Hydrological Connectivity: Quantifying a key to surface water chemistry in future climates

Summary

Predicting the terrestrial inputs to surface waters requires great chemical and biological insight, but incorrect assumptions about hydrology will confound the most sophisticated biogeochemical understanding. The project will develop the potential of RZ connectivity to explain terrestrial and aquatic linkages by developing a riparian observatory to test the hypothesis that flow-related dynamics in three dimensions of RZ connectivity influence water chemistry as exemplified by aquatic C. The informed sampling of the riparian zone hydrology and hydrochemistry will be of great value to a research community that is increasingly looking to the RZ for explanations of how catchment changes are linked to water quality. The project will also improve our ability to predict how climate change will effect forested boreal waters where DOC is a key chemical constituent. Beyond the specific insights of relevance to Fennoscandian surface waters, the use of the RO to bring process-level observations and understanding to bear at the landscape scale will hopefully be useful to researchers working in other landscapes with other issues.

Biogeochemistry riparian zone connectivity