Isotopic tracing of the outflow during artificial rain-on-snow event

Juras, Roman; Pavlásek, Jiří; Vitvar, Tomáš; Šanda, Martin; Holub, Jirka; Jankovec, Jakub; Linda, M.

doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.08.018

Cited by 18 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Because the isotopic signature of the snowpack varies within the vertical profile, the authors assume that the reference value of non-rain water is not constant, but time variant. According to previous investigations (Juras et al, 2016), rainwater appears as snowpack runoff only after a certain delay. It can therefore be assumed that at the beginning of runoff the non-rain water consists mostly of pre-LWC (Q pre-LWC ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…During dye tracer experiments in a nonripe snowpack with temperatures below the freezing point, matrix flow was observed in the uppermost layers of the snowpack whereas preferential flow was observed in deeper layers only (Techel et al, 2008;Würzer et al, 2017). Various approaches of water flow transport in snowpack were further investigated which included rainfall simulation (Conway and Benedict, 1994;Eiriksson et al, 2013;Juras et al, 2013;Singh et al, 1997), artificial wetting (Avanzi et al, 2015;Katsushima et al, 2013; and numerical modelling (Hirashima et al, 2010(Hirashima et al, , 2014Wever et al, 2014aWever et al, , 2015. Rainwater can refreeze when percolating through cold snow (Pfeffer and Humprey, 1998).…”

Section: R Juras Et Al: Rainwater Propagation Through Snowpackmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies estimating uncertainties of hydrograph separation within sub-hourly or hourly time resolution, which is typical for ROS events, are, to the best of the authors' knowledge, unavailable. Juras et al (2016) demonstrated in a feasibility study that they could quantify the contribution of rainwater in snowpack runoff during a sprinkling experiment using hydrograph separation techniques. However, their experiment was conducted with very high sprinkling intensities well beyond typical rain intensities.…”

Section: R Juras Et Al: Rainwater Propagation Through Snowpackmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An enhanced version of the rainfall simulator described in Juras et al (2013Juras et al ( , 2016 was designed to achieve rain intensities close to observations during natural ROS events (Osterhuber, 1999;Rössler et al, 2014;Würzer et al, 2016). The new device was equipped by a Lechler 460.368.30.CA nozzle which was precisely calibrated in the laboratory and again on site.…”

Section: Rainfall Simulation and Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rainwater propagation through snowpack during rain-on-snow sprinkling experiments under different snow conditions

Juras

Würzer²,

Pavlásek

et al. 2017

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. The mechanisms of rainwater propagation and runoff generation during rain-on-snow (ROS) events are still insufficiently known. Understanding storage and transport of liquid water in natural snowpacks is crucial, especially for forecasting of natural hazards such as floods and wet snow avalanches. In this study, propagation of rainwater through snow was investigated by sprinkling experiments with deuterium-enriched water and applying an alternative hydrograph separation technique on samples collected from the snowpack runoff. This allowed us to quantify the contribution of rainwater, snowmelt and initial liquid water released from the snowpack. Four field experiments were carried out during winter 2015 in the vicinity of Davos, Switzerland. Blocks of natural snow were isolated from the surrounding snowpack to inhibit lateral exchange of water and were exposed to artificial rainfall using deuterium-enriched water. The experiments were composed of four 30 min periods of sprinkling, separated by three 30 min breaks. The snowpack runoff was continuously gauged and sampled periodically for the deuterium signature. At the onset of each experiment antecedent liquid water was first pushed out by the sprinkling water. Hydrographs showed four pronounced peaks corresponding to the four sprinkling bursts. The contribution of rainwater to snowpack runoff consistently increased over the course of the experiment but never exceeded 86 %. An experiment conducted on a non-ripe snowpack suggested the development of preferential flow paths that allowed rainwater to efficiently propagate through the snowpack limiting the time for mass exchange processes to take effect. In contrast, experiments conducted on ripe isothermal snowpack showed a slower response behaviour and resulted in a total runoff volume which consisted of less than 50 % of the rain input.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Section: R Juras Et Al: Rainwater Propagation Through Snowpackmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: R Juras Et Al: Rainwater Propagation Through Snowpackmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Rainfall Simulation and Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rainwater propagation through snowpack during rain-on-snow sprinkling experiments under different snow conditions

