Characterizing hydrological processes within kettle holes using stable water isotopes in the Uckermark of northern Brandenburg,Germany |
| |
| Authors: | Stuart Andrew Vyse Majid Taie Semiromi Gunnar Lischeid Christoph Merz |
| |
| Institution: | 1. ARCLAKEs group, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine research, Telegrafenberg A45-N, 14401 Potsdam, Germany;2. Working Group “Lowland Hydrology and Water Management”, Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Eberswalder Straße 84, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany;3. Research Platform “Data”, Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Eberswalder Straße 84, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany
Institute for Environmental Sciences and Geography, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany |
| |
| Abstract: | Understanding the hydrologic connectivity between kettle holes and shallow groundwater, particularly in reaction to the highly variable local meteorological conditions, is of paramount importance for tracing water in a hydro(geo)logically complex landscape and thus for integrated water resource management. This article is aimed at identifying the dominant hydrological processes affecting the kettle holes' water balance and their interactions with the shallow groundwater domain in the Uckermark region, located in the north-east of Germany. For this reason, based on the stable isotopes of oxygen (δ18O ) and hydrogen (δ2H ), an isotopic mass balance model was employed to compute the evaporative loss of water from the kettle holes from February to August 2017. Results demonstrated that shallow groundwater inflow may play the pivotal role in the processes taking part in the hydrology of the kettle holes in the Uckermark region. Based on the calculated evaporation/inflow (E/I) ratios, most of the kettle holes (86.7%) were ascertained to have a partially open, flow-through-dominated system. Moreover, we identified an inverse correlation between E/I ratios and the altitudes of the kettle holes. The same holds for electrical conductivity (EC) and the altitudes of the kettle holes. In accordance with the findings obtained from this study, a conceptual model explaining the interaction between the shallow groundwater and the kettle holes of Uckermark was developed. The model exhibited that across the highest altitudes, the recharge kettle holes are dominant, where a lower ratio of E/I and a lower EC was detected. By contrast, the lowest topographical depressions represent the discharge kettle holes, where a higher ratio of E/I and EC could be identified. The kettle holes existing in between were categorized as flow-through kettle holes through which the recharge takes place from one side and discharge from the other side. |
| |
| Keywords: | evaporation groundwater inflow kettle hole stable water isotope surface–groundwater interactions |
|
|
