Abstract
Groundwater and surface-water interactions are regulated by catchment characteristics and complex inter- and intra-annual variations in climatic conditions that are not yet fully understood. Our objective was to investigate the influence of catchment characteristics and freeze-thaw processes on surface and groundwater interactions in a boreal landscape, the Krycklan catchment in Sweden. We used a numerical modelling approach and sub-catchment evaluation method to identify and evaluate fundamental catchment characteristics and processes. The model reproduced observed stream discharge patterns of the 14 sub-catchments and the dynamics of the 15 groundwater wells with an average accumulated discharge error of 1% (15% standard deviation) and an average groundwater-level mean error of 0.1 m (0.23 m standard deviation). We show how peatland characteristics dampen the effect of intense rain, and how soil freeze-thaw processes regulate surface and groundwater partitioning during snowmelt. With these results, we demonstrate the importance of defining, understanding and quantifying the role of landscape heterogeneity and sub-catchment characteristics for accurately representing catchment hydrological functioning.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Journal of Hydrology |
| Volume | 560 |
| Pages (from-to) | 184-201 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| ISSN | 0022-1694 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2018 |
Keywords
- Catchment
- Krycklan
- MIKE SHE
- Runoff generation
- Soil frost
- Water balance