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. (C) 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Keywords

Runoff generation; MIKE SHE; Krycklan; Water balance; Soil frost; Catchment

Published in

Journal of Hydrology
2018, Volume: 560, pages: 184-201
Publisher: ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

SLU Authors

• Jutebring Sterte, Elin

  • Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • DHI Sweden AB

• Laudon, Hjalmar

  • Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Forest Science
Oceanography, Hydrology, Water Resources


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.03.011

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/95267