Hydrochemical variability during flood events within a small forested catchment in Basque Country (Northern Spain) |
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| Authors: | M Martínez‐Santos I Antigüedad E Ruiz‐Romera |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Geodynamics, University of the Basque Country, Leioa, Basque Country, Spain;2. Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of the Basque Country, Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain |
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| Abstract: | Understanding runoff processes is critical to issues of water quality. Therefore, the main purpose of this paper is to test a methodology that can be used when continuous electrical conductivity (EC) data are recorded in a single control point and no more data are available along the catchment. Although both non‐tracer‐based and tracer‐based techniques have been used for two‐component hydrograph separation, EC‐based method proved to be more suitable to gain further insight into the runoff generation and can help clarifying water sources and flowpaths to the river. So the use of EC has allowed the separation of pre‐event (Qp) and event (Qe) water contribution in different types of flood events, the assessment of temporal behaviour of related elements and the calculation of Qp/Qe ratio and regression equations. However, the weaker correlations of some elements with discharge and with this ratio lead us to admit the existence of at least one third component of flow, which is characterized by dissolved organic carbon, SO42? and Cl?. This component presumably comes from a far‐stream source and through a subsurface flow and is the key for advancing in new findings on the catchment hydrology. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
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| Keywords: | flood events hydrochemistry hydrograph separation techniques Qp/Qe ratio regression equations |
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