Surface and subsurface water contributions during snowmelt in a small Precambrian Shield watershed, Muskoka, Ontario

McDonnell, Jeffrey J.; Taylor, C. H.

doi:10.1080/07055900.1987.9649274

Cited by 31 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 24 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Flow through soil horizons is only a minute portion of the flow. The disproportionately large increases and delayed responses in piezometric levels downslope (versus upslope) noted by McDonnell and Taylor (1987) also support the wedge hypothesis. Hydrometric results from Branfireun et al (1996) and isotopic results from Buttle and Peters (1997) imply that much of the event water flux is from upslope areas and has mixed with groundwater from the rising water table.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 64%

“…McDonnell and Taylor (1987), Moore (1989), and Allan and Roulet (1994) have suggested that wetlands have a similar effect. The location of a headwater lake within its basin may be critically important to determining basin response.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The heterogeneity of the Canadian Shield landscape makes the runoff processes that occur during a given storm a function not only of the meteorological and antecedent moisture conditions (Landals and Gill, 1972;Roulet, 1990;Thorne, 1992) but also of the distribution of land cover types in the basin (McDonnell and Taylor, 1987;Moore, 1989;Allan and Roulet, 1994). FitzGibbon and Dunne (1981) found that the effect a lake has on the basin outflow hydrograph is a function of its size relative to the drainage area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The Effect of Storage on Runoff from a Headwater Subarctic Shield Basin

Spence¹

2000

ARCTIC

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ABSTRACT. Canadian Shield runoff production processes have been investigated, but research is needed beyond the hillslope scale to determine the influences on the volume and timing of runoff from headwater basins to higher-order streams. Such research will permit an understanding of the magnitude of climate change impacts at the watershed scale, where changes in the hydrologic regime are felt most by water resource users. To this end, water budget terms were measured over different portions of a headwater lake basin north of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, during the spring snowmelt of 1998 to determine the relative importance of each component as water moved through the basin. Evaporation made up 16% and runoff 70% of the snowmelt from upland areas. Upland ponding of water during the melt increased the evaporative loss. Headwater lake storage deficits are very important in the timing and volume of runoff that is transmitted downstream: 53% of basin meltwater went to meeting the storage deficit in the lake so that only 7% of the meltwater was routed out of the basin. These results imply that topology of shield headwater basins, notably the location of lakes and antecedent water levels in lakes, are important in determining the runoff response. As storage deficits in surface waters will cause changes over space in runoff response and timing, it may be inappropriate to consider the snowpack or rainfall volume in isolation when forecasting runoff volume. These results are important for water management and hydrological modeling applications of northern shield basins.Key words: Canadian Shield, Northwest Territories, runoff, snowmelt, water management RÉSUMÉ. On a étudié les processus qui entraînent la production de ruissellement sur le Bouclier canadien, mais il faut envisager la recherche d'un point de vue plus global que l'échelle des versants, afin de déterminer les facteurs qui influencent le volume et la périodicité du ruissellement provenant des bassins d'amont vers des cours d'eau d'ordre plus élevé. Une telle recherche permettra de mieux saisir l'importance des retombées du changement climatique à l'échelle du bassin hydrographique, où les changements dans le régime hydrologique sont le plus ressentis par les usagers des ressources en eau. À cette fin, on a mesuré le bilan hydrique sur plusieurs sections d'un bassin lacustre d'amont au nord de Yellowknife, dans les Territoires du Nord-Ouest, durant la fonte des neiges au printemps de 1998, pour déterminer l'importance relative de chaque élément, à mesure que l'eau traversait le bassin. L'évaporation représentait jusqu'à 16 p. cent et le ruissellement 70 p. cent de la fusion nivale venant des hautes terres. À ces endroits, l'accumulation d'eau dans des dépressions durant la fonte augmentait la perte due à l'évaporation. Les déficits dans les réserves lacustres d'amont ont une influence majeure sur le rythme et le volume du ruissellement qui passe en aval: 53 p. cent de l'eau de fonte du bassin allait compenser le déficit des réserves du lac, de sorte que...

show abstract

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 64%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Effect of Storage on Runoff from a Headwater Subarctic Shield Basin

Spence¹

2000

ARCTIC

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Jones and Pomeroy (2001) also report rapid, conservative runoff from ROS events and suggest that this may occur when the soil is largely frozen. However, the sandy (typically > 70% sand), permeable hillslope soils in this region rarely experience concrete frost in the manner of the soils in Jones and Pomeroy (2001) as they drain so rapidly (Lozano 1987; McDonnell and Taylor, 1987; Shibatani and Taylor, 1988). This is therefore unlikely to be the mechanism responsible for rapid transport of ROS precipitation to the stream channel.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The contribution of rain‐on‐snow events to nitrate export in the forested landscape of south‐central Ontario, Canada

