but the extent of looping modeled in Figure 5a is much greater than is typically observed (e.g. Evans and Davies, 1998). To match the observed concentration-discharge relationships, this model would have to be modified to allow solutes to be: (1) produced at a variable rate or (2) mobilized from different sources at variable rates.…”

Section: Mixing Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…event and pre-event water; old and new water; or soil water, groundwater and precipitation) inferred from the shape of the concentration-discharge relationship for different solutes (Johnson et al, 1969;Hall, 1970Hall, , 1971. In other studies, researchers have inferred the relative timing of mixing from hysteresis loops observed in concentration-discharge plots (Evans and Davies, 1998;Evans et al, 1999;House and Warwick, 1998;Hornberger et al, 2001;Chanat et al, 2002). Evans and Davies (1998) proposed that the form and direction of hysteresis loops could uniquely identify the rank order of end-member concentrations in a three end-member mixing scenario.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In other studies, researchers have inferred the relative timing of mixing from hysteresis loops observed in concentration-discharge plots (Evans and Davies, 1998;Evans et al, 1999;House and Warwick, 1998;Hornberger et al, 2001;Chanat et al, 2002). Evans and Davies (1998) proposed that the form and direction of hysteresis loops could uniquely identify the rank order of end-member concentrations in a three end-member mixing scenario. However, Chanat et al (2002) showed that even the small number of assumptions required for this identification are not always valid, and that when the assumptions are violated, hysteresis loops cannot definitively distinguish the relative concentrations of different end-members.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Concentration–discharge relationships reflect chemostatic characteristics of US catchments

Godsey

Kirchner

Clow

2009

Hydrological Processes

669

942

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Abstract:Concentration-discharge relationships have been widely used as clues to the hydrochemical processes that control runoff chemistry. Here we examine concentration-discharge relationships for solutes produced primarily by mineral weathering in 59 geochemically diverse US catchments. We show that these catchments exhibit nearly chemostatic behaviour; their stream concentrations of weathering products such as Ca, Mg, Na, and Si typically vary by factors of only 3 to 20 while discharge varies by several orders of magnitude. Similar patterns are observed at the inter-annual time scale. This behaviour implies that solute concentrations in stream water are not determined by simple dilution of a fixed solute flux by a variable flux of water, and that rates of solute production and/or mobilization must be nearly proportional to water fluxes, both on storm and inter-annual timescales. We compared these catchments' concentration-discharge relationships to the predictions of several simple hydrological and geochemical models. Most of these models can be forced to approximately fit the observed concentration-discharge relationships, but often only by assuming unrealistic or internally inconsistent parameter values. We propose a new model that also fits the data and may be more robust. We suggest possible tests of the new model for future studies. The relative stability of concentration under widely varying discharge may help make aquatic environments habitable. It also implies that fluxes of weathering solutes in streams, and thus fluxes of alkalinity to the oceans, are determined primarily by water fluxes. Thus, hydrology may be a major driver of the ocean-alkalinity feedback regulating climate change.

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Causes of concentration/discharge hysteresis and its potential as a tool for analysis of episode hydrochemistry

Cited by 370 publications

References 34 publications

Seasonal and hydrologic drivers of dissolved organic matter and nutrients in the upper Kuparuk River, Alaskan Arctic

Seasonal and hydrologic drivers of dissolved organic matter and nutrients in the upper Kuparuk River, Alaskan Arctic

Water Balance Modeling in a Semi-Arid Environment with Limited in situ Data Using Remote Sensing in Lake Manyara, East African Rift, Tanzania

Concentration–discharge relationships reflect chemostatic characteristics of US catchments

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