Evolution of groundwater age in a mountain watershed over a period of thirteen years

Manning, Andrew H.; Clark, J. M.; Díaz, S.; Rademacher, Laura K.; Earman, Sam; Plummer, L. Niel

doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.06.030

Cited by 76 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 50 publications

(69 reference statements)

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“…While stationarity may be a reasonable assumption for groundwater, inter-annual variations in recharge can affect RTs substantially (Manning et al, 2012). Further work aimed at providing additional constraints on RT variability is therefore required, by routinely collecting age tracer data in groundwater.…”

Section: Limitations Of This Study and Way Forwardmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Zuber et al, 2005;Stewart and Thomas, 2008;Einsiedl et al, 2009;Manning et al, 2012;Blavoux et al, 2013) and for the assessment of TT in surface water studies (Matsutani et al, 1993;Stewart et al, 2007;Morgenstern et al, 2010;Stolp et al, 2010;Stewart, 2012;Gusyev et al, 2013;Kralik et al, 2014). Most of these studies had to assume stationarity of the observed system by deriving a unique estimate of TT or RT from 3 H time-series data, in order to circumvent the bomb pulse issue.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Time series of tritium, stable isotopes and chloride reveal short-term variations in groundwater contribution to a stream

Duvert

Stewart

Cendón

et al. 2016

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract.A major limitation to the assessment of catchment transit time (TT) stems from the use of stable isotopes or chloride as hydrological tracers, because these tracers are blind to older contributions. Yet, accurately capturing the TT of the old water fraction is essential, as is the assessment of its temporal variations under non-stationary catchment dynamics. In this study we used lumped convolution models to examine time series of tritium, stable isotopes and chloride in rainfall, streamwater and groundwater of a catchment located in subtropical Australia. Our objectives were to determine the different contributions to streamflow and their variations over time, and to understand the relationship between catchment TT and groundwater residence time. Stable isotopes and chloride provided consistent estimates of TT in the upstream part of the catchment. A young component to streamflow was identified that was partitioned into quickflow (mean TT ≈ 2 weeks) and discharge from the fractured igneous rocks forming the headwaters (mean TT ≈ 0.3 years). The use of tritium was beneficial for determining an older contribution to streamflow in the downstream area. The best fits between measured and modelled tritium activities were obtained for a mean TT of 16-25 years for this older groundwater component. This was significantly lower than the residence time calculated for groundwater in the alluvial aquifer feeding the stream downstream (≈ 76-102 years), emphasising the fact that water exiting the catchment and water stored in it had distinctive age distributions. When simulations were run separately on each tritium streamwater sample, the TT of old water fraction varied substantially over time, with values averaging 17 ± 6 years at low flow and 38 ± 15 years after major recharge events. This counterintuitive result was interpreted as the flushing out of deeper, older waters shortly after recharge by the resulting pressure wave propagation. Overall, this study shows the usefulness of collecting tritium data in streamwater to document short-term variations in the older component of the TT distribution. Our results also shed light on the complex relationships between stored water and water in transit, which are highly non-linear and remain poorly understood.

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Section: Limitations Of This Study and Way Forwardmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Time series of tritium, stable isotopes and chloride reveal short-term variations in groundwater contribution to a stream

Duvert

Stewart

Cendón

et al. 2016

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…(Böhlke and Denver 1995;Tesoriero et al, 2005). From a water resource perspective, information on groundwater residence times is required for sustainable aquifer management by identifying the risk posed to groundwater reserves by over-exploitation (Foster and Chilton, 2003), climate change (Manning et al, 2012) and contamination (Böh-lke, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using <sup>14</sup>C and <sup>3</sup>H to understand groundwater flow and recharge in an aquifer window

