Seasonal and short-term controls of riparian oxygen dynamics and the implications for redox processes

Riparian zones are highly-dynamic transition zones between surface water (SW) and groundwater (GW) and function as key biogeochemical-reactors for solutes transitioning between both compartments. Infiltration of SW rich in dissolved oxygen (DO) into the riparian aquifer can supress removal processes of redox sensitive compounds like NO₃⁻, a nutrient harmful for the aquatic ecosystem at high concentrations. Seasonal and short-term variations of temperature and hydrologic conditions can influence biogeochemical reaction rates and thus the prevailing redox conditions in the riparian zone. We combined GW tracer-tests and a 1-year high-frequency dataset of DO with data-driven simulations of DO consumption to assess the effects of seasonal and event-scale variations in temperature and transit-times on the reactive transport of DO. Damköhler numbers for DO consumption (DA_DO) were used to characterize the system in terms of DO turnover potential. Our results suggest that seasonal and short-term variations in temperature are major controls for DO turnover and the resulting concentrations at our field site, while transit-times are of minor importance. Seasonal variations of temperature in GW lead to shifts from transport-limited (DA_DO > 1) to reaction-limited conditions (DA_DO < 1), while short-term events were found to have minor impacts on the state of the system, only resulting in slightly less transport-limited conditions due to decreasing temperature and transit-times. The data-driven analyses show that assuming constant water temperature along a flowpath can lead to an over- or underestimation of reaction rates by a factor of 2–3 due to different infiltrating water temperature at the SW–GW interface, whereas the assumption of constant transit-times results in incorrect estimates of NO₃⁻ removal potential based on DA_DO approach (40%–50% difference).