Juras

Würzer²,

Pavlásek

et al. 2017

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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“…Juras et al (2016) showed for example with the help of δ 2 H measurements that such an artificial ROS event in the Krkonoše mountains (Czech Republic) led to percolation of rain water through the snowpack, pushing old water out of the snowpack via a piston flow mechanism.…”

Section: Rain-on-snowmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding snow hydrological processes through the lens of stable water isotopes

Beria¹,

Larsen²,

Ceperley³

et al. 2017

Preprint

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Snowfall may have different stable isotopic compositions compared with rainfall, allowing its contribution to potentially be tracked through the hydrological cycle. This review summarizes the state of knowledge of how different hydrometeorological processes affect the isotopic composition of snow in its different forms (snowfall, snowpack, and snowmelt), and, through selected examples, discusses how stable water isotopes can provide a better understanding of snow hydrological processes. A detailed account is given of how the variability in isotopic composition of snow changes from precipitation to final melting. The effect of different snow ablation processes (sublimation, melting, and redistribution by wind or avalanches) on the isotope ratios of the underlying snowpack are also examined. Insights into the role of canopy in snow interception processes, and how the isotopic composition in canopy underlying snowpacks can elucidate the exchanges therein are discussed, as well as case studies demonstrating the usefulness of stable water isotopes to estimate seasonality in the groundwater recharge. Rain-on-snow floods illustrate how isotopes can be useful to estimate the role of preferential flow during heavy spring rains. All these examples point to the complexity of snow hydrologic processes and demonstrate that an isotopic approach is useful to quantify snow contributions throughout the water cycle, especially in high-elevation and highlatitude catchments, where such processes are most pronounced. This synthesis concludes by tracing a snow particle along its entire hydrologic life cycle, highlights the major practical challenges remaining in snow hydrology and discusses future research directions.

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Quantifying relative contributions of source waters from a subalpine wetland to downstream water bodies

Hathaway

Westbrook

Rooney

et al. 2022

Hydrological Processes

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Subalpine regions of the Canadian Rocky Mountains are expected to experience continued changes in hydrometeorological processes due to anthropogenically mediated climate warming. As a result, fresh water supplies are at risk as snowmelt periods occur earlier in the year, and glaciers contribute less annual meltwater, resulting in longer growing seasons and greater reliance on rainfall to generate runoff. In such environments, wetlands are potentially important components that control runoff processes, but due to their location and harsh climates their hydrology is not well studied. We used stable water isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen (δ 2 H and δ 18 O), coupled with MixSIAR, a Bayesian mixing model, to understand relative source water contributions and mixing within Burstall Wetland, a subalpine wetland (1900 m a.s.l.), and the larger Burstall Valley. These results were combined with climate data from the Burstall Valley to understand hydrometeorological controls on Burstall Wetland source water dynamics over spatiotemporal timescales. Our results show that the seasonal isotopic patterns within Burstall Wetland reflect greater reliance on snowmelt in spring and rainfall in the peak and post-growing season periods. We found a substantial degree of mixing between precipitation (rain and snow) and stored waters in the landscape, especially during the pre-growing season. These findings suggest that longer growing seasons in subalpine snow-dominated landscapes put wetlands at risk of significant water loss and increased evaporation rates potentially leading to periods of reduced runoff during the peak-growing season and in extreme cases, wetland dry out.

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Isotopic tracing of the outflow during artificial rain-on-snow event

Cited by 18 publications

References 31 publications

Rainwater propagation through snowpack during rain-on-snow sprinkling experiments under different snow conditions

Rainwater propagation through snowpack during rain-on-snow sprinkling experiments under different snow conditions

Understanding snow hydrological processes through the lens of stable water isotopes

Quantifying relative contributions of source waters from a subalpine wetland to downstream water bodies

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