Assessing groundwater recharge and transpiration in a humid northern region dominated by snowmelt using vadose-zone depth profiles | Evaluation de la recharge des eaux souterraines et de la transpiration, sur la base de profils verticaux de la zone vadose, dans une région nordique humide dominée par la fonte des neiges Evaluación de la recarga de las aguas subterráneas y la transpiración en una región boreal húmeda dominada por el deshielo de la nieve utilizando perfiles de profundidad de zona vadosa 使用包气带深度剖面评估融雪为主的潮湿北部地区地下水的补给和蒸腾作用 Avaliação da recarga de águas subterrâneas e transpiração em uma região úmida boreal regulada pelo derretimento de neve usando perfis de zona vadosa em profundidade
2020
Boumaiza, Lamine | Chesnaux, Romain | Walter, Julien | Stumpp, Christine
Profiles of the stable isotope ratios of pore water within the vadose zone provide fingerprints of the history of water percolation into a soil. These profiles, combined with profiles of the volumetric water content, can determine the timing and amount of water that has percolated during specific periods. This study aims to: (1) understand water percolation at two sites in Quebec (Canada) that experience thick snow coverage during the winter season; (2) calculate groundwater recharge rates using the peak-shift method; and (3) estimate the transpiration rate based on the water balance budget. A 7-m-deep borehole was drilled at two sites: one site is sparsely covered by vegetation (S1), while the second underlies a pine forest (S2). For all subsamples, δ¹⁸O and δ²H from the soil pore water were analyzed, volumetric water content of the cores was measured, and grain-size analyses to estimate the hydraulic properties were performed. For both boreholes, the winter–spring and summer–autumn periods were determined. Given the limited evapotranspiration occurring during the winter–spring period, recharge rates were high at both sites (71 and 75%), while the summer–autumn period had lower recharge rates of 63% (S1) and 41% (S2). A transpiration rate of 0.7 mm/day was estimated for the pine trees covering site S2. This study provides new field observations for estimating recharge based on water stable isotope profiles in a humid northern region dominated by snowmelt. Moreover, it confirms the accuracy of the peak-shift method for assessing groundwater recharge and estimating transpiration.
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