Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://hdl.handle.net/2440/96745
Citations | ||
Scopus | Web of Science® | Altmetric |
---|---|---|
?
|
?
|
Type: | Journal article |
Title: | Fully integrated modeling of surface-subsurface solute transport and the effect of dispersion in tracer hydrograph separation |
Author: | Liggett, J. Werner, A. Smerdon, B. Partington, D. Simmons, C. |
Citation: | Water Resources Research, 2014; 50(10):7750-7765 |
Publisher: | American Geophysical Union |
Issue Date: | 2014 |
ISSN: | 0043-1397 1944-7973 |
Statement of Responsibility: | Jessica E. Liggett, Adrian D. Werner, Brian D. Smerdon, Daniel Partington, and Craig T. Simmons |
Abstract: | Tracer hydrograph separation has been widely applied to identify streamflow components, often indicating that pre-event water comprises a large proportion of stream water. Previous work using numerical modeling suggests that hydrodynamic mixing in the subsurface inflates the pre-event water contribution to streamflow when derived from tracer-based hydrograph separation. This study compares the effects of hydrodynamic dispersion, both within the subsurface and at the surface-subsurface boundary, on the tracer-based pre-event water contribution to streamflow. Using a fully integrated surface-subsurface code, we simulate two hypothetical 2-D hillslopes with surface-subsurface solute exchange represented by different solute transport conceptualizations (i.e., advective and dispersive conditions). Results show that when surface-subsurface solute transport occurs via advection only, the pre-event water contribution from the tracer-based separation agrees well with the hydraulically determined value of pre-event water from the numerical model, despite dispersion occurring within the subsurface. In this case, subsurface dispersion parameters have little impact on the tracer-based separation results. However, the pre-event water contribution from the tracer-based separation is larger when dispersion at the surface-subsurface boundary is considered. This work demonstrates that dispersion within the subsurface may not always be a significant factor in apparently large pre-event water fluxes over a single rainfall event. Instead, dispersion at the surface-subsurface boundary may increase estimates of pre-event water contribution. This work also shows that solute transport in numerical models is highly sensitive to the representation of the surface-subsurface interface. Hence, models of catchment-scale solute dynamics require careful treatment and sensitivity testing of the surface-subsurface interface to avoid misinterpretation of real-world physical processes. |
Rights: | © 2014. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. |
DOI: | 10.1002/2013WR015040 |
Published version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2013wr015040 |
Appears in Collections: | Aurora harvest 3 Civil and Environmental Engineering publications |
Files in This Item:
There are no files associated with this item.
Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.