Casson

Eimers

Buttle

2010

Hydrological Processes

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:Rain-on-snow (ROS) events have the potential to contribute significantly to nitrate (NO 3 -N) export from forested catchments, but have received relatively little research attention. This study assesses the importance of ROS events for NO 3 -N export across 18 catchments in south-central Ontario, Canada, that receive the same annual and seasonal N deposition, but encompass a range of physiographic characteristics. Winter (December to February) NO 3 -N export was calculated from 1982 to 1987, a period when streams were sampled on average every 3Ð3 days for NO 3 -N analysis. ROS events contributed a similar proportion of total winter NO 3 -N export across all catchments (median proportion of NO 3 -N from ROS events D 55%). There was considerable variation in the total magnitude of winter NO 3 -N export from these catchments, ranging from 0Ð01 to 0Ð4 kg/ha. Analysis of relationships between NO 3 -N export and physiographic characteristics indicated that NO 3 -N export varied with till coverage, wetland coverage and slope. Catchments with more till coverage, less wetland coverage and steeper slopes may be able to sustain hydrological linkages with the stream channel during the winter, contributing to higher NO 3 -N export. An analysis of one catchment over a longer time period revealed that years with higher maximum winter temperatures had more ROS events than cooler winters (p < 0Ð001; r 2 D 0Ð48). As climate projections for this region include increased winter temperatures and more winter precipitation falling as rain, ROS events may increase in the future, raising concerns about increased NO 3 -N loading to surface waters.

show abstract

“…For example, the long-term average SO 4 concentration in stream water draining the upland part of PC1 (PC1-08) is 8.0 AE 1.1 mg L À1 , which is also the average SO 4 concentration in percolate draining the lower B-horizon mineral soil . Hydrological studies within the upland PC1-08 subcatchment (3.45 ha) have demonstrated that the majority of runoff occurs vertically through the soil profile and then laterally along the soil-bedrock interface to the stream channel even during large discharge events (McDonnell & Taylor, 1987;Renzetti et al, 1992;Peters et al, 1995). We suggest that convergence of SO 4 concentrations in PC1 and PC1-08 at high flow levels indicates that upland soils are an important source of SO 4 during high runoff events in spring.…”

Section: Longmentioning

confidence: 91%

Examination of the potential relationship between droughts, sulphate and dissolved organic carbon at a wetland‐draining stream

Eimers

Watmough

Buttle

et al. 2007

Global Change Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Rising dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations observed at a number of sites in the northern hemisphere over recent decades are the subject of much debate, and recent reports suggest a link between DOC patterns in surface waters and changes in sulphate (SO 4 ) related to droughts or deposition. In order to investigate the potential influence of changes in SO 4 concentration on DOC patterns in south-central Ontario, we used longterm stream monitoring data from a wetland-dominated catchment (Plastic Lake-1 subcatchment, PC1) that has been the focus of intensive investigations of both SO 4 and DOC dynamics. Annual average volume-weighted DOC concentration increased significantly between 1980 and 2001, whereas SO 4 concentration declined, but the decrease was not significant due to large increases in SO 4 that occurred during drought years. There was no relationship between SO 4 and DOC in annual data series; however, seasonal analyses indicated significant negative correlations between SO 4 and DOC concentrations in spring (March-April-May), summer (June-July-August) and fall (September-OctoberNovember). In spring, DOC concentration was negatively correlated with flow whereas SO 4 concentrations increased with flow, and their opposing relationships with discharge explain the negative correlation between SO 4 and DOC in this season. In summer and fall, low SO 4 concentrations occur during periods of low flow as a result of microbial SO 4 reduction, whereas correspondingly high DOC concentrations in the summer and fall can be attributed to optimal conditions (i.e. stagnant flow, warm temperatures) for DOC production in the wetland. Increases in SO 4 (and acidity) following droughts were not associated with declines in DOC; instead the primary impact of droughts on DOC was to limit DOC export due to diminished stream flow. Rather than an acidification effect, we suggest that negative relationships between SO 4 and DOC were either directly (spring) or indirectly (summer/fall) caused by underlying relationships with hydrology.

show abstract

Surface and subsurface water contributions during snowmelt in a small Precambrian Shield watershed, Muskoka, Ontario

Abstract: The rates and pathways of snowmelt runoff on Precambrian Shield watersheds are not fully understood. The results of a detailed field study and numerical analysis of these processes are presented for a small watershed located in Muskoka, Ontario, that

Cited by 31 publications

References 24 publications

The Effect of Storage on Runoff from a Headwater Subarctic Shield Basin

The Effect of Storage on Runoff from a Headwater Subarctic Shield Basin

The contribution of rain‐on‐snow events to nitrate export in the forested landscape of south‐central Ontario, Canada

Examination of the potential relationship between droughts, sulphate and dissolved organic carbon at a wetland‐draining stream

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About