A stream tracer technique employing ionic tracers and specific conductance data applied to the Maimai catchment,New Zealand

The stream tracer technique and transient storage models (TSMs) have become common tools in stream solute and hyporheic exchange studies. The expense and logistics associated with water sample collection and analysis often results in limited temporal resolution of stream tracer breakthrough curves (BTCs). Samples are often collected without a priori or real‐time knowledge of BTC information, which can result in poor sample coverage of the critical shoulder (initial rise) and tail (post‐steady state fall) of the BTC. We illustrate the use of specific conductance (SC) measurements as a surrogate for conservative dissolved tracer (Br⁻) samples. The advantages of collecting SC data for use in the TSM are (1) cost, (2) ease of data collection, and (3) well‐defined breakthrough curves, which strengthen TSM parameter optimization. This method is based on developing an ion concentration (IC)–SC relationship from limited discrete tracer solute samples. SC data can be collected on a more frequent basis at no additional analysis cost. TSM simulations can then be run for the conservative tracer data derived from SC breakthrough curves and the IC–SC relationship. This technique was tested in a 120 m reach of stream (2–60 m subreaches) in the Maimai M15 catchment, New Zealand during baseflow recession. Dissolved LiBr was injected for 12·92 h, with Br⁻ as the conservative ion of interest. Four TSM simulations using the OTIS model are optimized using UCODE to fit (1) Br⁻ data derived from the Br⁻–SC relationship (n = 1307 observations at each of two stream sampling sites), (2) all stream Br⁻ data collected (n = 58 in upper reach, n = 60 in lower reach), (3) half of the stream Br⁻ data collected, and (4) 20 stream Br⁻ samples from each site. No two simulations resulted in the same optimal parameter values. Results suggest that the greater the frequency of observations, the greater the confidence in estimated parameter values. Br⁻–SC simulations resulted in the best overall model fits to the data, with the lowest calculated error variance of 6·37, narrowest 95% parameter estimate confidence intervals, and the highest correlation coefficient of 0·99 942, among the four simulations. This is largely due to the improved representation of the shoulder and tail of the BTC with this method. The IC–SC correlation method is robust in situations in which (1) changes in background SC data can be accounted for, and (2) the data used to define the IC–SC relationship are representative of the range of data collected. This method provides more efficient sample analysis, improved data resolution, and improved model results compared to the alternative stream tracer data gathering methods presented. Additionally, we describe a new parameterization of the cross‐sectional area of the stream during flow recession, as a function of discharge, based on a stream hydraulic geometry relationship. This variant of the OTIS model provides a more realistic representation of stream dynamics during unsteady discharge. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Freeze Core Sampling to Validate Time‐Lapse Resistivity Monitoring of the Hyporheic Zone

A freeze core sampler was used to characterize hyporheic zone storage during a stream tracer test. The pore water from the frozen core showed tracer lingered in the hyporheic zone after the tracer had returned to background concentration in collocated well samples. These results confirmed evidence of lingering subsurface tracer seen in time‐lapse electrical resistivity tomographs. The pore water exhibited brine exclusion (ion concentrations in ice lower than source water) in a sediment matrix, despite the fast freezing time. Although freeze core sampling provided qualitative evidence of lingering tracer, it proved difficult to quantify tracer concentration because the amount of brine exclusion during freezing could not be accurately determined. Nonetheless, the additional evidence for lingering tracer supports using time‐lapse resistivity to detect regions of low fluid mobility within the hyporheic zone that can act as chemically reactive zones of importance in stream health.     

