Groundwater Processes in Alpine CatchmentsGroundwater Processes in Alpine Catchments

Masaki HayashiMasaki HayashiDept. of Geoscience, Univ. of Calgary, CanadaDept. of Geoscience, Univ. of Calgary, Canada

HuluHulu watershedwatershed30003000--4800 m4800 m

Photo: Photo: ChuntanChuntan Han, July 2010Han, July 2010

Headwaters of the Hulu Watershed

500 m500 m Google EarthGoogle EarthMarch 27, 2013March 27, 2013

Sept. 9, 2015

Damma Glacier Forefield

Magnusson et al. (2014, Hydrol. Process., 28: 823-836)

Mountain GroundwaterHimalayan River Basins

m/m

o)

500

i ( / )

runo

ff (m

m

5 50 500

50Jun-Aug

Aug-Oct

Andermann et al. (2013, Nature GS)precip (mm/mo)

Mountain block recharge • Manning and Solomon (2005, Water Resour. Res.)• Ajami et al. (2011, WRR)• Welch and Allen (2012, WRR)

Mountain Groundwater

Alpine groundwater sustains critical habitats.• Lowry et al. (2011, WRR)• Brown et al. (2009, Freshwater Biol)

Bow River in the Canadian RockiesDischarge at Banff (2200 km2

, unregulated)

300 2005snowmelt

100

200

flow

(m

3s-1

)

20062007200820092010

groundwater

snowmelt+

rain

Data: Water Survey of Canada

0

f

J F M A M J J A S O N D

groundwater

Analysis of Winter Flow

PP ATMI

120°W 118°W 116°W 114°W

100km18 River Basins

• Unregulated

P

P

PP

P

P

P

P P

P

PP

BR

KO

KH

GDGSBV

IW

PI

BL MS

SVNS

52°N

• < 3900 km2

• 25+ yr of data

Annual precip.800-2000 mmHigh

Low

PP

P

P

EF

KODN

EN FDABBC50°N

Paznekas & Hayashi (2015, Can. Wat. Resour. J., in press)

15

d-1 ) Individual year

Hydrological year: November 1 - October 31Normalized flow = Discharge / Basin Area

Hydrograph Example – N. Saskatchewan River

5

10

zed

flow

(mm

d Individual year40-yr mean

0

5

Nor

mal

iz

11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Paznekas & Hayashi (2015, Can. Wat. Resour. J., in press)

Winter flow

0.50.5

)

Average Winter Flow (January and February)

No long-term trendInter-annual variation

High winter flow after wet year?

0 1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0 1

0.2

0.3

0.4

Win

ter

flow

(mm

d-1

Bow

0

0.1

0 1 2 3Annual flow (mm d-1)

Previous year

0

0.1W Elk at NatalNorth Sask.

No correlation!

Long-Term Mean Flow for 18 Rivers

Winter flow index (WFI) = Mean annual flowMean winter flow

0.8

d-1) N. Rockies

0.4

0.6

win

ter f

low

(mm

d S. RockiesColumbia

0

0.2

0 1 2 3 4 5

Mea

n w

Mean annual flow (mm d-1)

Long-Term Mean Flow for 18 Rivers

Winter flow index (WFI) = Mean annual flowMean winter flow

0.8d-1

) N. Rockies

0.4

0.6w

inte

r flo

w (m

m d S. Rockies

ColumbiaChina

Kamusilang

Tailan

0

0.2

0 1 2 3 4 5

Mea

n w

Mean annual flow (mm d-1)

Kalasu

Kamusilang

Groundwater reservoir fills up every summer

winter spring/summer fall

Winter flow index must be related to the size of the reservoir and aquifer hydraulic properties.

What control those?

Paznekas & Hayashi (2015, Can. Wat. Resour. J., in press)

Largely unknown → Requires more work- Field-based process study- Numerical experiments

10

20

30snow meltraindischarge

glacier melt< 0.3 mm/d

flux

(mm

/d)

Opabin Basin Water Balance (2008)

0

10

4/18 5/8 5/28 6/17 7/7 7/27 8/16 9/5 9/25 10/15

800

1000total inputux

(mm

)hy

dro.

0

200

400

600 total output

cum

ulat

ive

flu

100 mm

Hood & Hayashi (2015, J. Hydrol. 521:482-497)

Hydrogeological Response Units in Opabin Basin• Bedrock (hard quartzite)• Proglacial moraine

Hydrogeological Response Unit: Talus

Conceptual Model of Talus GroundwaterFast hydraulic response time (< 2-3 days).Flow through a thin (< 0.1 m) saturated layer.

snowpacksnowpack

talus

bedrock

Muir et al. (2011, Hydrol. Process., 25: 2954)

Water table is controlled by fill-spill of bedrock basin.

Hydrogeological Response Unit: Alpine Meadow

McClymont et al. (2010, Hydrol. Earth System Sci., 14: 849)

Helen Creek Watershed – Banff National ParkSize: 2.5 km2, Elevation: 2300-2900 m

Rock glacierRock glacierRock glacierRock glacier

TalusTalus

Rock glacierRock glacierElectrical Resistivity

Tomography

0 m 100 3002380 200

Google Earth image

100m

Ground iceGround iceSpringSpring

gg

2360

2340

resistivity (Ω m)700 1300 2300 4200 7700 14000 26000 47000

bedrock

SpringSpring

0.06

3s-1

)

DischargeAugust 7 2014

0

0.02

0.04

0 100 200 300 400 500

Dis

char

ge (m

3

Upstream distance (m)

Discharge

Spring

August 7, 2014

(35% of flow; Contributing area = 5%)

1618130

C)m-1

)

p ( )

10121416

100

110

120

0 100 200 300 400 500

Tem

p (C

EC (μ

S cm

Upstream distance (m)

ECTemp

Key Message

1. Groundwater storage-release is critically important during 7-8 months of a year.

2. Coarse sediments in alpine catchments appear to be the main aquifers.

3. More “stamp collecting” is necessary.

4. How can we represent groundwater processes in basin scale models? INARCHin basin-scale models? → INARCH