Rainfall–runoff responses on Arctic hillslopes underlain by continuous permafrost,North Slope,Alaska, USA

The Arctic hydrologic cycle is intensifying, as evidenced by increased rates of precipitation, evapotranspiration, and riverine discharge. However, the controls on water fluxes from terrestrial to aquatic systems in upland Arctic landscapes are poorly understood. Upland landscapes account for one third of the Arctic land surface and are often drained by zero‐order geomorphic flowpath features called water tracks. Previous work in the region attributed rapid runoff response at larger stream orders to water tracks, but models suggest water tracks are hydrologically disconnected from the surrounding hillslope. To better understand the role of water tracks in upland landscapes, we investigated the surface and subsurface hydrologic responses of 6 water tracks and their hillslope watersheds to natural patterns of rainfall, soil thaw, and drainage. Between storms, both water track discharge and the water table in the hillslope watersheds exhibited diel fluctuations that, when lagged by 5 hr, were temporally correlated with peak evapotranspiration rate. Water track soils remained saturated for more of the summer season than soils in their surrounding hillslope watersheds. When rainfall occurred, the subsurface response was nearly instantaneous, but the water tracks took significantly longer than the hillslopes to respond to rainfall, and longer than the responses previously observed in nearby larger order Arctic streams. There was also evidence for antecedent soil water storage conditions controlling the magnitude of runoff response. Based on these observations, we used a broken stick model to test the hypothesis that runoff production in response to individual storms was primarily controlled by rainfall amount and antecedent water storage conditions near the water track outlet. We found that the relative importance of the two factors varied by site, and that water tracks with similar watershed geometries and at similar landscape positions had similar rainfall–runoff model relationships. Thus, the response of terrestrial water fluxes in the upland Arctic to climate change depends on the non‐linear interactions between rainfall patterns and subsurface water storage capacity on hillslopes. Predicting these interactions across the landscape remains an important challenge.     

Potential mechanistic causes of increased baseflow across northern Eurasia catchments underlain by permafrost

Warming in the Arctic is occurring at twice the rate of the global average, resulting in permafrost thaw and a restructuring of the Arctic hydrologic cycle as indicated by increased stream discharge during low-flow periods. In these cold regions, permafrost thaw is postulated to increase low-flow discharge, or baseflow, through either: (a) localized increases in groundwater storage and discharge to streams due to increased aquifer transmissivity from thickening of the freeze–thaw layer above permafrost known as the active layer or (b) long-term increases in regional groundwater circulation via enhancement of groundwater–surface water interactions due to extensive permafrost loss over decades. While increasing baseflow has been observed throughout northern Eurasia, the precise mechanistic causes remain elusive. In this study, we differentiate between where these two subsurface physical mechanisms of baseflow increase are occurring by performing a baseflow recession analysis using daily streamflow records from 1913 to 2003 for 139 stations in northern Eurasia underlain by varying permafrost areal extents. Results indicate that from 1913 to 2003, the majority of catchments underlain by continuous permafrost have an increasing trend in their recession flow intercepts, a proxy for increasing active layer thickness. Alternatively, the majority of catchments underlain by permafrost types that are less spatially extensive (e.g., discontinuous, sporadic, isolated, or no permafrost) have decreasing trends in their recession flow intercepts, indicating that a potential increase in active layer thickness is not the driving factor of baseflow variations in these catchments. This may indicate that in catchments underlain by continuous permafrost, active layer thickening correlates with increases in baseflow, whereas, in other catchments with less extensive permafrost, increases in baseflow may be caused by wholesale permafrost loss and vertical talik expansion that enhances regional groundwater circulation. The results of this work may inform our understanding of the subsurface mechanisms responsible for the changing Arctic hydrologic cycle.     

Transformations of runoff chemistry in the Arctic tundra,Northwest Territories,Canada

The transformation of snowmelt water chemical composition during melt, elution and runoff in an Arctic tundra basin is investigated. The chemistry of the water flowing along pathways from the surface of melting snow to the 95·5 ha basin outlet is related to relevant hydrological processes. In so doing, this paper offers physically based explanations for the transformation of major ion concentrations and loads of runoff water associated with snowmelt and rainfall along hydrological pathways to the stream outlet. Late‐lying snowdrifts were found to influence the ion chemistry in adjacent reaches of the stream channel greatly. As the initial pulse of ion‐rich melt water drained from the snowdrift and was conveyed through hillslope flowpaths, the concentrations of most ions increased, and the duration of the peak ionic pulse lengthened. Over the first 3 m of overland flow, the concentrations of all ions except for NO increased by one to two orders of magnitude, with the largest increase for K⁺, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺. This was roughly equivalent to the concentration increase that resulted from percolation of relatively dilute water through 0·25 m of unsaturated soil. The Na⁺ and Cl^? were the dominant ions in snowmelt water, whereas Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ dominated the hillslope runoff. On slopes below a large melting snowdrift, ion concentrations of melt water flowing in the saturated layer of the soil were very similar to the relatively dilute concentrations found in surface runoff. However, once the snowdrift ablated, ion concentrations of subsurface flow increased above parent melt‐water concentrations. Three seasonally characteristic hydrochemical regimes were identified in a stream reach adjacent to late‐lying snowdrifts. In the first two stages, the water chemistry in the stream channel strongly resembled the hillslope drainage water. In the third stage, in‐stream geochemical processes, including the weathering/ion exchange of Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺, were the main control of streamwater chemistry. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Distinguishing streamflow trends caused by changes in climate,forest cover,and permafrost in a large watershed in northeastern China

