Environmental and hydrologic controls on sediment and organic carbon export from a subalpine catchment: insights from a time series

Abstract

Abstract. Studies engaging in tracking headwater carbon signatures downstream remain sparse, despite their importance for constraining transfer and transformation pathways of organic carbon (OC) and developing regional-scale perspectives on mechanisms influencing the balance between remineralization and carbon export. Based on a 40-month time series, we investigate the dependence of hydrology and seasonality on the discharge of sediment and OC in a small (350 km2) Swiss subalpine watershed (Sihl River basin). We analyze concentrations and isotopic compositions (δ13C, F14C) of particulate OC and use dual-isotope mixing and machine learning frameworks to characterize and estimate source contributions, transport pathways, and export fluxes. The majority of transferred OC is sourced from plant biomass and soil material. The relative amount of bedrock-derived (petrogenic) OC, abundant in headwater streams, progressively decreases downstream in response to a lack of source material and efficient overprinting with biospheric OC, illustrating rapid organic matter alteration over short distances. Large variations in OC isotopic compositions observed during baseflow conditions converge and form a homogenous mixture enriched in OC and characterized by higher POC-F14C values following precipitation-driven events. Particulate OC isotopic data and model results suggest that storms facilitate surface runoff and the inundation of riparian zones, resulting in the entrainment of loose plant-derived debris and surficial soil material. Although particle transport in the Sihl River basin is mainly driven by hydrology, subtle changes in bedrock erosivity, slope angle, and floodplain extent likely have profound effects on the POC composition, age, and export yields.