Estimating longitudinal dispersion in rivers using Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers

The longitudinal dispersion coefficient (D) is an important parameter needed to describe the transport of solutes in rivers and streams. The dispersion coefficient is generally estimated from tracer studies but the method can be expensive and time consuming, especially for large rivers. A number of empirical relations are available to estimate the dispersion coefficient; however, these relations are known to produce estimates within an order of magnitude of the tracer value. The focus of this paper is on using the shear-flow dispersion theory to directly estimate the dispersion coefficient from velocity measurements obtained using an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP). Using tracer and hydrodynamic data collected within the same river reaches, we examined conditions under which the ADCP and tracer methods produced similar results. Since dead zones / transient storage (TS) are known to influence the dispersion coefficient, we assessed the relative importance of dead zones in different stream reaches using two tracer-based approaches: (1) TS modeling which explicitly accounts for dead zones and (2) the advection–dispersion equation (ADE) which does not have separate terms for dead zones. Dispersion coefficients based on the ADE tend to be relatively high as they describe some of the effects of dead zones as well. Results based on the ADCP method were found to be in good agreement with the ADE estimates indicating that storage zones play an important role in the estimated dispersion coefficients, especially at high flows. For the river sites examined in this paper, the tracer estimates of dispersion were close to the median values of the ADCP estimates obtained from multiple datasets within a reach. The ADCP method appears to be an excellent alternative to the traditional tracer-based method if care is taken to avoid spurious data and multiple datasets are used to compute a distance-weighted average or other appropriate measure that represents reach-averaged conditions.     

Influences of climate,terrain and land cover on stream salinity in southeastern Australia,and implications for management through reforestation

Reforestation of cleared land has the potential to reduce groundwater recharge, salt mobilization and streamflow. Stream salinity change is the net result of changes in stream salt load and streamflow. The net effect of these changes varies spatially as a function of climate, terrain and land cover. Successful natural resource management requires methods to map the spatial variability of reforestation impacts. We investigated salinity data from 2000 bores and streamflow and salinity measurements from 27 catchments in the Goulburn–Broken region in southeast Australia to assess the main factors determining stream salinity and opportunities for management through reforestation. For groundwater systems of similar geology, relationships were found between average annual rainfall and groundwater salinity and between groundwater salinity and low‐flow salinity. Despite its simplicity, we found that the steady‐state component of a simple conceptual coupled water–salt mass balance model (BC2C) adequately explained the spatial variation in streamflow and salinity. The model results suggest the efficiency of afforestation to reduce stream salinity could be increased by more than an order of magnitude through spatial planning. However, appreciable reductions in stream salinity in large rivers through land cover change alone would still require reforestation on an unprecedented scale. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of morphology and discharge on hyporheic exchange flows in two small streams in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon,USA

Stream‐tracer injections were used to examine the effect of channel morphology and changing stream discharge on hyporheic exchange flows. Direct observations were made from well networks to follow tracer movement through the hyporheic zone. The reach‐integrated influence of hyporheic exchange was evaluated using the transient storage model (TSM) OTIS‐P. Transient storage modelling results were compared with direct observations to evaluate the reliability of the TSM. Results from the tracer injection in the bedrock reach supported the assumption that most transient storage in headwater mountain streams results from hyporheic exchange. Direct observations from the well networks in colluvial reaches showed that subsurface flow paths tended to parallel the valley axis. Cross‐valley gradients were weak except near steps, where vertical and cross‐valley hydraulic gradients indicated a strong potential for stream water to downwell into the hyporheic zone. The TSM parameters showed that both size and residence time of transient storage were greater in reaches with a few large log‐jam‐formed steps than in reaches with more frequent, but smaller steps. Direct observations showed that residence times in the unconstrained stream were longer than in the constrained stream and that little change occurred in the location and extent of the hyporheic zone between low‐ and high‐baseflow discharges in any of the colluvial reaches. The transient storage modelling results did not agree with these observations, suggesting that the TSM was insensitive to long residence‐time exchange flows and was very sensitive to changes in discharge. Disagreements between direct observations and the transient storage modelling results highlight fundamental problems with the TSM that confound comparisons between the transient storage modelling results for tracer injections conducted under differing flow conditions. Overall, the results showed that hyporheic exchange was little affected by stream discharge (at least over the range of baseflow discharges examined in this study). The results did show that channel morphology controlled development of the hyporheic zone in these steep mountain stream channels. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using high resolution tracer data to constrain water storage,flux and age estimates in a spatially distributed rainfall‐runoff model