Understanding how rivers respond to changes in land cover, climate, and subsurface conditions is critical for sustainably managing water resources and ecosystems. In this study, long‐term hydrologic, climate, and satellite data (1973–2012) from the Upper Tahe River watershed (2359 km²) in the Da Hinggan Mountains of northeast China were analysed to quantify the relative hydrologic effects of climate variability (system input) and the combined influences of forest cover change and permafrost thaw (system characteristics) on average annual streamflow (system response) using 2 methods: the sensitivity‐based method and the Kendall–Theil robust line method. The study period was subdivided into a forest harvesting period (1973–1987), a forest stability period (1988–2001), and a forest recovery period (2002–2012). The results indicated that the combined effects of forest harvesting and permafrost thaw on streamflow (+ 47.0 mm) from the forest harvesting period to the forest stability period was approximately twice as large as the effect associated with climate variability (+20.2 mm). Similarly, from the forest stability period to the forest recovery period, the decrease in average annual streamflow attributed to the combined effects of forest recovery and permafrost thaw (?38.0 mm) was much greater than the decrease due to climate variability (?22.2 mm). A simple method was used to separate the distinct impacts of forest cover change and permafrost thaw, but distinguishing these influences is difficult due to changes in surface and subsurface hydrologic connectivity associated with permafrost thaw. The results highlight the need to consider multiple streamflow drivers in future watershed and aquatic ecosystem management. Due to the ecological and hydrological susceptibility to disturbances in the Da Hinggan Mountains, forest harvesting will likely negatively impact ecohydrological processes in this region, and the effects of forest species transition in the forest recovery process should be further investigated.     

Contemporary rates of chemical denudation and atmospheric CO2 sequestration in glacier basins: an Arctic perspective

This paper presents new estimates of solute fluxes from five high Arctic glacier basins in Svalbard. These estimates are combined with data from two other glacier basins to assess the effectiveness of chemical denudation on Svalbard and to estimate rates of temporary (or transient) CO₂ drawdown. We use a solute provenance model to partition solutes into marine, aerosol, atmospheric and crustal components and to estimate their annual fluxes. Crustally derived solute fluxes are equivalent to a mean chemical denudation rate of 350 Σmeq⁺ m⁻² a⁻¹ for Svalbard (range: 160–560 Σmeq⁺ m⁻² a⁻¹), which lies within the global range of 94–4200 Σmeq⁺ m⁻² a⁻¹ for 21 glacier basins in the northern hemisphere, and is close to the continental average of 390 Σmeq⁺ m⁻² a⁻¹. Specific annual discharge is the most significant control upon chemical denudation in the glacierized basins, and basin lithology is an important secondary control, with carbonate‐rich and basaltic lithologies currently showing the greatest chemical denudation rates. Estimates of transient CO₂ drawdown are also directly associated with specific annual discharge and rock type. On Svalbard transient CO₂ drawdown lies in the range 110–3000 kg C km⁻² a⁻¹, whilst the range is 110–13000 kg C km⁻² a⁻¹ for the northern hemisphere glacial data set. Transient CO₂ drawdown is therefore usually low in the Svalbard basins unless carbonate or basalt rocks are abundant. The analysis shows that a large area of uncertainty in the transient CO₂ drawdown estimates exists due to the non‐stoichiometric release of solute during silicate hydrolysis. Silicate hydrolysis is particularly non‐stoichiometric in basins where the extent of glacierization is high, which is most probably an artefact of high flushing rates through ice‐marginal and subglacial environments where K‐feldspars are undergoing mechanical comminution. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Biogeochemical responses over 37 years to manipulation of phosphorus concentrations in an Arctic river: The Upper Kuparuk River Experiment

