Hydrological connectivity describes the degree of connection between and across landscape elements through water flow, and determines the ease with which water and solutes may move across the landscape or through a river system. Connectivity occurs across a wide range of spatial scales, from macropores to landscapes, and has been recognized as a first-order control on runoff generation, travel times, and solute transport. The concept of hydrological connectivity has the potential to enhance our understanding of hydrological processes, to link processes across scales and between field and modelling studies, and to provide a unifying framework to organize hydrologic behavior.

This session consists of two blocks: 1) a block that focuses on subsurface hydrological connectivity, linking hillslopes to the stream network and 2) a block that focuses on ephemeral and intermittent streams, including how surface connectivity in intermittent stream networks is established. We hope that together, these studies will enhance our understanding and stimulate discussions on how the concept of hydrological connectivity can be used to link surface and subsurface flows at the catchment scale.

We encourage contributions on all aspects of hydrological connectivity at the catchment scale or ephemeral and intermittent streams, including field studies and modeling studies on how, when and where connectivity is established, how stream networks expand and contract, and how this can be described or modeled, as well as the effects of connectivity or stream network expansion on stream water quantity and quality and stream biodiversity.

This will be a PICO session, which combines the advantages of oral and poster presentations. In addition to the initial 2-minute presentation to introduce the work and raise interest, authors have the opportunity to interact with the audience through the use of the PICO screens, which allows one to show videos, animations and pictures.