Models simulating stream flow and conservative tracers can provide a representation of flow paths, storage distributions and mixing processes that is advantageous for many predictive purposes. Compared with models that only simulate stream flow, tracer data can be used to investigate the internal consistency of model behaviour and to gain insight into model performance. Here, we examine the strengths and weaknesses of a data‐driven, spatially distributed tracer‐aided rainfall‐runoff model. The model structure allowed us to assess the influence of landscape characteristics on the routing and mixing of water and tracers. The model was applied to a site in the Scottish Highlands with a unique tracer data set; ~4 years of daily isotope ratios in stream water and precipitation were available, as well as 2 years of weekly soil and ground water isotopes. The model structure was based on an empirically based, lumped tracer‐aided model previously developed for the catchment. The best model runs were selected from Monte Carlo simulations based on dual calibration criteria using objective functions for both stream isotopes and discharge at the outlet. Model performance for these criteria was reasonable (Nash–Sutcliffe efficiencies for discharge and isotope ratios were ~0.4–0.6). The model could generally reproduce the variable isotope signals in the soils of the steeper hill slopes where storage was low, and damped isotope responses in valley bottom cells with high storage. The model also allowed us to estimate the age distributions of internal stores, water fluxes and stream flow. Average stream water age was ~1.6 years, integrating older groundwater in the valley bottom and dynamic younger soil waters. By tracking water ages and simulating isotopes, the model captured the changes in connectivity driven by distributed storage dynamics. This has substantially improved the representation of spatio‐temporal process dynamics and gives a more robust framework for projecting environmental change impacts. Copyright © 2016 The Authors Hydrological Processes Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Tidal flushing and wind driven circulation of Ahe atoll lagoon (Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia) from in situ observations and numerical modelling

Hydrodynamic functioning and water circulation of the semi-closed deep lagoon of Ahe atoll (Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia) were investigated using 1year of field data and a 3D hydrodynamical model. Tidal amplitude averaged less than 30cm, but tide generated very strong currents (2ms(-1)) in the pass, creating a jet-like circulation that partitioned the lagoon into three residual circulation cells. The pass entirely flushed excess water brought by waves-induced radiation stress. Circulation patterns were computed for climatological meteorological conditions and summarized with stream function and flushing time. Lagoon hydrodynamics and general overturning circulation was driven by wind. Renewal time was 250days, whereas the e-flushing time yielded a lagoon-wide 80-days average. Tide-driven flush through the pass and wind-driven overturning circulation designate Ahe as a wind-driven, tidally and weakly wave-flushed deep lagoon. The 3D model allows studying pearl oyster larvae dispersal in both realistic and climatological conditions for aquaculture applications.     

Comparative Evaluation of Single‐Well LNAPL Tracer Testing at Five Sites

Light nonaqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) tracer testing is a technique used to directly measure LNAPL flow in situ and evaluate LNAPL mobility and recoverability. The test method consists of adding a fluorescent oil‐soluble tracer to LNAPL within a well, isolating small volumes of LNAPL with known tracer concentrations for use as in‐well calibration standards, and measuring the rate of tracer concentration decline in the well over time. The test measures LNAPL flux through the well, which is directly related to LNAPL mobility and recoverability in the surrounding formation. Test results for a total of 29 wells at five sites are presented. Results from LNAPL tracer testing were comparable to results obtained through other methods, and the method offers a time‐averaged result measured over a relatively long period, in ambient conditions, and reflects the influences of heterogeneity and hydraulic changes. In some cases, tracer concentration decline followed unexpected patterns, and these data have led to a better understanding of test assumptions, mechanisms influencing tracer distribution, and options to improve test execution and data interpretation. Method improvements developed over the course of the field studies included refinement of pre‐test screening of LNAPL fluorescence and improvements to measurement equipment. Overall, the field studies confirmed the technical validity and usefulness of the LNAPL tracing technique to support LNAPL mobility and recoverability assessments.     