The climate of the Arctic region is changing rapidly, with important implications for permafrost, vegetation communities, and transport of solutes by streams and rivers to the Arctic Ocean. While research on Arctic streams and rivers has accelerated in recent years, long-term records are relatively rare compared to temperate and tropical regions. We began monitoring the upper Kuparuk River in 1983 as part of a long-term, low-level, whole-season phosphorus enrichment of a 4–6 km experimental reach, which was subsequently incorporated into the Arctic Long-Term Ecological Research (Arctic LTER) programme. The phosphorus enrichment phase of the Upper Kuparuk River Experiment (UKRE) ran continuously for 34 seasons, fundamentally altering the community structure and function of the Fertilized reach. The objectives of this paper are to (a) update observations of the environmental conditions in the Kuparuk River region as revealed by long-term, catchment-level monitoring, (b) compare long-term trends in biogeochemical characteristics of phosphorus-enriched and reference reaches of the Kuparuk River, and (c) report results from a new ‘ReFertilization’ experiment. During the UKRE, temperature and discharge did not change significantly, though precipitation increased slightly. However, the UKRE revealed unexpected community state changes attributable to phosphorus enrichment (e.g., appearance of colonizing bryophytes) and long-term legacy effects of these state changes after cessation of the phosphorus enrichment. The UKRE also revealed important biogeochemical trends (e.g., increased nitrate flux and benthic C:N, decreased DOP flux). The decrease in DOP is particularly notable in that this may be a pan-Arctic trend related to permafrost thaw and exposure to new sources of iron that reduce phosphorus mobility to streams and rivers. The trends revealed by the UKRE would have been difficult or impossible to identify without long-term, catchment level research and may have important influences on connections between Arctic headwater catchments and downstream receiving waters, including the Arctic Ocean.     

A spatially distributed model for the assessment of land use impacts on stream temperature in small urban watersheds

Stream temperatures in urban watersheds are influenced to a high degree by changes in landscape and climate, which can occur at small temporal and spatial scales. Here, we describe a modelling system that integrates the distributed hydrologic soil vegetation model with the semi‐Lagrangian stream temperature model RBM. It has the capability to simulate spatially distributed hydrology and water temperature over the entire network at high time and space resolutions, as well as to represent riparian shading effects on stream temperatures. We demonstrate the modelling system through application to the Mercer Creek watershed, a small urban catchment near Bellevue, Washington. The results suggest that the model was able to produce realistic streamflow and water temperature predictions that are consistent with observations. We use the modelling construct to characterize impacts of land use change and near‐stream vegetation change on stream temperatures and explore the sensitivity of stream temperature to changes in land use and riparian vegetation. The results suggest that, notwithstanding general warming as a result of climate change over the last century, there have been concurrent increases in low flows as a result of urbanization and deforestation, which more or less offset the effects of a warmer climate on stream temperatures. On the other hand, loss of riparian vegetation plays a more important role in modulating water temperatures, in particular, on annual maximum temperature (around 4 °C), which could be mostly reversed by restoring riparian vegetation in a fairly narrow corridor – a finding that has important implications for management of the riparian corridor. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessing impacts of cemeteries on water quality in an urban headwater watershed with mixed human-built infrastructure

Cemeteries are understudied integral components to urban watersheds, which provide ecosystem services but can also export nutrients, trace elements, and other contaminants to nearby water bodies. In this study, we focus on Meadowbrook Creek, an urban headwater stream in Syracuse, New York (USA), which has shown significant nitrate contributions from a local cemetery. We collected biweekly surface water samples over the course of 1 year from 2022 to 2023 for analysis of major and trace elemental concentrations including Na, Ca, Mg, K, F, Cl, sulfate, and nitrate. Here, we aim to assess the impact of various human infrastructures on urban stream water quality with a particular focus on the cemetery and nitrate. A comparison between the new dataset in this study and previously reported water chemistry data in Meadowbrook in 2012 suggests a decade-long impact of road salting and the cemetery on water quality particularly with respect to Na, Cl, and nitrate. Sulfate, Mg, Ca, and K are likely mainly geogenic. Stable nitrogen isotope data, the usage of concrete or steel vaults in the cemetery in the past 50 years, and the lack of correlation between nitrate and fluoride concentrations in stream water argue against burial decay products being a major source of nitrate to the stream. Instead, other nitrate sources that exist in the cemetery such as, fertilizer, decaying plant material, and wastewater, are more viable dominant nitrate sources. In addition, nitrate loading calculations indicate that the groundwater-connected reach, including the cemetery, acts as an annual net sink for nitrate despite the seasonally varying sink-source patterns.     

