Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Spatiotemporal Heterogeneity Of Water Flowpaths Controls Dissolved Organic Carbon Sourcing In A Snow-Dominated, Headwater Catchment, Anna G. Radke, Sarah E. Godsey, Kathleen A. Lohse, Emma P. Mccorkle, Julia Perdrial, Mark S. Seyfried, W. Steven Holbrook

College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Publications

The non-uniform distribution of water in snowdrift-driven systems can lead to spatial heterogeneity in vegetative communities and soil development, as snowdrifts may locally increase weathering. The focus of this study is to understand the coupled hydrological and biogeochemical dynamics in a heterogeneous, snowdrift-dominated headwater catchment (Reynolds Mountain East, Reynolds Creek Critical Zone Observatory, Idaho, USA). We determine the sources and fluxes of stream water and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) at this site, deducing likely flowpaths from hydrometric and hydrochemical signals of soil water, saprolite water, and groundwater measured through the snowmelt period and summer recession. We then interpret flowpaths using …