Sub-surface water contribution to recession flow in a mountain headwater stream system based on single monitoring campaign

Abstract

Discharge in mountain streams may be a mixture of snowmelt, water from surface runoff, and deep return flow through valley bottom alluvia. We used δ18O and δ2H, solute concentrations, and 222Rn to determine water sources of a headwater stream located at the McDonald Creek watershed, Glacier National Park, USA, during summer recession flow period. We analysed minimal water isotope ranges of −17.6‰ to −16.5‰ and −133‰ to −121‰ for δ18O and δ2H, respectively, potentially due to dominance of snow-derived water in the stream. Likewise, solute concentrations measured in the stream through the watershed showed minimal variation with little indication of subsurface water input into the stream. However, we observed 222Rn activities in the stream that ranged from 39 to 2646 Bq/m3 with the highest value measured in middle of the watershed associated with channel constriction corresponding to changes in local orientation of underlying rocks. Downstream from this point, 222Rn activity decreased from 581 to 117 Bq/m3 in a series of punctuated steps associated with small rapids and waterfalls that we hypothesized to cause radon degassing with a maximum predicted loss of 427 Bq/m3 along a 400 m distance. Based on mass balance calculations using 222Rn activity values, streamflow, and channel characteristics, we estimated that groundwater contributed between 0.3% and 29% of total flow. Overall, we estimated a 5.9% of groundwater contribution integrated for stream reach measured at McDonald Creek during recession flow period. Finally, a lower mean hyporheic flux of 14 m3/day was estimated compared to the groundwater flux of 70 710 m3/day. These assessments highlight the potential for radon as a conservative tracer that can be used to estimate subsurface water contribution in mountain streams within a complex geologic setting. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.