Computational issues and applications of line-elements to model subsurface flow governed by the modified Helmholtz equation

Two new approaches are presented for the accurate computation of the potential due to line elements that satisfy the modified Helmholtz equation with complex parameters. The first approach is based on fundamental solutions in elliptical coordinates and results in products of Mathieu functions. The second approach is based on the integration of modified Bessel functions. Both approaches allow evaluation of the potential at any distance from the element. The computational approaches are applied to model transient flow with the Laplace transform analytic element method. The Laplace domain solution is computed using a combination of point elements and the presented line elements. The time domain solution is obtained through a numerical inversion. Two applications are presented to transient flow fields, which could not be modeled with the Laplace transform analytic element method prior to this work. The first application concerns transient single-aquifer flow to wells near impermeable walls modeled with line-doublets. The second application concerns transient two-aquifer flow to a well near a stream modeled with line-sinks.     

Quantitative analysis of numerically induced mixing in a coastal model application

In recent years, various attempts have been made to estimate the amount of numerical mixing in numerical ocean models due to discretisation errors of advection schemes. In this study, a high-resolution coastal model using the ocean circulationmodel GETM is applied to the Western Baltic Sea, which is characterised by energetic and episodic inflows of dense bottom waters originating from the Kattegat. The model is equipped with an easy-to-implement diagnostic method for obtaining the numerical mixing which has recently been suggested. In this diagnostic method, the physical mixing is defined as the mean tracer variance decay rate due to turbulent mixing. The numerical mixing due to discretisation errors of tracer advection schemes is defined as the decay rate between the advected square of the tracer variance and the square of the advected tracer, which can be directly compared to the physical variance decay. The source and location of numerical mixing is further investigated by comparing different advection schemes and analysing the amount of numerical mixing in each spatial dimension during the advection time step. The results show that, for the setup used, the numerically and physically induced mixing have the same orders of magnitude but with different vertical and horizontal distributions. As the main mechanism for high numerical mixing, vertical advection of tracers with strong vertical gradients has been identified. The main reason for high numerical mixing is due to bottom-following coordinates when density gradients, especially for regions of steep slopes, are advected normal to isobaths. With the bottom-following coordinates used here, the horizontal gradients are reproduced by a spurious sawtooth-type profile where strong advection through, but not along, the vertical coordinate levels occurs. Additionally, the well known relation between strong tracer gradients and high velocities on the one and high numerical mixing on the other hand is approved quantitatively within this work.     

Observing lingering hyporheic storage using electrical resistivity: variations around stream restoration structures,Crabby Creek,PA

Time‐lapse geophysical surveys can map lingering hyporheic storage by detecting changes in response to saline tracer. Tracer tests were conducted in Crabby Creek, an urban stream outside Philadelphia, to examine the influence of stream restoration structures and variable sediment thickness. We compared electrical resistivity surveys with extensive well sampling (57 wells) in two 13.5‐m‐long reaches, each with a step drop created by a J‐hook. The two step drops varied in tracer behaviour, based on both the well data and the geophysical data. The well data showed more variation in arrival time where the streambed sediment was thick and was more uniform where sediment was thin. The resistivity in the reach with thin sediment showed lingering tracer in the hyporheic zone both upstream and downstream from the J‐hook. In the second reach where the sediment was thicker, the lingering tracer in the hyporheic zone was more extensive downstream from the J‐hook. The contrasting results between the two reaches from both methods suggested that sediments influenced hyporheic exchange more than the step at this location. Resistivity inversion differed from well data in both reaches in that it showed evidence for tracer after well samples had returned to background, mapping lingering tracer either upstream or downstream of a step. We conclude that resistivity surveys may become an important tool for hyporheic zone characterization because they provide information on the extent of slow moving fluids in the hyporheic zone, which have the potential to enhance chemical reactions. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of solute transport in a divergent flow tracer test with scale‐dependent dispersion