A low‐dimensional model of bedrock weathering and lateral flow coevolution in hillslopes: 1. Hydraulic theory of reactive transport

This is the first of a two‐part paper exploring the coevolution of bedrock weathering and lateral flow in hillslopes using a simple low‐dimensional model based on hydraulic groundwater theory (also known as Dupuit or Boussinesq theory). Here, we examine the effect of lateral flow on the downward fluxes of water and solutes through perched groundwater at steady state. We derive analytical expressions describing the decline in the downward flux rate with depth. Using these, we obtain analytical expressions for water age in a number of cases. The results show that when the permeability field is homogeneous, the spatial structure of water age depends qualitatively on a single dimensionless number, Hi. This number captures the relative contributions to the lateral hydraulic potential gradient of the relief of the lower‐most impermeable boundary (which may be below the weathering front within permeable or incipiently weathered bedrock) and the water table. A “scaled lateral symmetry” exists when Hi is low: age varies primarily in the vertical dimension, and variations in the horizontal dimension x almost disappear when the vertical dimension z is expressed as a fraction z/H(x) of the laterally flowing system thickness H(x). Taking advantage of this symmetry, we show how the lateral dimension of the advection–diffusion‐reaction equation can be collapsed, yielding a 1‐D vertical equation in which the advective flux downward declines with depth. The equation holds even when the permeability field is not homogeneous, as long as the variations in permeability have the same scaled lateral symmetry structure. This new 1‐D approximation is used in the accompanying paper to extend chemical weathering models derived for 1‐D columns to hillslope domains.     

Diurnal dynamics of streamflow in an upland forested micro‐watershed during short precipitation‐free periods is altered by tree sap flow

Diurnal variations in streamflow are becoming acknowledged as a way of analysing how changing climatic conditions and land use affects watersheds but also as a way to understand watersheds as a whole. Yet not many studies from uplands below 900 mm mean annual precipitation zone are available from European countries. During the 2012 growing season, a sampling campaign took place in an upland forested micro‐watershed, Czech Republic (65 ha). Tree sap flow, rainfall and temperature were measured continuously, while streamflow at the discharge point and soil moisture were estimated from short‐term measurements. Short precipitation‐free periods lasting several days were identified for evaluation of trends in diurnal dynamics of both sap flow and streamflow. The results demonstrated that during these periods, the main factor altering streamflow was almost exclusively tree sap flow. A decrease in streamflow was observed during the day and an increase at night. The decline in sap flow after sunset was accompanied by a continuous increase in streamflow throughout the night up to its initial maximum in the morning. The amplitude in diurnal variations reached 18%. The observed time lag between the diurnal variations of sap flow and streamflow was approximately 2 h. Relatively low changes in diurnal dynamics of streamflow pointed out a strong regulatory role of the forest in buffering water discharge from the catchment. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

宜兴太湖防护林对农业面源污染的减源增汇作用浅析

为探讨太湖沿岸防护林宜兴段对农业面源污染物的控制效果,通过在宜兴市太湖防护林采集土壤样品,测定其中营养元素含量,结合周边农业生产施肥概况,初步分析了该区域防护林对农业面源污染的减源—增汇效应.结果表明,2009年10月份防护林地上部分固定的C、N、P和K分别为2439.48、18.34、2.48和13.42 g/m2;2011年5月份固定量分别为3114.12、23.42、3.16和17.13 g/m2;而2013年8月份固定量分别为4722.46、35.53、4.81和25.99 g/m2.可见C、N、P和K的固定量是逐年增加的,相比2009年,分别增加了93.6%、93.7%、94.0%和93.7%.结果说明宜兴段太湖沿岸防护林对农业面源污染的控制效果较显著,有助于太湖水污染的治理.     

A sensitivity analysis of lake water level response to changes in climate and river regimes

Lake water level regimes are influenced by climate, hydrology and land use. Intensive land use has led to a decline in lake levels in many regions, with direct impacts on lake hydrology, ecology and ecosystem services. This study examined the role of climate and river flow regime in controlling lake regimes using three different lakes with different hydraulic characteristics (volume-inflow ratio, CIR). The regime changes in the lakes were determined for five different river inflows and five different climate patterns (hot-arid, tropical, moderate, cold-arid, cold-wet), giving 75 different combinations of governing factors in lake hydrology. The input data were scaled to unify them for lake comparisons. By considering the historical lake volume fluctuations, the duration (number of months) of lake volume in different ‘wetness’ regimes from ‘dry’ to ‘wet’ was used to develop a new index for lake regime characterisation, ‘Degree of Lake Wetness’ (DLW). DLW is presented as two indices: DLW₁, providing a measure of lake filling percentage based on observed values and lake geometry, and DLW₂, providing an index for lake regimes based on historical fluctuation patterns. These indices were used to classify lake types based on their historical time series for variable climate and river inflow. The lake response time to changes in hydrology or climate was evaluated. Both DLW₁ and DLW₂ were sensitive to climate and hydrological changes. The results showed that lake level in high CIR systems depends on climate, whereas in systems with low CIR it depends more on river regime.