Atkinson

Cartwright

Gilfedder

et al. 2014

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. Knowledge of groundwater residence times and recharge locations is vital to the sustainable management of groundwater resources. Here we investigate groundwater residence times and patterns of recharge in the Gellibrand Valley, southeast Australia, where outcropping aquifer sediments of the Eastern View Formation form an "aquifer window" that may receive diffuse recharge from rainfall and recharge from the Gellibrand River. To determine recharge patterns and groundwater flow paths, environmental isotopes (3H, 14C, δ13C, δ18O, δ2H) are used in conjunction with groundwater geochemistry and continuous monitoring of groundwater elevation and electrical conductivity. The water table fluctuates by 0.9 to 3.7 m annually, implying recharge rates of 90 and 372 mm yr−1. However, residence times of shallow (11 to 29 m) groundwater determined by 14C are between 100 and 10 000 years, 3H activities are negligible in most of the groundwater, and groundwater electrical conductivity remains constant over the period of study. Deeper groundwater with older 14C ages has lower δ18O values than younger, shallower groundwater, which is consistent with it being derived from greater altitudes. The combined geochemistry data indicate that local recharge from precipitation within the valley occurs through the aquifer window, however much of the groundwater in the Gellibrand Valley predominantly originates from the regional recharge zone, the Barongarook High. The Gellibrand Valley is a regional discharge zone with upward head gradients that limits local recharge to the upper 10 m of the aquifer. Additionally, the groundwater head gradients adjacent to the Gellibrand River are generally upwards, implying that it does not recharge the surrounding groundwater and has limited bank storage. 14C ages and Cl concentrations are well correlated and Cl concentrations may be used to provide a first-order estimate of groundwater residence times. Progressively lower chloride concentrations from 10 000 years BP to the present day are interpreted to indicate an increase in recharge rates on the Barongarook High.

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“…Although very little is known regarding the depths of different geologic formations, the volcanics are assumed to range in thickness between 50 and 300 m. Alluvium is assumed to range in thickness between 0 and 10 m [20]. Sagehen has a Mediterranean-type climate with cold, wet winters and warm, dry summers [21]. Mean annual temperature from 1980 to 2002 was 4 • C, at an altitude of 2545 m. Mean annual precipitation from 1960 to 1991 was 970 mm.…”

Section: Description Of the Study Catchment And Associated Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimation of Active Stream Network Length in a Hilly Headwater Catchment Using Recession Flow Analysis

Zhang

Long

et al. 2017

Water

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Abstract:Varying active stream network lengths (ASNL) is a common phenomenon, especially in hilly headwater catchment. However, direct observations of ASNL are difficult to perform in mountainous catchments. Regarding the correlation between active stream networks and stream recession flow characteristics, we developed a new method to estimate the ASNL, under different wetness conditions, of a catchment by using streamflow recession analysis as defined by Brutsaert and Nieber in 1977. In our study basin, the Sagehen Creek catchment, we found that aquifer depth is related to a dimensionless parameter defined by Brutsaert in 1994 to represent the characteristic slope magnitude for a catchment. The results show that the estimated ASNL ranges between 9.8 and 43.9 km which is consistent with direct observations of dynamic stream length, ranging from 12.4 to 32.5 km in this catchment. We also found that the variation of catchment parameters between different recession events determines the upper boundary characteristic of recession flow plot on a log-log scale.

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Evolution of groundwater age in a mountain watershed over a period of thirteen years

Cited by 76 publications

References 50 publications

Time series of tritium, stable isotopes and chloride reveal short-term variations in groundwater contribution to a stream

Time series of tritium, stable isotopes and chloride reveal short-term variations in groundwater contribution to a stream

Using <sup>14</sup>C and <sup>3</sup>H to understand groundwater flow and recharge in an aquifer window

Estimation of Active Stream Network Length in a Hilly Headwater Catchment Using Recession Flow Analysis

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Evolution of groundwater age in a mountain watershed over a period of thirteen years

Cited by 76 publications

References 50 publications

Time series of tritium, stable isotopes and chloride reveal short-term variations in groundwater contribution to a stream

Time series of tritium, stable isotopes and chloride reveal short-term variations in groundwater contribution to a stream

Using &lt;sup&gt;14&lt;/sup&gt;C and &lt;sup&gt;3&lt;/sup&gt;H to understand groundwater flow and recharge in an aquifer window

Estimation of Active Stream Network Length in a Hilly Headwater Catchment Using Recession Flow Analysis

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Product

Resources

About

Using <sup>14</sup>C and <sup>3</sup>H to understand groundwater flow and recharge in an aquifer window