It has been known for many years that dispersivities increase with solute displacement distance in a subsurface. The increase of dispersivities with solute travel distance results from significant variation in hydraulic properties of porous media and was identified in the literature as scale‐dependent dispersion. In this study, Laplace‐transformed analytical solutions to advection‐dispersion equations in cylindrical coordinates are derived for interpreting a divergent flow tracer test with a constant dispersivity and with a linear scale‐dependent dispersivity. Breakthrough curves obtained using the scale‐dependent dispersivity model are compared to breakthrough curves obtained from the constant dispersivity model to illustrate the salient features of scale‐dependent dispersion in a divergent flow tracer test. The analytical results reveal that the breakthrough curves at the specific location for the constant dispersivity model can produce the same shape as those from the scale‐dependent dispersivity model. This correspondence in curve shape between these two models occurs when the local dispersivity at an observation well in the scale‐dependent dispersivity model is 1·3 times greater than the constant dispersivity in the constant dispersivity model. To confirm this finding, a set of previously reported data is interpreted using both the scale‐dependent dispersivity model and the constant dispersivity model to distinguish the differences in scale dependence of estimated dispersivity from these two models. The analytical result reveals that previously reported dispersivity/distance ratios from the constant dispersivity model should be revised by multiplying these values by a factor of 1·3 for the scale‐dependent dispersion model if the dispersion process is more accurately characterized by scale‐dependent dispersion. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Conceptual modelling to assess how the interplay of hydrological connectivity,catchment storage and tracer dynamics controls nonstationary water age estimates

Although catchment storage is an intrinsic control on the rainfall–runoff response of streams, direct measurement remains a major challenge. Coupled models that integrate long‐term hydrometric and isotope tracer data are useful tools that can provide insights into the dynamics of catchment storage and the volumes of water involved. In this study, we use a tracer‐aided hydrological model to characterize catchment storage as a dynamic control on system function related to streamflow generation, which also allows direct estimation of the nonstationarity of water ages. We show that in a wet Scottish upland catchment dominated by runoff generation from riparian peats (histosols) with high water storage, nonstationarity in water age distributions is only clearly detectable during more extreme wet and dry periods. This is explained by the frequency and longevity of hydrological connectivity and the associated relative importance of flow paths contributing younger or older waters to the stream. Generally, these saturated riparian soils represent large mixing zones that buffer the time variance of water age and integrate catchment‐scale partial mixing processes. Although storage simulations depend on model performance, which is influenced by input variability and the degree of isotopic damping in the stream, a longer‐term storage analysis of this model indicates a system that is only sensitive to more extreme hydroclimatic variability. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

PREDICTION ERROR FILTERS,WHITE NOISE AND ORTHOGONAL COORDINATES*

Optimum filters can be computed using orthogonal coordinates obtained from the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the autocorrelation matrix. The method is used to obtain unit distance prediction error filters. The output of a unit distance prediction error filter when applied to the input wavelet is an impulse at zero time. The effect on the output of added white noise is easily obtained using the approach through the orthogonal coordinates. The added white noise results in output wavelets which are no longer impulses at zero time. The decrease in time resolution gives a filter that does not increase undesirable high frequency noise as much as filters computed without white noise. Orthogonal coordinates with little signal energy can be omitted from the filter computation resulting in output wavelets resembling those computed using added white noise.     

