Hydrochemical separation of components of discharge in alpine catchments
Title | Hydrochemical separation of components of discharge in alpine catchments |
Publication Type | Conference Proceedings |
Year of Conference | 1979 |
Authors | Collins, D. N., and Young G. J. |
Conference Name | 47th Annual Western Snow Conference |
Series Title | Proceedings of the 47th Annual Western Snow Conference |
Date Published | April 1979 |
Publisher | Western Snow Conference |
Conference Location | Sparks, Nevada |
Keywords | Chemical analysis, Glacier runoff, Meltwater |
Abstract | Waters produced from the melting of snow and ice are characterised by low solute contents. According to routing across alpine catchments, some waters are enriched chemically by passing through different hydrochemical environments. Meltstreams draining from the snouts of temperate glaciers exhibit seasonal and diurnal variations of both discharge and solute concentration, determined by the variable proportions of total flow from different sources which have followed different routes within the basin.Electrical conductivity, used to characterise meltwater hydrochemistry, was monitored continuously to provide detailed records of temporal variations of water quality. Proportions of flow routed through different hydrochemical environments can be calculated from simple mixing models using water quality diagnostics. Temporal variations of calculated components of total discharge defined by flow routing provide an indication of runoff formation from water rapidly traversing the catchment after melting and that delayed in transit as a result of storage within snowpack and glacier. |
URL | sites/westernsnowconference.org/PDFs/1979Collins.pdf |