Exploring the Hidden Exchanges: Groundwater-Surface Water Interactions in a Critical Zone Observatory

The exchange between groundwater (GW) and surface water (SW) plays a crucial role for streamflow generation and the biogeochemical cycles within landscapes. However, accurately observing and predicting this exchange remains challenging due to the spatial heterogeneity and temporally dynamic fluxes of groundwater within the stream corridor. This presentation offers new insights into the characteristics of GW-SW interactions and hydrological processes within the hillslope-riparian-stream continuum, employing a combined experimental and modeling approach. The research builds on a comprehensive, long-term dataset obtained through baseline monitoring in the Weierbach Experimental Catchment (WEC) in Luxembourg that is a 45-hectare forested catchment. In addition to baseline monitoring, our approach involved (i) a network of 43 wells and piezometers along a selected stream reach for continuous monitoring and tracer experiments, (ii) a network of 13 wells along the riparian-hillslope interface, and (iii) ground-based thermal infrared imagery to observe spatiotemporal dynamics of surface saturation along the stream corridor. An integrated surface-subsurface hydrologic model served as a hypothesis-testing tool to examine whether surface saturation is predominantly driven by groundwater inflow or precipitation and how the relevance of the processes – surface ponding from precipitation or subsurface exfiltration – change in space and time.

We coupled the hydrological model with a hydraulic mixing-cell approach that enabled deciphering the contributions from different water sources to SW. The well network and associated artificial tracer experiments provided valuable insights into the direction of GW-SW exchange, revealing directional variability at scales of a few meters. Additionally, wells at the riparian-hillslope interface demonstrated a strong non-linearity of GW contributions to SW, influenced by GW table fluctuations. The observed and simulated surface saturation aligned well, suggesting that GW exfiltration primarily controls surface saturation in the stream corridor. Furthermore, the mixing-cell simulations revealed that subsurface water exfiltration is the dominant source for riparian surface water and intermittent streamflow, with distinct differences between stream water and riparian surface saturation. Overall, the combination of experimental techniques, hydrologic modeling, and well networks clearly improved our understanding of GW-SW interactions and revealed previously hidden exchanges in the WEC.