Internal and forced variability along a section between Greenland and Portugal in the CLIPPER Atlantic model

Numerical models are used to estimate the meridional overturning and transports along the paths of two hydrographic cruises, carried out in 1997 and 2002 from Greenland to Portugal. We have examined the influence of the different paths of the two cruises and found that it could explain 0.4 to 2 Sv of difference in overturning (the precise value is model-dependent). Models show a decrease in the overturning circulation between 1997 and 2002, with different amplitudes. The CLIPPER ATL6 model reproduces well the observed weakening of the overturning in density coordinates between the cruises; in the model, the change is due to the combination of interannual and high-frequency forcing and internal variability associated with eddies and meanders. Examination of the -coordinate overturning reveals model–data discrepancies: the vertical structure in the models does not change as much as the observed one. The East Greenland current variability is mainly wind-forced in the ATL6 model, while fluctuations due to eddies and instabilities explain a large part of the North Atlantic Current variability. The time-residual transport of dense water and heat due to eddy correlations between currents and properties is small across this section, which is normal to the direction of the main current.     

Determining long time‐scale hyporheic zone flow paths in Antarctic streams

In the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, glaciers are the source of meltwater during the austral summer, and the streams and adjacent hyporheic zones constitute the entire physical watershed; there are no hillslope processes in these systems. Hyporheic zones can extend several metres from each side of the stream, and are up to 70 cm deep, corresponding to a lateral cross‐section as large as 12 m², and water resides in the subsurface year around. In this study, we differentiate between the near‐stream hyporheic zone, which can be characterized with stream tracer experiments, and the extended hyporheic zone, which has a longer time‐scale of exchange. We sampled stream water from Green Creek and from the adjacent saturated alluvium for stable isotopes of D and ¹⁸O to assess the significance and extent of stream‐water exchange between the streams and extended hyporheic zones over long time‐scales (days to weeks). Our results show that water residing in the extended hyporheic zone is much more isotopically enriched (up to 11‰ D and 2·2‰ ¹⁸O) than stream water. This result suggests a long residence time within the extended hyporheic zone, during which fractionation has occurred owing to summer evaporation and winter sublimation of hyporheic water. We found less enriched water in the extended hyporheic zone later in the flow season, suggesting that stream water may be exchanged into and out of this zone, on the time‐scale of weeks to months. The transient storage model OTIS was used to characterize the exchange of stream water with the extended hyporheic zone. Model results yield exchange rates (α) generally an order magnitude lower (10^?5 s^?1) than those determined using stream‐tracer techniques on the same stream. In light of previous studies in these streams, these results suggest that the hyporheic zones in Antarctic streams have near‐stream zones of rapid stream‐water exchange, where ‘fast’ biogeochemical reactions may influence water chemistry, and extended hyporheic zones, in which slower biogeochemical reaction rates may affect stream‐water chemistry at longer time‐scales. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An Unsteady State Tracer Method for Characterizing Fractures in Bedrock Wells

Evaluating contaminants impacting wells in fractured crystalline rock requires knowledge of the individual fractures contributing water. This typically involves using a sequence of tools including downhole geophysics, flow meters, and straddle packers. In conjunction with each other these methods are expensive, time consuming, and can be logistically difficult to implement. This study demonstrates an unsteady state tracer method as a cost‐effective alternative for gathering fracture information in wells. The method entails introducing tracer dye throughout the well, inducing fracture flow into the well by conducting a slug test and then profiling the tracer concentration in the well to locate water contributing fractures where the dye has been diluted. By monitoring the development of the dilution zones within the wellbore with time, the transmissivity and the hydraulic head of the water contributing fractures can be determined. Ambient flow conditions and the contaminant concentration within the fractures can also be determined from the tracer dilution. This method was tested on a large physical model well and a bedrock well. The model well was used to test the theory underlying the method and to refine method logistics. The approach located the fracture and generated transmissivity values that were in excellent agreement with those calculated by slug testing. For the bedrock well tested, two major active fractures were located. Fracture location and ambient well conditions matched results from conventional methods. Estimates of transmissivity values by the tracer method were within an order of magnitude of those calculated using heat‐pulse flow meter data.     

Approximating groundwater age distributions using simple streamtube models and multiple tracers

We use a streamtube based decomposition and a recently developed, simple relationship between tracer concentrations and ages to estimate groundwater age distributions. The decomposition assumes that an age distribution can be approximated using a superposition of linearly independent streamtubes. Transport in each streamtube is modeled with inverse Gaussian functions, the parameters of which are inferred from radiometric tracer concentrations. Three simple sampling methods are considered for weakly and moderately heterogeneous aquifers and the method gives reasonable approximations in both systems. The method is sensitive to errors in the measured concentrations but some of these errors are easily identifiable and a range of plausible age distributions can still be found. The method was then tested in a highly heterogeneous system and reasonable estimates of the age distribution were also obtained. The simplicity of this method and its insensitivity to the heterogeneity structure suggest that this approach may be an effective tool for obtaining estimates of age distributions in natural systems.     

Linking tracers,water age and conceptual models to identify dominant runoff processes in a sparsely monitored humid tropical catchment

Assessing catchment runoff response remains a key research frontier because of limitations in current observational techniques to fully characterize water source areas and transit times in diverse geographical environments. Here, we report a study that combines empirical data with modelling to identify dominant runoff processes in a sparsely monitored humid tropical catchment. The analysis integrated isotope tracers into conceptual rainfall–runoff models of varying complexity (from 5 to 11 calibrated parameters) that are able to simulate discharge and tracer concentrations and track the evolving age of stream water exiting the catchment. The model structures can be seen as competing hypotheses of catchment functioning and were simultaneously calibrated against uncertain streamflow gaugings and a 2‐year daily isotope rainfall–runoff record. Comparison of the models was facilitated using global parameter sensitivity analysis and the resulting effect on calibration. We show that a variety of tested model structures reproduced water and tracer dynamics in stream, but the simpler models failed to adequately reproduce both. The resulting water age distributions of the tested models varied significantly with little similarity between the stream water age and stored water age distributions. The sensitivity analysis revealed that only some of the more complex models (from eight parameters) could be better constrained to infer more plausible water age distributions and catchment storage estimates. These models indicated that the age of water stored in the catchment is generally older compared with the age of water fluxes, with evapotranspiration age being younger compared with streamflow. However, the water age distributions followed a similar temporal behaviour dominated by climatic seasonality. Stream water ages increased during the dry season (greater than 1 year) and decreased with increased streamflow (a few weeks old) during the wet season. We further show that the ratios of the streamwater age to stored water age distribution and the water age distribution of actual evapotranspiration to the stored water age distribution from constrained models could potentially serve as useful hydrological indicators of catchment functioning. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluating the Use of In‐Well Heat Tracer Tests to Measure Borehole Flow Rates

Recent research has demonstrated the use of in‐well heat tracer tests monitored by a fiber optic distributed temperature sensing (DTS) system to characterize borehole flow conditions in open bedrock boreholes. However, the accuracy of borehole flow rates determined from in‐well heat tracer tests has not been evaluated. The purpose of the research presented here is to determine whether borehole flow rates obtained using DTS‐monitored in‐well heat tracer tests are reasonable, and to evaluate the range of flow rates measureable with this method. To accomplish this, borehole flow rates measured using in‐well heat tracer tests are compared to borehole flow rates measured in the same boreholes using an impeller or heat pulse flowmeter. A comparison of flow rates measured using in‐well heat tracer tests to flow rates measured with an impeller flowmeter under the same conditions showed good agreement. A comparison of in‐well heat tracer test flow rate measurements to previously‐collected heat pulse flowmeter measurements indicates that the heat tracer test results produced borehole flow rates and flow profiles similar to those measured with the heat pulse flowmeter. The results of this study indicate that borehole flow rates determined from DTS‐monitored in‐well heat tracer tests are reasonable estimates of actual borehole flow rates. In addition, the range of borehole flow rates measurable by in‐well heat tracer tests spans from less than 10^?1 m/min to approximately 10¹ m/min, overlapping the ranges typically measurable with an impeller flowmeter or a heat pulse flowmeter, making in‐well heat tracer testing a versatile borehole flow logging tool.